Kendrick Cunningham Pivots from Politics to Music as OB Swank
Activist-turned-artist uses music to inspire civic engagement beyond party lines.
In our 2024 Election Guide, describing the platform of NC State Senate District 41 candidate Kendrick Cunningham, Queen City Nerve wrote, “Cunningham’s approach to politics is encapsulated by his Next Step Framework, a blueprint meant to guide Charlotte’s communities to healing from systematic disenfranchisement” before noting his focus on housing for all and the reduction of violent crime rates.
Cunningham did not come out on top in that crowded race between four Democrats, and in the year-plus since those primaries ended, Cunningham has stayed true to his passion for civic engagement and political activism — if pivoting the way he expresses it.
On Aug. 1, Cunningham plans to release his first project as musician OB Swank, blending rock ‘n’ roll with elements of hip-hop and spoken word to help inspire his listeners to follow their true path rather than that set by algorithms and influencers.
“Politics taught me how hard it is to be heard,” he said upon announcing the upcoming release in April. “Music lets me speak louder, reach further and move people, not just to act but to heal.”
The lyrical content in OB Swank’s debut project, an eight-track EP titled Poster Playboy, isn’t overtly political. In fact, it swings in the other direction, aiming to be relatable with songs about summer nights, heartbreak, motivation and dealing with haters.
Talking to Queen City Nerve, the former Democratic National Committee deputy organizing director says he’s left the Democratic Party and now wants to be a bipartisan voice for civic engagement without pushing his own politics on people.
“Now as an unaffiliated voter and as an influencer, I feel like I have a greater ability to inspire people from all walks of life to be able to become politically engaged, especially among my generation,” Cunningham said.
He hopes to use any influence that comes from his music to get fans and listeners engaged, hosting candidate fairs and forums to help millennials and younger generations better understand what their politicians are engaged in.
The two tracks OB Swank has already released from Poster Playboy give a glimpse at his approach to rock, with the alt-rock tune “Quit’d” giving off a nostalgic early-aughts vibe with its emo sound and rhythmic rage.
“Summer Nights” is a more kick-back vibe, blending R&B, hip-hop and pop with sounds that hop from West Coast production to chopped-and-screwed vocals.
A west Charlotte native, Cunningham discovered his love for the arts as a student at Bishop Spaugh Community Academy in the Camp Greene neighborhood, where he starred in a production of The Soulful Lyric, which he called “a hood take on A Christmas Carol,” in seventh grade.
He was the lead anchor for the school’s student news program, incorporating music into the broadcast wherever he could, and started a Glee Club after the show Glee became popular in 2009.
He said the lack of any such arts programming at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, where he attended high school, was discouraging, but he learned how to make beats while on the IT track there and continued making music into college, where he regularly freestyle with friends.
Entering the political realm around that time, Cunningham regularly heard from folks who were discouraged by the political climate to the point of apathy.
“My peers were always asking me, ‘Why are politicians all the same? … ‘What different things can people do who aspire to influence society or make decisions on behalf of society? What are different ways that they can communicate their message to the masses in order to get people to hear their message, listen to their message, and take action based upon the message that they see?’”
It was through these ponderings that Cunningham began to consider how the intersection of politics and music could play a role in livening up the conversation around civic engagement, not necessarily through targeted campaigns like Vote or Die and Rock the Vote but by simply encouraging young folks to be comfortable in their own skin and letting the rest fall in place.
“This project takes everything that I’ve been through over the last two to three years in life and politics and in my social life to inspire people to be themselves, conquer their dreams and accomplish what it is that they want to do,” he said.
Just be sure to take time to enjoy the “Summer Nights” along the way.
