BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Kennard Valentine, while having fun, was frustrated leading church choirs because he was working with good-intentioned but limited singers.
He wanted to train skilled singers in a secular setting, but he was afraid of this major change — a fear that inspired Forward Ave’s first original single “Peace: Just us at home in Brooklyn.”
“As a church choir director, I discovered that not everyone has the musical ability to do different things,” Valentine, director of Forward Ave, said. “I felt like even though I'm capable of teaching and training more, the members I had weren’t able to do what I was looking for because they’re [musically] incapable. So, I wanted to flap my wings a little bit, but I was scared to launch out and do something on my own.”
After a long conversation with his older brother, he decided to “just launch out and do [his] own thing,” which is how Forward Ave started.
Forward Ave is the name for a motivational and inspirational choir Valentine started in 2018 in Brooklyn, with the goal of creating music that encourages people to push themselves to accomplish whatever their dream, goal, or passion.
While the choir has a gospel sound, Valentine said the choir doesn’t perform in churches and does not sing religious music.
“We have a gospel sound as a lot of us have that background, but you're never going to find us running around singing Jesus, Jesus,” Valentine said. “That’s not our goal. We recruit and pull people from the street. We primarily work [in] the community, like basketball games with the Brooklyn Nets, empowerment events with the Brooklyn branch of the NAACP, nursing homes, etc.”
“Peace: Just us at home in Brooklyn” is the first song the group will released since the pandemic started.
“During the pandemic we did a virtual concert,” the director said. “We came together when in-person restrictions started to lighten up a little bit and this song is the first one we’re releasing. The name of the concert is ‘We Can Change the World at Home.’ So ‘Peace’ and was recorded live at that concert.”
“Peace: Just us at home in Brooklyn” was inspired by the internal struggle of forming Forward Ave.
“When I was writing this song, I didn’t even think about it, it literally just flowed out of me,” Valentine said. “As I was writing that opening line, ‘The kind of peace known from your seat, doesn’t mix with courage, boldness, or bravery,’ I was like, oh shoot, I guess that's my story too.”
“Peace” encourages people to think about what they want to accomplish and go for it. The songwriter said
“[T]he fear of deciding to not do something can be more overwhelming than the fear of doing something. Realize that internal discomfort you have [and] try your best to go past that [feeling] by jumping out and accomplishing whatever goal or dream you have,”.“Because the fear of deciding to not do something can be more overwhelming than the fear of doing something.
Be sure to follow Forward Ave on all music and social media platforms:
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