Stars are not born overnight. Yet, the music industry as a whole takes very little time to nurture new talent. You either have a hit song or you will be dropped from the label or even worse your album will get shelved until no one cares anymore about your career in music. So where does a new artist go to be groomed for long-term success? Who knows, but BET wants to help. They have launched a new campaign called Music Matters, which is supposedly dedicated to giving new artists the exposure they need to become tomorrow's superstars as well as bringing the romanticism back to R&B/soul music. The campaign consists of online features (music, music videos, bios etc), viral videos and live performances.

Washington D.C. native Kevin Ross is one of the chosen artists for BET Music Matters. He's a recent graduate from the Berklee College of Music where he majored in Songwriting.

Check out his material through the link below:
http://www.bet.com/MusicMatters/music_musicmatters_kevinross.htm

Also, be on the lookout for a close friend of mine who seeks to do the same thing with his music. His name is Carl Bryan. He's a young independent singer/songwriter hailing from New Orleans. His goal is to bring back the soul in mainstream R&B (a la Babyface, Tyrese, and Joe). His independently shot video for "Sweetest Drug" is below, but he's also currently in the studio working on some fresh sounds...

I believe the tide is finally beginning to turn. More and more young people are craving real love songs from real singers, but they just want the 2010 versions. Can't wait to see who actually delivers!

- uhkeem