Keith Sweat has been credited with reviving R&B by giving it a healthy jolt of hip-hop rhythm and pop sensibility. But the self-effacing singer says he's just capitalizing on the efforts of others.
"I'm credited with a lot of things that some artists were doing a decade before me," Sweat said in a recent interview. "For example, you had the O Jays doing what I was doing before my time, in a way. I just had a different tone in my voice."He also credits New York's club scene in the late '80s, where he learned much of his singing and songwriting craft, for his success and style.
"It was a very special time in music," Sweat said. "I think timing was important. There was a good mix of audiences - people were just starting to get into rap, yet they were still going to clubs in droves."
Sweat performs Tuesday, Dec. 3, at the Cottonwood High School Auditorium, 5717 S. 1300 East.
Despite his modesty, Sweat can't deny his place as one of the busiest entrepreneurs in music. On top of maintaining his career, he also juggles ownership of a club/restaurant (the Industry), a production office/studio and a record label (Kiea), all in his hometown of Atlanta.
He also continues to search for promising new R&B artists, both in and out of Atlanta, and "discovered" both Silk and Kut Klose.
"I'm a hands-on person, so I pay attention to what's going on," Sweat said. "I search for talent everywhere. You'd be surprised where new sounds can come from."
But Sweat's true love is still creating his own music, as docu-ment-ed by the process of creating his newest, self-titled album.
"I worked on the album on and off for more than a year. I heard each of the songs probably a hundred times before I was completely happy with them," he said.
Singer Deborah Cox and MISTA will also perform at the all-ages concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $22.50 in advance from all Smith'sTix outlets.