Exposed Vocals Interviews King T

 

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

King T: I am Terell Smith, I’m 18 years old and I was born and still living in Cincinnati, Ohio. I live with my mother and 3 brothers. At the moment, I am attending The University of Cincinnati, majoring in Business Management. The reason I became an artist is actually quite funny. In August of 2014, I was playing a video game with my brothers one day and a soundtrack was played from that game. I took an interest in the soundtrack and decided, “Why not come up with some lyrics?” At this point, I had never rapped or created my own lyrics to a song before. I sat there that night and made lyrics, to which I was very proud of. And then I thought to myself,” I enjoy this. This is fun.” From there, I began looking up instrumentals to songs I was familiar with and beats that I felt attracted to. To me, my very first completed project would be “Chi-Raq” (https://soundcloud.com/terell-smith-8/chi-raq-xx-young-t ). This cover is very important to me because I believe myself to be a lyricist and this song is a prime example. As of now, I have grown in experience dealing with my music. I know now that through my music I can express different feelings or opinions I have. My latest work would be my song called “Boss” (https://soundcloud.com/terell-smith-8/boss ), which is another example of my lyrical skills.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

King T: King T comes from a more thought out process. KING is actually an acronym for Knowledge, Inspiration, New, and Great. The T comes from Terell. These words mean a lot to me because I am always willing to learn anything dealing with music. I am inspired by many artists and their success in music. I want to bring something new, music people can relate to. And what person doesn’t want to be great at what they do best? Also, I like calling myself King, it fits me.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

King T: I think online music sharing is a great way to become known to listeners AND to other artists. It puts you and your music out there for everyone to view. All my tracks on Soundcloud are available for download. I do this because I feel that if my music is available for many to listen to without paying a price, my name will expand more quickly. At the moment there is nothing for me to gain but people’s interest in my work. And that’s what I’m looking for.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
King T: I would say to start recording videos of your music and publishing them on sites, such as YouTube, to gain viewers. Once you have developed this process, I suggest going to social media, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Make post about your music, and I’m sure others will see.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

King T: My inspiration comes from the beat of the song and how I’m feeling at the moment. There are also times when I dig deep into personal moments within my life and make lyrics based on that. I feel those songs bring out the best in me. And other times, I’m just having fun with the beat. My songwriting process starts off by listening to the beat for about a minute or so. I think of a topic, come up with lyrics and then I figure out how I want them to be said within the song. I continue this process until I feel I’ve completed the song.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

King T: I share my music on Soundcloud, YouTube, Twitter, and sometimes Facebook.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

King T: I would use that money to build my career. I have never been in a studio before. I record all my music from Apple’s GarageBand. It would be nice to use that money to gain access to studios where I can create better quality projects.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

King T: The best way for me to promote my music is to publish it on Soundcloud and then share it to Twitter.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

King T: Right now, I have just been releasing different songs. My latest are Sex with Me, Did I, and Boss; all can be found on my Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/terell-smith-8 ). I’m looking for someone to collaborate with. That’s been one of my objectives for a while now.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

King T: If I weren’t making music, I’d simply be focusing on school and life.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

King T: My music doesn’t come first before my education but all of my other responsibilities pretty much don’t sway my music life away from me.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?

King T: Something to look forward in 2016 would most definitely be a collaboration.