kelly love jones

KELLY LOVE JONES

Hailing from New Orleans , Lousiana, Kelly Love Jones encompasses the cultural richness of her hometown in her music. With her own unique blend of acoustic guitar, folk, hip hop, blues, and poetry Kelly, who was voted “best emerging artist” at the Big Easy Awards has impressed audiences of music lovers both at home and overseas. Drawing inspiration for lyrics from her daily life experiences, Kelly has, for the past 12 years, used music as an emotional outlet, linking her with the hearts of her listeners through personal rhythmic reflection. In her own words, "It's the connection that makes the music worth making. Everything outside of that, as we say in New Orleans is lagniappe (extra)".

Kelly Love Jones broke into music by silencing the taunts of a doubtful friend. The young man, himself a rapper, claimed that "females couldn't rhyme." But Kelly could. Not only could she rhyme, freestyle and hold her own amongst the boys, but this New Orleans native also possessed the ability to transcend the widely perceived limitations of a "rap artist."

If only that young man could see her now, 3 continents and 4 albums later, he would be amazed at the musical maturity that has accompanied Kelly's development into womanhood; and to the comparisons which Kelly has drawn to such musical powerhouses as Sade and Lauryn Hill. Musical maturity. Absolutely! The mastery of her instrument and companion, her guitar, has fed Kelly's natural and time seasoned development into a composer and producer with the ability to create musical rhythms that serve as an inviting and enticing backdrop for her poignant poetry.

Kelly's poetic lyrics are testimony of the passion she has for her audience, and her determination to get her healing message across all the barriers that society has artificially erected. This passion always comes through with bright tones on stage. One account of a Kelly Love Jones performance is as follows: "Jones took it to the crowd hard with neo soul poetic slow grooves and hook laced aggressive hip hop numbers. On her soul songs, she opened up her spirit so easily that it was hard not to relate and enjoy the music. Her earnest, beautiful voice and Latin-tinged guitar tones hushed the crowd and drew them in."

For if there's one thing that can be said with certainty it's that Kelly's potential is as limitless as her aspirations, and the once exclusive MC turned singer-songwriter acknowledges no boundaries on her future direction. Among her objectives is the development of a sound that will allow her to "converse with the child within all of us," an objective which the young artist pursues by working with female youth groups and maintaining a refreshing simplicity in her music. True to her New Orleanean roots, and in her quest for that "basic sound," Kelly has even taken to creating percussion instruments and features many of her creations on her most recent project "Portrait of a Solo Artist."

Kelly's fourth album features the familiar themes – love and relationships – that her listeners have grown accustomed to hearing from her, but added to these is a social consciousness largely derived from her experience as a Hurricane Katrina survivor. Now, issues of class and race and even gender regularly find homes in Kelly's music, as is the case in the scathing "They Really Don't N.O (Home)" in which she speaks directly about the realities of post-Katrina New Orleans. And while it may be argued that her perspective has broadened as a result of her experiences and recent travels, Kelly's focus has never changed from her days as a young MC. In the words of the recording artist/activist, "My music isn't about anything if it's not about change."

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