Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamau Robinson.
Hi Kamau, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
So I was born in Atlanta in February 1999. Growing up I lived in Atlanta most of my life and I went to Woodward Academy since my mom worked there. I lived in Australia for half a year in 2010 when my mom worked at a school there. I think that’s around the time I really started getting invested in rap music because it felt like such an outlet in a place that I felt pretty lonely at. I was listening to a lot of Graduation and I feel like that has molded a lot of who I am as an artist. I also have alopecia too. It’s a condition that made most of my hair fall out, so I think having an outlet like music was really critical for me. I started writing raps when I was like 14 or 15, and that’s around when I made my first few songs. They were really bad but I just kept working on my craft and I eventually came across one of my main producers, DJ Grumble. He’s produced for some big-name artists like Ari Lennox and Surfaces. I started rapping on his beats in around 2015 and I connected with him through SoundCloud and we stayed in touch for a few years.
When I graduated HS, I went to St John’s up in NY for a few years and that’s where I really felt a shift in my music. I think I got a lot of useful experience not just with music but just as a person, and I also finally linked up with Grumble who was in Boston at the time, and we just locked in and that’s when we got my debut finished up, Mood Swings. That album was just about me and my trials and tribulations at the time, some things that I still deal with today, but being able to use that first album as an outlet just did a lot of good things for me. It actually gained over a million streams on Spotify, which is something I’m still really proud of. I just dropped my second project last year called MAUDINI which I think showcases how I’ve grown as an artist, and I also was able to go shoot some videos out in Japan with my good friend and artist Keni can fly, and I’ve been rolling out a lot of videos from then as well. But I guess that’s just the short version of what I did to get here ha
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been the smoothest road. Some of the things I’ve dealt with are a lack of exposure, a lot of creative struggles, I’ve ran into some really unlikeable people and I just always have to remind myself of what I want from the music im making and going to make. I can make all my dreams a reality if I just put my mind to it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
So I’m a rapper/musician. I’d say I’m a branch off from backpacker, but I really enjoy all types of music. I just love words though and I can sometimes just feel a higher power working through me when I’m really in the zone. I’m really proud of the way I can convey a feeling through the music I make, so I’m really hard on myself about the music I drop; I always want it to be something that people can come back to and feel the way they did when they first heard it. I think what sets me apart from others is my ability to be personable, I think that people who know me can attest to the individual I am and I’ve always believed that good music is something that brings the best out of people.
What does success mean to you?
Success in my eyes is the freedom of mobility. Being able to go where I want, to create what I want, and to be able to do it whenever I want. That’s my biggest goal at the moment, I think I’m still working on trying to visualize exactly what that looks like for me, but I know exactly what I want at the same time.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksrob99/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ksrob99
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLIUh8Ya-4Px2o3xrHamy6w
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/ksmoove14
