Meet Kito Denham

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kito Denham a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kito, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I got my work ethic from my late mother and father. I grew up in a household with four boys and I was the youngest. My mother worked a few different jobs but mainly focused on her art; painting, sewing and creating. My father retired from driving trucks and then started driving public transit where he also retired from. He also always had a few side hustles. He painted, sculpted and was a well known photographer. That’s actually how my mother and father met. She was a model for one of his photoshoots and they were inseparable ever since. Seeing my parents work multiple jobs and still make time to do what they loved showed me that I too could be successful at anything I put my mind to. I chose music. They both were so proud of me and my music career. They knew that they instilled what it takes to overcome the struggles of being a musician and become a successful musician, producer, DJ, and audio engineer.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Currently I am a vendor with Columbus City Schools and I’m one of the go-to DJ’s for all school events and dances in the city. I run an independent record label (Superb Entertainment) where I engineer and produce for a few different acts. I am also a performing and recording artist with over 500,000 streams and around 50 releases. Recently I’ve been performing with The Observation Generation Players (The OG Players) which is a quintet lead by trombonist/violinist Elaine Mylius. I’m still a long time member of Tony West & The Imani Dancers where I play Djembe and other traditional West African drums and rhythms.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think my three most important qualities, skills and/or areas of knowledge are (in no order) my ability to listen with and open ear, the rhythmic timing I’ve developed from playing African drums, and the problem solving and product knowledge I’ve learned from years of studio work and training I received while working as an audio engineer.

My advice to anyone early in their journey would be always be willing to learn from anyone. You never know what you may learn and from who. Always be willing to listen. Also, experience will always be better than someone teaching you so don’t be afraid to try and figure things out on your own. Might not seem helpful until you actually need it.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was start a family band when I was about 4-5 years old. My dad came home from work with his income tax check and took us all to the pawn shop to buy instruments. We practiced everyday before we did anything else and that became the building blocks for me to be a professional musician today.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Smokin Jelli

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