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"I couldn't do the American Idol thing... my songs are too black & white and i curse too fucking much to ever consider going that route." John Kellum (age: 22) grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. "I'm not being funny when i say that I'm from the ghetto, i was really from some of the most deplorable neighborhoods in Baltimore, it was the projects!" Although he doesn't credit his parents as ever being close to him, he found their musical tastes as a source of inspiration for him. His mother listened to a mixture of old soul music, gospel, and country. His father listened to everything from the Beatles to Nirvana. And living in that area as he did, his friends got him into hip-hop, rap, and r&b. John always had the passion for writing every since as far back as he could remember. His dream was always to become an children's author. And it was only a matter of "once upon a time" before his two passions were merged together. In 1997 he wrote songs for an r&b group that his friends started called Mixed Feelings. "I would write songs about love, breaking-up, and going to clubs and shit... i was only like 13. And mind you, i wrote all these songs for them from a black girl's perspective." He learned to develop his voice through imitation. "I didn't know how to sing, there's no musical blood in my family what so ever! I would listen to the radio for hours and just try to sing like them. That's how i learned to harmonize, that's really how i found my soul." Every since those days John has been on a very long journey of trying to discover himself, what he wants out of life, and what kind of legacy he wants to leave behind. It's important to live your life, and to go through some issues to further inspire such songs. And many years of dealing with death, writer's block, school, work, realtionships, and some controversy, he's back and ready to dedicate himself to those dreams he once had before. With some new solo material, he'd like to show off his versatility and also get his name and the voice out there. "Music is something that's always going to be involved in my life, even if i still happen to work at a grocery store. I know that i may be a bit different then anyone else out there now, and that could work against me. Well so be it, I'm just going to continue doing what I love to do, and if other people catch on to it, I'm going to take them on one hell of a journey!"