Exposed Vocals just caught an interview with Florida Rapper ‘KYNG’

The American rapper known as KYNG hails from Northwest of Florida. He grew up as a fan of Music in The small Ghetto of the Cantonment area, living a harsh reality and a life where drug dealers had everything and ordinary families struggled to survive. King chose the street life.. 18 miles from the beach Kyng, learned The Game from the older Gangsters and after losing a lot of childhood friend and family members to Jail or death decided Rap would be his way out, so every day after to school him and his friend will record rap on a tape recorder and write songs Clearly a talented wordsmith, producer. writer, painter, graphic, gorilla film artist – he cites his main influences as the hip-hop artists he spent his youth listening to. He honed his skills as a rapper by entering rap battles, claiming his first victory in a Army barracks, in Ft lee VA.

While at state college studying art he held many job title from Soldier- Electrician but always remain to keep one foot in the street. In 97 Kyng teamed up with life long friend Phillip Predue and ended up getting his first break, after one beat and 30min of pages filled rhyme after rhyme, they were signed on the spot to a Sony Street Label Souja Music To the group Soulja Mafia together that spawned a pointless song, (Aint No Love) Produced By Lumberjack. The label came under fire from the Federal Government when owner (Black) was caught in a drug trafficking ring and was sentence to 10+ year in prison. Kyng then teamed up with

Life long friend Mario who was a street wise guy who wanted to see Kyng win, so he funded Kyng’s first album… Self titled the album was call Lagator which by the way was Kings stage name at the Time. The Album was a local hit but never broke into mainstream. After the album and a few shows,  Kyng headed back into the studio to record a new solo album, but never released it.

Years passed by and although Kyng was focused on music, He always had music in his heart creating beats and songs here and there. He chose to join the Army in order to have more of a foundation in life and this is where he long time influence would bring him back to the driver seat to create this body of work today Alpha

Exclusive Interview

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

I grew up in Pensacola, Florida on the north side in an area called Cantonment. When I was younger, around 1996/1997, I had two best friends named Jerry Gillard and Phillip Perdue. We used to always joke around about rapping. One day, I was playing around with an old tape deck my Dad got me years ago and some of his DJ equipment. In my room, I found a way to record our vocals on tape over beats. Around this time you had to have high tech stuff to record, like the big track boards. I remember we used to go to Walmart and steal beat CD’s and when we got out of school, we would go to my mom’s house and write all night and record. After two years Phillip and I actually got a deal with a label called Soulja Music, which at the time was signed under Sony Street Music. We were discovered by a member of the group Mo Tension named Big Led, but before we could become a group Phillips mom made him move with her to Texas, and Jerry Gillard had already moved there too by this time. So it was just Phillip and I who got the deal. I was on the label for a little while but ended up leaving.
I remember being in a club called the Fox Trap and this cat who was a well-known street dude named Mario approached me. He asked if I wanted to do the music, and if so, fuck with him and he would put the cash on the line. I was confused because I didn’t know much about anything except music and that the fact that I didn’t want to be solo. So, I got three of the best rappers I knew at the time, which was a guy named Shag G, Doc Holiday, and Jerry who had come back from Texas. This is what formed our group Soulja Mafia. We ended up recording one song with producer Perignon, and that song was so good that Mario told me to go record the album. This was the birth of the La’gator CD. Needless to say, I ended up solo anyway due to jealousy and money issues.

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?

I’m so fresh myself, all I can say is this music thing is like a flower, you can plant the seed, but will have to be willing to put in much work to watch it grow and understand that flowers don’t just pop up overnight. It’s the little things that count. It may be one listen, or one like on SoundCloud, or one sale. But before you know it man you will have a field full of flowers. So, invest in your brand, grind, and don’t be afraid to fail because even when the world seems as if it’s not listening they’re listening.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

I haven’t performed yet, but I might be the one to fall off stage out of excitement (laughing), but get back up and keep going, man it shows people you are also human.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
Do you tour? Anything happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

No tours yet but can’t wait until that day comes.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

I use a lot of programs.!I’m also a producer, so Fruityloop 12, Reason, and Protools the norm….

EXPOSED VOCALS:
How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

Honestly, man this world is about money, you could have the best song and it never be heard, on the flip side, you can have the worst song, have a little money and your song blow up. So, what I learned is to invest in yourself, make smart moves with your money, make sure you put your money in the right places. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket because $100 in the right place is worth more than $10 million in the wrong place.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
So what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

Alpha is my new album coming on TJ Lee entertainment dropping March 23rd, 2018 on every music streaming service you can think of and it is a true reflection of me. I wrote, recorded, mixed, mastered, and produced every song on the album. I even did the album art and the music video which will be dropping soon.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

Honestly I’ll be grinding and hustling trying to make a way. I left the streets a long time ago and I’ve been doing well with just being the best Dad I can be, putting food on the table, and having peace of mind knowing I can go wherever I want to because I’m totally legit.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (dead or alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

Lupe, in Paris because he is a huge influence to me. I used to sit and just listen and study the music, the beats, the flow, and I could relate to so much of his music, like in songs like He Said She Said, Kick Push, and Could’ve Been.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

KYNG KYNG KYNG and more KYNG!! I’m trying to be a trailblazer out here, I’m trying to perform at every festival anywhere, at any time. I just want to make good music and have fun making money doing what I love for a living.

EXPOSED VOCALS:
Any shout-outs?

Shout out to you and your staff, TJ Lee entertainment, Gloria & John Beasley, my family, friends that supported me, my lawyer Ryan for always staying on my ass… everyone at Fighting 31, Slacker, Printmerchant, Glorie Boyz, and the fans for the love and of course my children can’t forget them