Meet Kela 4real | The Southern Belle

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kela 4real and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kela, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
For me, work life balance is a constant struggle. I have a music artist career, a corporate banking career, a church musician career, and a drum, piano, and voice lesson teaching position. That is a lot to juggle while trying to build a solid team, stay fit, spend time with family and friends, and chill. Let’s not mention having a dating life. Lol! I digress… but I find the time, and I have to admit it gets difficult and it’s hard not to think that I’m neglecting certain parts of my life. But, music is apart of the air I breathe, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without it. It’s a part of my DNA.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a country girl and a diva to my core, born and raised in the small town of Graniteville in South Carolina. That’s why they call me the “Southernbelle.” I’ve been singing since before I can remember. Growing up watching my mother and family singing in church always fascinated me. My dad has this massive collection of vinyl records that are his prized possessions. He would get up early in the morning and have the whole house jamming to funk and R&B. He’s the one that definitely taught me about different artists and what to listen for in great music. When I was 4 years old, I would come home from church and my parents would catch me banging out church tunes on our piano. They immediately put me in lessons, and I’ve been able to play ever since. I began writing songs when I was in the third grade, and believe it or not, I still have all of my notebooks with all the songs I’ve ever written. As I went through grade school, I continued singing and picked up drums, playing throughout middle and high school.

College is where I learned that I could also sing opera, jazz, and musical theater. I sung all over the United States doing those genres along with R&B, performing shows at many different clubs, bars, and events. My side hustle was, and still is, playing keyboard for churches on Sundays.

After I graduated from college, I was afforded the opportunity to travel with some opera and theater companies in Atlanta, Texas, and Germany. I loved every moment of it, but I realized I was slowly moving away from my first love, R&B. So, in 2017 I decided to get back to the genre that was closest to my heart. A good friend of mine introduced me to this awesome producer, Krazy Figz. He definitely began showing me the ropes and introducing me to even more people to help me further my R&B career. That year, I dropped my first single, “Don’t Take Your Love Away.”

All my life I was a big girl, and it never hit as hard until I stepped into the R&B/pop world. I got rejected and neglected many times because of it. From “The Voice” audition rounds to labels. People would always say they loved my sound and creativity, but I was just too big to take a risk on. It never stopped me though. I made some life changes, lost the weight, gained even more confidence, and saw how it reflected in my music.

In 2018, Figz and I dropped another single called “Better Know,” which was more on the pop side of things, but it opened up doors for me to begin writing and working with other artists on their craft. Later on that year, I was introduced to super producer, Kid Class by a friend through Instagram. After our first session in Atlanta, we just kept working together. Since then we’ve dropped a few singles, “Dreamin,” and my most recent song “Is It U.” I’ve teamed up with some dope people, creating dope music and relationships, including B Dub, Shaun Principal, Ian Burke, and many others, and let me tell you, we have some fire coming soon.

Since being apart of the Atlanta music scene, I’ve met some awesome people, and have had to learn many tough life and financial lessons as well. Many of the good ones, I still work with today. I look forward to continuing to build my music career, following my passion, and enjoying the journey along the way.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take my best friend to the mall, then we would probably visit a few studios I like to frequent, The Kolab, One Umbrella, and Icons. My best friend and I are kind of home bodies, so we would probably hang out at my place, watch a movie, and take a nap. Later during the day we may venture off the the aquarium or a theme park of some sort. In the evening and for the night life, for the week, I would take her to Rock Steady Atl, maybe STK. We like to keep it cute and classy!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents (Brenda and Douglas Dandy)

My best friend (Haley Nicole)

My team (Bobby Bands)

My day 1 fans

Website: https://linktr.ee/Kela4real

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kela4real?igshid=1di5lvrhpk1ox

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KELA4Real/

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCvEcvsYniISYrpccH3U5J3g

Other: Snapchat: @kela_4real. TikTok: @kela4real

Image Credits
Rickland Young photography Bobby Bands