Interview with K.W. the Artisan (King Wondaboi)

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine recently sat down and talked with rising hip hop recording artist, illustrator and graphic designer K.W. the Artisan about his current mixtape Paradise Phone Home, his background as an artist, plans for the future and more!  Read all about what this young, brilliant and talented artist had to say.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  How are you doing K.W. the Artisan?
K.W. the Artisan:  I can't complain.  Too blessed to stress. Too great to hate.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  Could you tell the readers how you got the name K.W. the Artisan?

K.W. the Artisan:  The K.W. stands for King Wundaboi.  Malik (Maleek) means King in Arabic.  Wundaboi has always been my rap name since like middle school.  The Artisan is the line name I earned from my fraternity, Pi Sigma Epsilon.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  How would you describe yourself as an artist?
K.W. the Artisan:  I'd say I'm a jack of all trades.  I rap, draw, photo edit, and create videos.  There isn't much that I can't do and I am currently in the process of learning the stuff that I don't know. 

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  You are a young artist that's influenced by a lot of 90s, golden era, boom bap hip hop.  Who are some of the artists from that era that influenced you?  
K.W. the Artisan:  2Pac is definitely my biggest influence. Some others are J. Cole, N.W.A., Jay-Z, Bob Marley, and Jimi Hendrix to name a few in no particular order.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  You have a mixtape out now, Paradise Phone Home... how would you describe the overall feel of the mixtape?
K.W. the Artisan:  Trippy, in one word. It's music for late nights and smoke sessions.  If you listen to it all the way through, it'll definitely take you on a trip.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  Who did you work with for this project?
K.W. the Artisan:  The features I have are Deak the Digger, Phenom, and Cairo Starr.  Mike Blayz helped executive produce and let me use his studio.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  Although I'm sure you are proud of the entire project, what are some highlights on this mixtape?  What are some of your favorite songs?
K.W. the Artisan:  "Pride" was the 1st song I recorded in a real studio.  It was also the 1st song I wrote after I took a break from writing for a few months.  "Paradise" was a song I had fun with. I wrote each verse differently and it just feels good.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  What types of topics and subjects do you normally rhyme about?
K.W. the Artisan:  I usually just write about what I'm going through or feeling at the time.  People relate more when it's real.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  What type of beats bring out the best in what you do?
K.W. the Artisan:  Hmm I guess I would have to say beats that sound old school.  Stuff that Outkast started out on for example. 

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  Who are some of the artists you are feeling right now?  What's in your iPod?
K.W. the Artisan: I'm listening to Bas right now.  I keep Logic in rotation.  A$AP Ferg just dropped a dope album.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  What are your plans for the rest of this year musically?
K.W. the Artisan:  I plan on performing some and hopefully do a few collaborations.  Just work on getting my name out really.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
K.W. the Artisan:  Alive hopefully.  Just making more music and art and being better at it.

Southeast Hip Hop Magazine:  Is there anything you would like the readers to know about you that we haven't mentioned so far?  

K.W. the Artisan:  The 1st time I went to Lenox Mall in Atlanta, I saw Gunplay in the Apple store.  I didn't say nothing to him or anything because he was trying to make a purchase and the girl he had with him was bad.

Check out more of K.W. the Artisan on these sites and links below.

http://www.higherupsuniversity.com

http://www.theartisanarticles.blogspot.com

I.G. = K.W. the Artisan

Listen to the Entire K.W. the Artisan PARADISE PHONE HOME Mixtape at this link.  

http://www.audiomack.com/album/kw-the-artisan/paradise-phone-home

Artist Spotlight: K.W. the Artisan

Bio:
K.W. the Artisan was born in Kansas and lived in a few different cities, but he calls Fayetteville NC home. He has spent most of his life in Fayetteville with his family. K.W. the Artisan is a graduate of WSSU where he studied art. He uses this as his life work as an artist in different areas. He is a hip-hop artist, Graphic Designer, Web Designer, Illustrator, and business man.  K.W. the Artisan began getting into both music and drawing at a young age. Some of his musical influences are Tupac, NWA, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendricks and Frank Sinatra.  Some of his artistic influences are Sanford Greene, Banksy and Jean-Michel Basquiat. K.W. the Artisan is the owner and founder of The Higher-Ups University, LLC. On his website you can listen to music, view art, purchase art for print or on T-shirts or even request a custom made print or T-shirt for yourself. You can check out his website at www.higherupuniversity.com

Instagram, Twitter, and Soundcloud are all @kwtheartisan

Throwback Thursday: Tupac (2Pac) "Hail Mary" featuring The Outlawz

This "Throwback Thursday" is dedicated to Tupac's hit "Hail Mary" (produced by Daz Dillinger) from his Makevelli: 7 Day Theory LP.  The song also features the group The Outlawz (the group founded by Tupac).  Young Noble from the Outlawz has an excellent verse on this song.



Speaking of Young Noble of Tupac's Outlawz having an excellent verse, here is ANOTHER song that features an excellent verse from Young Noble..... "Business Over Pleasure" by Rhyme Scheme also featuring Yukmouth of The Luniz. 

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE SINGLE FROM RHYME SCHEME FEATURING
YOUNG NOBLE OF THE OUTLAWZ HERE ON AMAZON.
http://www.amazon.com/Business-Pleasure-feat-Yukmouth-Young/dp/B00S27WDBW

Interview with Wess Musiq (He's his own favorite artist!)

South East Hip Hop Magazine recently reached out to rising Florida based rap artist Wess Musiq to discuss his latest mixtape Sumthin' For Da Streetz Vol. 21, his experience opening up for OJ da Juiceman, bouncing back from having his studio burglarized, explaining to us why he is his own favorite artist and MORE!  Read the interview to find out why!

South East Hip Hop:  How long have you been rhyming?  When did you start? 
Wess Musiq:  Since I was 11 years old.

South East Hip Hop: What inspired you to want to get into rapping? 
Wess Musiq:  Watching older rappers perform at concerts grew my interest.

South East Hip Hop: How would you describe yourself as an artist? 
Wess Musiq:  Very talented, diverse, versatile. Willing to work with others.

South East Hip Hop: Who or what are some of your influences? 
Wess Musiq:  Growing up I studied Biggie Smallz, Jay-Z, Tupac, T.I. and Eminem.

South East Hip Hop: Who does Wess Musiq have in his CD player or iPod right now?  Who are some of your favorite artists?
Wess Musiq:  have myself and my other artist in my cd player. I would like to say overall that I'm my favorite artist.

South East Hip Hop: What does Wess like to get into outside of making music? 
Wess Musiq:  As of right now Musiq is my world.

South East Hip Hop:  Who are some of the artists you've worked with? 
Wess Musiq:  Yung Ralph, Bigg Jigg, and Papaduck.

South East Hip Hop:  Who are some of the artists you would like to work with in the future? 
Wess Musiq:  I could see myself in near future working with T.I., Young Jeezy, and 2 Chainz

South East Hip Hop: Could you name 3 highlights in your music career so far? 
Wess Musiq: I opened up for O.J. Juiceman in Atlanta at Club Figure 8, i had the opportunity to perform in front of Juicy J in Destin Florida at club Overboard, I also won awards for being the most diverse artist of the year.

South East Hip Hop: What was one of the worst experiences you've faced in the music industry so far, and how did you bounce back or learn from the situation?
Wess Musiq: it was last year 2012 when I let my guard down and ended up getting arrested, due to getting arrested I lost majority of my belongings.  My studio was burglarized and so was my house.  I was gone for about 9 months, but this year I've already came back up, I learned from my mistakes, and I'm now ready to take this music further than I've ever did before.

South East Hip Hop:  What projects are you pushing right now?
Wess Musiq:  I'm pushing Sumthin for Da Streetz Vol. 21.

South East Hip Hop:  What projects are you currently working on or being featured on?  
Wess Musiq:  I've been featured on at least 30 mixtapes by djs request. Some are on livemixtapes, datpiff, and thatcrack. I'm releasing my album (Power N Pleasure) which will be in stores this December

South East Hip Hop: Speaking of the future, what are your plans for the rest of 2013? 
Wess Musiq:  If god is willing, my plans are to work on more projects and to perform at more venues.

South East Hip Hop: Where do you see yourself and the music in the next 5 years?
Wess Musiq:  I see myself becoming a better business man in music, and releasing 4 platinum albums by that time.

South East Hip Hop: Is there anything else you would like to plug?  Any shout outs?
Wess Musiq: yeah shoutout to DJ Gezza he's been supporting the camp since day one, shout out DJ Sido, DJ Frogie, DJ Colock, DJ C Style, shout out to Paul, King Syph, and Dywane Lyrique, we here.

Ike Ellis talks about the concepts behind his up coming album Cornbread (coming June 12th 2012) in this Interview

 

Rising Carolina recording artist Ike Ellis sits down with South East Hip Hop Magazine to discuss his forthcoming album Cornbread.  In this Interview Ike Ellis breaks down the concepts behind certain songs, who he worked with for this project, as well as explaining to the readers why this album is a "must have" for your CD collection or I-Pod.  Read all about what this young, talented brotha has to say.....

South East Hip Hop Magazine:  In one quick sentence, who is Ike Ellis? 
Ike Ellis:  IKE ELLIS is a artist from the bottom who is trying to do more than he done yesterday

How has 2012 been for you so far as an artist?

2012 has been a year of productivity, and rebuilding.  The organization of 100grand Ent and my media company has really propel the organization as an artist.  The amount of opportunities that have been available have been limited, but each opportunity has been maximized at it’s fullest potential.  The knowledge has elevated as an artist.  2012 is a great year as oppose the prior years as an artist.  The confidence is back.  The motivation is back.  The artist of IKE ELLIS is developing to magnitude greater than ever before.

Who are your top 5 emcees?

My list goes like this Tupac, Andre 3000, Biggie, Eminem, Redman  

Let's talk about your forthcoming release Cornbread, how would you describe the overall feel of this album?

The overall feel of the Cornbread album should embody the soul of black.  The album represents the motivation to keep going thru any struggle that is encountered.  The album to me is the element of surprises.  The feeling of being underrated with the ability to conquer any obstacle is the overall feel of the album. All my life, I was considered the underdog and only but a few things in this world help me make thru life.  The Cornbread helped me get thru funerals, good days, bad days, losses, gains, the love in relationships and other topics in life that a human being may incur.  Anybody who knows me well knows I eat a lot of cornbread.

What producers did you work with for this project?

For this project, I worked with ‘Focus’ of Dirtyscopebeatz, Brad M, and B –squared, and Reese-keys

Will there be any guests on this project, if so, who do you have?

The only features are from Qua Qween out of Port City and Picasso the Word Smith of Raleigh NC.

The lead single "Loving You" has you rhyming over a classic sample with the vocals from the original song sped up, and has a real "Boom Bap" feel to it... are the rest of the beats on this album sample based?

 Don’t know if I know what a “boom bap” feel means, but if you are referring to that bounce then yes. There are other samples on album. I couldn’t really capture the soul of black folks with any samples, but I need that bounce. As listener to music, I could get into the sampled music if it didn’t make me feel the music. To feel the music the drums had to be right. I am a universal type artist and my stills are not limited to a specific type of sound. With this album I tried to capture and define that Carolina sound. “Loving you” is a representation of that sound partly, however because Carolina is a melting pot of different type individuals defining the Carolina sound is very hard to do. For example, if you go to Charlotte North Carolina it’s possible you will hear the music that resembles Atlanta sounds, but if you come to Raleigh the New York type instrumentation including the samples are in heavy rotations.  The object was to create a universal sound to hit any city and the people will feel the music. 

How would you describe some of the other beats on this album? 

The other beats on the album are somewhat the same way as “Loving you” . The drums are banging, the bass is dropping but the album is eclectic when it comes to the sound.

  

What type of topics are you addressing on this album?

Being black in America, the love of the music, the thick skin needed to embrace those who don’t love what you love, the haters, complications with social injustices, dealing with poverty, inspiration to do more even though the circumstances, the love, celebration of life, karma, laws of power just to name a few topics. I concentrated on the universal feel because the world is greater than what we see from the front porch.

Who are the types of people you feel would be able to relate to what you are saying on this album?

Black men in America, woman who have seen struggles, rappers who are trying to make it in the industry, those in poverty, grew up in poverty, those seeking the similar truth and people who like to have a good time even though the days not promised or going well.

In your opinion, what would you say is one of the most creative songs you've recorded?

I don’t think I have recorded my most creative song yet.  When I think of creative I think of songs such as Nas “rewind”  “go he there” was mind boggling to me when I heard it for the first time.  Thus far though maybe the most creative song I would say I recorded was a song I done back on 06 called “Fast Cars and Large Bills”. The song was a true story about a girl who was infatuated with the life, but got consumed so much in the life, that her life was put in jeopardy by contracting the “aids’ virus. 

What is your goal for this album? 

My goals for this album is to sell 100,000 copies independently, establish my position as a respected artist in the industry, and actually achieve things that nobody where I am from have ever done before. 

Speaking of goals, what career goals do you have for yourself as an artist for the rest of 2012?

The career goals are to manage my company to the most maximum of my abilities, build the buzz, and generate income of the god given talents and abilities.  Continue to push when everybody counts me out. Like getting up when rocky got knocked out by the Russian. 

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself and the new album? 
I appreciate your questions about the album.  The album is hot, but it’s great as well.  The topics in this album have been going on for years and will continue unless we as artist make it our business to speak on the truth in this world. 

Name 5 reasons fans should buy this album?

A fan should buy this album because the world needs more thoughts of the social injustices in America.

A fan should buy this album because I put my heart and soul in a pan for the world to eat.

A fan should buy this album because of my commitment to the music.

A fan should buy this album to support the cause.

A fan should buy because I would love them listening to the music even if they didn’t.