Rounding out So Money millennial week is today’s guest, Kevin Olusola. If you are an a cappella fan then you might even know Kevin because he is part of an a cappella group that has gone platinum. He is a member of the Grammy winning vocal quintet Pentatonix. Kevin Olusola, also known as KO, is the beat boxer for the group.
Since bursting on to the music scene in 2011, the group has sold more than 2.7 million albums in the US alone. They won a Grammy and the group has played for sold out venues worldwide. You may actually recognize them from their performance in the popular movie Pitch Perfect 2.
Now, more about Kevin specifically and why I wanted him to be on this show today… From an early age, Kevin began learning how to play the piano, the cello and the saxophone. He went to Yale where he was pre-med and also majored in East Asian studies. While he was there, he began developing this thing called Cello boxing and in 2001, he created a YouTube video that went viral about Cello boxing. He was featured on CBS, AOL, Huffington Post among many other websites. He was also named one of the 100 “History Makers in the Making” by NBC’s TheGrio and was hand selected by Quincy Jones to represent him in concert at the 2012 Montroe Jazz festival.
Pentatonix was the first a cappella group to receive Forbes’ 30 under 30 distinction. In fact, all five members made the list. Kevin is here with us today talking about how to break into the music world, how YouTube actually helped the group launch their careers. He also shares more about the disappointment that his parents experienced when they learned their son was not going to become a doctor and pursue a cappella and what he is learning from Quincy Jones, someone he considers to be his mentor.
If you’d like to learn more about Kevin Olusola visit his website kevinolusola.com or follow him on Twitter @KOlusola.
One of my favorite quotes from the interview: “As an entrepreneur your success lies on your ideas, creativity, uniqueness & understanding your strengths & weaknesses.” – Click To Tweet
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