By Marcus A. Williams
Local artist, K.L. Smith is making sure that D.C.’s up and coming talents have a venue where they can develop.
The former vocalist, poet and dancer has put aside his dreams of becoming a superstar to help local talents reach their full artistic potentials.
The budding talents will be able to showcase what they have to offer at Washington, D.C.’s hottest new social spot, the “Soul Lounge.”
Kip “K. L..” Smith is the CEO and founder of Neo Renaissance Entertainment and is a native of the District, who says the abundance of talent in the city has been overlooked for too long.
Frustrated from being an undiscovered talent Smith and his colleague, “Dre All Day In The Paint,” has teamed up to start what is promising to be the best Wednesday night social event in the city.
Smith says he has been in love with the arts since childhood and is using this new social night as a way of helping others like himself.
“I have been involved with the performing arts since I was 3 years old… I have done everything from acting, to dancing, to singing. That’s where my love for the arts came from,” says Smith. “I stepped back from performing to follow the business aspect of things– putting together concerts and working with artists who are pursuing their dreams.”
His business aspirations gave birth to “the lounge that has a lot of soul..”
The Soul Lounge is a platform for up and coming artists in the nation’s capitol to perform and maybe even get discovered.
“The performances we have include everything from vocalists, bands, groups and even spoken word artists,” says Smith. “The Soul Lounge is giving artists a chance to develop themselves as not only performers but also to gain exposure.”
Since the owners first gave birth to the idea of a soul lounge, they have been hoping to take shelter in one of the most densely populated and frequented social sections of the city, the historic U Street district.
“Since the summer of 2007 we have been aiming for U Street, now we are here at PURE Nightclub,” says Smith joyously.
Since the demise of the Republic Gardens Nightclub, patrons of the area say, Pure, formerly known as Bar Nun, is quickly becoming a favorite of U Street’s night life.
Many of today’s music greats started their careers from performing at a popular nightclub in their hometowns.
“We are looking to develop musicians so people will start to take notice of the artists in D.C.,” says Smith. “One thing about D.C. is that we don’t back our own music, we back the ‘go-go’ scene and anything beyond that people in D.C. don’t really seem to back it.”
The Soul Lounge is promising experience and exposure for new artists and for the patrons – it’s being named the perfect place to kick back after a hard day of work.
“We want to get people to a point where they can feel comfortable enough to go somewhere in the middle of the work week and listen to good music,” says Smith. “We have so many clubs in D.C. but we have very few places for young professionals.”
However, the “young professional” crowd should not be confused with high school aged children.
“The age group is mostly the young professionals, from their early 20s to late 30s, even the entertainers are in their 20s and 30s,” says Smith.
Even though the event goers are 20-and 30-somethings, Smith is saying the “feel” of the lounge is still very relaxed and mellow.
“The soul lounge is a very intimate feeling, our goal is for all the patrons to come in and want o listen to good music,” he says. “We don’t use a DJ, we have one but only if we need a filler.”
Along with good live music the lounge has drink specials every Wednesday night and very affordable admissions.
The Soul Lounge takes place every Wednesday night at PURE Nightclub, 1326 U Street NW, Washington, D.C., doors open at 8p.m., $5 for ladies and $10 for gentlemen.
If an artist is interested in performing at the lounge they can reach K.L Smith at 202-446-7996 or via e-mail, kipsmith@tmail.com.
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