Wes Watkins is a famed celebrity musician, father of two, and author based in the DMV area. He’s the lead musician and musical director of the R & B group, Got My Own Sound. Their unique, soul-stringing sound is dynamic for all to hear. However, Wes is also a solo musician and acclaimed author. He has taken his authorship to new heights with his book titled: Motivation + Drive = Purpose. After feeling like he had no purpose, multi-talented musician Wes Watkins became inspired to pen his second acclaimed novel.
His known talent does not just lie within his music. Motivation + Drive = Purpose will serve as a definite guide for millennials everywhere. Recently he teamed up with his son Demauri Watkins to create a new and powerful book titled “Fathers Need Their Kids & Kids Need Their Fathers”.
OurBlk Men Magazine got an exclusive interview with Wes.
Please tell our readers about yourself and the work that you do?
Wes: My name is Wes Watkins and I am from the DMV area, I am a Father, musician, author, and entrepreneur. For the last 13 years of my life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to call myself a father of two beautiful children, my son Demauri 13 yrs old and my daughter Drew 2yrs old. I have been playing drums for 34 years. I grew up playing drums in church, gogo bands and then transitioned to touring the world and working with many great artists in different genres.
I’ve written three books so far titled “The Life That Created My Own Sound” this book deals with Mental Health and finding your identity, “Motivation + Drive = Purpose” which speaks on Vision and Identity when finding your Why and the latest Children’s book “Fathers Need Their Kids & Kids Need Their Fathers” and this book describes why the title is so important.
What are some of your latest projects and what are you currently working on?
Wes: Some of the latest projects I’ve been working on are the newest Children’s Book I wrote with my son. This book “Fathers Need Their Kids & Kids Need Their Fathers “ was important to write because the statement is true. The book was written to create a conversation about this subject.
At the beginning of October, I also dropped my own Fedora Hat Line called the GMOS Brim Hat. I love a good hat and when they dropped people showed me how much they love a good GMOS Brim Hat.
In what ways do you use your platform to empower others?
Wes: I use my platform to empower others by giving them Motivation and Inspiring them to push beyond anything they think can hold them down. Creating Motivational videos or quotes to keep people pushing daily despite what the situation looks like is needed at this point in time. My goal is to be transparent and make sure my audience knows with Faith, Consistency, Hard work, Prayer, and God nothing is impossible to be done.
What do you want readers to take from the new book you wrote with your son?
Wes: The goal I wanted to create for the readers of the new Children’s book I wrote with my son is that we as Fathers do need our Children and our Children need us. As a man, we go through so much but our kids mean everything to us. Being stripped of that as a man hurts especially when you are doing your best and doing everything the correct way. Sometimes it sucks seeing and knowing what men go through as Fathers because I’ve gone through the bs before but trust and believe I’d do it all again in a heartbeat with no problem at all.
What is it like working with your son?
Wes: It was fun working with my son. When I told him I wanted him to help write the book and gave him a deadline he actually wrote his part plus more and turned it in on time. Being able to do something on this level with him was one of the dopest things I’ve ever had the chance to do. It was a special moment I get to cherish for the rest of my life.
What was your childhood like?
Wes: My childhood was one of the best growing up. Growing up with my parents and big brother was fun. We weren’t rich but we weren’t poor either. We were the family that had it sometimes and sometimes we didn’t. As a kid I never knew when we didn’t have it because my parents made sure I had the needs and I was cool without the wants. My best times were living in Annapolis and Still Meadows before we moved up to the Provinces back in the day. Knowing where we came from and where we are now is just an amazing story by itself. My parents worked hard and sacrificed big time for me and my older brother. We learned from them and did the same for our kids.
What is a super fun fact about yourself that many may not be aware of?
Wes: A super fun fact about me people may not know is that I listen to Folk music. It’s so dope and gives me a different approach to music when I play drums.
What else can we be on the lookout for from you?
Wes: Next on the list, I will be releasing another Children’s Book “Black Fathers Need Their Kids & Kids Need Their Black Fathers” by December. My business partner Eric Lowery of Connexion Clothing and I partnered up to create our own Water “Just Drink Water “ which will release by the end of the year and we also have our own Wind “Pont Sonore” which is French for “Sound Bridge” will drop by the beginning of December. I will also be releasing brand new Fedoras with some great collaborations coming up very soon.
To connect with the musician & author please follow him on all social media platforms as @WesWatkins. Wes has over 73,000 engaging followers and has recently landed a partnership with one of the world’s most known drum companies.
