At 6 years old, Kyee began music. She started singing in a tap-dance duo with her twin sister. Her grandpa would put them on different stages, and they would sing all over San Francisco and Berkley, California. They also joined the church choir. Kyee was lucky to grow up with a family of musicians. Both of her grandparents have been examples to her – her grandma is a singer and musician and her grandpa taught music at Berkeley High Schol, has been in bands, sings, and plays multiple instruments including the piano. She grew up in Oakland, but at 14 years old the family moved to Dallas so she and her sister could finish their school years in a better environment.
Photo by Miezeer Images
With her new life in Texas, she would sing at jazz clubs with her twin sister where her grandma watched and guided them. In high school, she joined an a cappella group where she discovered the true tone and tamber of her voice. She always knew her voice was different and she was a little self-conscious about it, but her grandma reminded her that being unique is great. She would lead Kyee in voice lessons and ensure her growth. Separately, her grandpa was always in the corner cheering her on as well. Kyee reminisced, “ You could find him any day singing the blues like Howlin’ Wolf and Bill Withers because he also loves to sing.”
What’s interesting is that for most of her life, Kyee thought she was going to be a business mogul and even went to school for business. However, music was a part of her essence, so she also studied music where she learned digital production and composition. After college, her interests laid heavily in serving youth and communities, and worked at a rehab facility. Soon she was back and forth from Texas to California and would work random jobs but ultimately she loves music. “Music is where it’s at,” she says. She married a musician and they started a new path together.
It was almost all taken away in 2018 when she had a serious vocal issue that almost left her without voice. For 6 months the doctors misdiagnosed her and she was on vocal rest. Thankfully, in 2019 she got her voice back after surgery and a year of recovery, but had to start all over. “It’s cool for me to look back at and see that the new start really elevated me to be more serious, intentional, and grateful about my music.” This really shaped the determination and persistence she has.
Photo by Miezeer Images
To stay involved and keep working, she works on what feels good and doesn’t keep it to one genre. Artists who inspire her are Lauryn Hill, Sade, Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan (technique and inflection in voice), Missy Elliot, Tupac, and Calvin Harris. She’s “genreless” and creates music in multiple genres, but her main genre remains pop-soul.
Kyee stays active in music in Texas. She teaches voice and dance to kids, using creative arts to build and guide them through the arts to be bold and confident. Currently, she’s developing a single that she wrote 3 years ago. She’s excited about this project because of the time and process it’s taking to get it done. The song is with a pop-soul dance beat and the narrative is about two people coming from two different worlds, meeting in the middle, and vulnerability.
Stay tuned for more from Kyee.
FOLLOW KYEE:
Instagram: @kyeemusic
Threads: @kyeemusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kyeemusickyee
Twitter: @kyeemusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0YrSB8AAKoPzkgFCfWeueg?si=Cwn3Y7F_SPGx-6zV-ZS3AQ