Overcoming the Odds: Entertainer chronicles his journey from addiction and homelessness to musical success and personal healing.

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Kem.

Platinum-selling R&B artist, author of Share My Life

🎯 Purpose of the Interview

To explore Kem’s memoir Share My Life, which chronicles his journey from addiction and homelessness to musical success and personal healing. The interview aims to inspire listeners by highlighting the power of vulnerability, perseverance, and self-transformation.

🔑 Key Takeaways 1. Healing Through Storytelling

Kem wrote Share My Life to help others heal, just as others’ stories helped him:

“Any healing and transformation that I have experienced… is because somebody shared their story with me.”

2. Overcoming Self

Kem emphasizes that the biggest obstacle in life is often oneself:

“All of life is about overcoming self… My biggest problem has always been me.”

3. Family Dynamics & Silence

Kem discusses the generational silence in his family and how it shaped his emotional struggles:

“We didn’t talk about stuff… You’re left to fend for yourself emotionally, spiritually and psychologically.”

4. Addiction & Recovery

Kem’s sobriety began on July 23, 1990, marking a turning point in his life:

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears… I surrendered.”

5. Entrepreneurial Hustle

Kem self-funded his breakout album Chemistry using a $17,000 American Express loan:

“I figured this will either work or I’ll have the largest credit card bill in America.”

He learned the music business in real time—creating barcodes, consignment sheets, and selling CDs in local stores.

6. Letting Go to Move Forward

Kem found success when he stopped obsessing over getting a record deal:

“I didn’t stop making music, but I let go of the idea that this was the only thing I could do.”

7. Fatherhood & Growth

He reflects on fatherhood, relationships, and the ongoing process of aligning his life:

“I’m always in the process of lining my life up… It’s not a place where you arrive.”

8. Education & Redemption

Kem returned to earn his high school diploma after dropping out, choosing that path over the GED:

“It was always a point of shame… I may as well go back to school.”

💬 Notable Quotes

• On vulnerability:

“In the telling of my story to help others, I’m also helping myself.”

• On entrepreneurship:

“Entrepreneurship is doing the next right thing.”

• On music’s role:

“My music is therapeutic… It’s uplifting, emotional, motivational.”

#SHMS #STRAW #BEST

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