Off the Record

Ewan Pratt 0:12
I'm DJ off belay and this is the alt right pipeline deep cuts where we interview some of the up and coming talent out of the art rap underground. To Hey, today I'm here with Kwame ado, what's good, man? How you doing?

Kwame Adu 0:25
I've been doing alright. Slot going on. I like to think. Yeah, so I've been pretty busy, but it's good stress. But isn't bad stress?

Ewan Pratt 0:33
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, like to be busy better than having nothing to do. I guess. So, Kwame, why don't for some of our viewers that don't know you or haven't heard your music? Maybe you give yourself like a little intro? What sort of type of music you make. Yeah, how long you've been making music? That sort of stuff?

Kwame Adu 0:52
Yeah, um, me is Kwame to do a New Jersey native born and raised. I've been making hip hop. And rapping maybe since 2010. And just professionally recording it since 2014.

Kwame Adu 1:15
Yeah, I rap. I make beats I engineer a lot of my stuff as well. A lot of my sound is like I think it's like poetic. It can be very poetic. But I like to keep the high energy or low energy, like, super like nothing in between. Yeah. A lot of that very, very much poetic, very much. Storyteller esque. I don't know if I'm a storyteller, per se. But I like to paint pictures when I'm saying.

Ewan Pratt 1:50
Yeah, I think poetic is a good way to put how a lot of your songs come off, especially because you have really short form songs. They're all really, really Yeah, just sort of short and punchy. I feel like not a lot of fluff to them. It's really nice dense, especially like, even just your EPS that you put it out, like under qualms a would say they're just like five songs, but they're still just so dense. It sounds like I listened to whole album almost.

Kwame Adu 2:17
Yeah, those are crazy. Like, honestly, I didn't. They were also like, in the moment that I didn't even know what I was doing. I don't know if they knew what he was doing. It's crazy. Speaking that.

Ewan Pratt 2:33
Yeah, so those were sort of just like a product of like, one or a few days, just like tapping in and it wasn't like that sounds like you weren't really trying to make an album when you did that. Is that sort of like how you normally make your stuff you just let what happens happens? Or do you sort of have like some sort of driving? I don't know, like is there before you make a song or an EP? is a sort of you just go in and see whatever happens happens or do sometimes you're like, oh, I want to make a song about this. And they start I think

Kwame Adu 3:03
for well, if I'm speaking like for myself, and like my music as a solo artist, I think I tend to be more intentional. I think it'll start off pretty raw and I'll like to flesh it out into something more solid. When it comes to a lot of what Zack and I have released under qualm ze it was very much like, that was super like, I'll say unintentional, like, super in the moment. Really just getting off our skill set, like just showing what we could do. You know, it's not like super, super planned out or anything. You just kind of blacked out and see what happens. Even the first Kwanzaa AP motherland took a weekend to record. And then a week to finish overall.

Ewan Pratt 4:00
Wow, that's, that's pretty impressive. I feel. Yeah, I feel like maybe once you get sort of something like that, you don't want to overthink it. You just want to tap in. So you said you sort of touched on in the beginning. You've been making music all the way since back in like 2010. Like, how have you sort of changed how you've made music back then versus now?

Kwame Adu 4:24
Well, I'm turning 25 At the end of the year. So when I started rapping, I was 12. So my entire perspective as a human being has already been like, changed like 10 times over. And I've traveled to different locations and met different sorts of people, and even the music that I listened to. Back then, on a day to day basis. I wasn't even listening to music on a day to day basis when I started making music. So it's like the fact that what I'm doing now, sounds like what it is, I think is just you know, just a result of extra It's like, if you if you look back far enough, you could still see small parts of who I would be now in my old music when I'm like, 14. But I think the biggest change was just, you know, having a sense of experience and just growing into being myself, the music kind of just followed up right after.

Ewan Pratt 5:25
Yeah, um, where are you from? Do you feel like that has sort of an impact on your sound like people you're surrounded with? I don't know, if being you said LA, or west coast, I don't know if that's new for you've always been there.

Kwame Adu 5:38
I've been in LA for on and off, like five years. But I've mostly been in New Jersey, and I spent some time in central Pennsylvania. So I think what, and then, on top of that my family's from Ghana, like I'm a first generation American. So it definitely affected my sound to where my influences weren't directly from the same places. I know a lot of people for them to be, at least in a sense of like, how I was raised, like, I was in a music environment, like, you know, I appreciated music when I had it, of course, like anyone else, but it wasn't like I there was a lot of music I didn't listen to until I was like 90. Lots of hip hop, I didn't listen to lots of r&b, Soul jazz, like, all a lot of my references were from like, animated video game scores and TV show scores, like real specific stuff. Not like, you know, songs and albums and EPS, I wasn't even listening to an album all the way through until like, high school.

Ewan Pratt 6:56
Yeah, I feel like I kind of relate to that, too. There's definitely a period where I sort of like, I don't know, not that I like took music super seriously, because I'm not really making music, but I sort of it there's like, a moment where it clicked like back in 2016. Like, oh, like, albums are where it's at. Like, it's like a whole movie, like a little contained universe. Yeah,

Kwame Adu 7:16
true body of work, you know. So a lot of that. And I think where the location even comes into play is just like, being from New Jersey, I think there's a certain sound that came out of the east coast that can still kind of be recognized. There's a specific sound and like Philly, and even when I started making when the qualms a stuff started popping up. People said, like, oh, this gives off like Jay Z. But um, like, it could, but maybe I don't know, I just have an accent. Like, that's, like, it's like, Oh, my bad, it's things like that. It's things that like that, that I think my location really came into play just real specific stuff, my accent, who I was around based on my location, and how that was like a means to like, not have that much music around me.

Ewan Pratt 8:10
So yeah, so it sounds like a lot of your influences. In terms of like location and your upbringing are a lot less like intentional. Are there sort of like some influences that you're trying to intentionally like, invoke with your new sounds? Maybe with your solo stuff? Or Kwanzaa in particular, like, Yeah,

Kwame Adu 8:32
I'm not as much intentional, like influence. It's kind of like it's kind of come back to like a circular point like, when you start when I started making music, like I didn't really sound like anybody and I didn't really sound I don't think my my rapping itself was that great because I didn't have a point of reference for a really long time. But when I started getting into it, bigger influences for me were like, like within hip hop and like just music in itself was like, a lot of Kanye West. A lot of Earl Sweatshirt probably been listened to Isaiah Rashad a lot. I like a lot of what Kelly's did and Solange, and so I just later years and when I I think sonically everything came from maybe I think sonically I couldn't be more intentional, like production wise. I had started making beats 2016 Got off and got back during the pandemic, so I was really intentional or unintentional. I was really intentional. While I said it again. That's crazy. I received intentional influences from things like drum and bass and house and dance. Real rhythmic electronic stuff. I've always been gravitated through those sorts of things and jazz. I've been gravitated to like a lot of that side rock, like just real. I think I like to be more intentional about what the soundscape is versus like how I'm rapping at this point.

Ewan Pratt 10:18
Yeah, I think that's really interesting. I really enjoy the, like the lane that you're in, like you and does and Wabo and people like that is such a good I don't know does didn't really want to admit it. I feel like you guys have such a good sound where if I hear even just like a sample, like, I've like, Ah, this would be perfect for like wild boar. qualms a, like you guys have sort of already etched a spot in my mind where I'm like, this is the sound that they make. And like I don't, I was at, um, young Waldos listening party for mirage. And when I heard you come on moron, I was like, Oh, this makes so much sense. This is amazing. It's so cool that you guys have already sort of cut out like a little lane.

Kwame Adu 11:06
You know, it's cool. I think. You know, it just came with what happened. Like, I think Zack and I both appreciated that sort of sound, you know, for what it was like, you know, as long as we've heard it when we were teens, like, you know, I was listening to things like I was listening to MF DOOM a lot. And like, Earl Sweatshirt is one of my favorite, like artists, I think, more so now than before. It's a, it's funny enough, it's something we just exist in, like almost like a passion project. Because when you go to meetings as actual interpersonal stuff, and this stuff, we're going to be like releasing, it's not so much of that. Because that's not it's like is a way to put it. It's it's interesting, because this is like a technique, like us doing quantum say is pure technique in the sense where that lane exists based off of just things that we just like, like and listen to, versus it being as interpersonal as it would have been before. So it was really interesting. Kind of like, especially when you hear my older solo stuff like not all of it really sounds like any of that. Yeah, just because that's not what we were on. Like, like actively NAT goes back to me saying like Zack and I weren't really intentional may qualms day. It was just funny that it even happened that way. We would joke about making like, fake stone's throw projects. We were like, like 2018 and stuff. It was pretty interesting. It worked out really well, too. Yeah, it was it was interesting. Oh, oh, I guess you know, they're gonna see it's just like the art jazz sample guys for a little bit. Cool. Cool. Cool. I like to start.

Ewan Pratt 12:57
I like yeah, I feel like it's definitely I don't know how I want to say it, it's when you don't put as much pressure on like, needing success or like needing this amount of whatever. And just allowing yourself to like, freely express if you like, just even like, not even just being genuine in your lyrics, but just genuine in your art. I feel like that comes across to people. Like you're not really trying to create a sound that you don't listen to or like, be someone you're not just like, you're just sort of, yeah, expressing is there like sort of certain not like message, but as there's a way that you want people to take your art or like, how do you want people to interpret it? I? Or maybe maybe a better question is like, what do you want people to get out of listening to your music?

Kwame Adu 13:57
I think it's, um, it's more. So I think what I want people to get out of my music is to understand for themselves who they are. And maybe for that to be like, okay, like, wherever they are. And it's not something I'm making a conscious effort to do. But I think when you make music or any form of art, and it's like a direct reflection of yourself. It's like, it's like watching somebody, do something that you wanted to do. Like, it's like a watch and learn thing. Like I think it's always been very watching learn, like, this is my life. This is how I'm living it. This is me being upset. This is me being mad, this is me, doing what I can to get better. Like I'm putting all that into music. And I do that all the time. And I do that all the time. So with any Oh Other people would do the same just from listening to it and understanding who they are, you know, relating to me in those ways understanding that, like, you don't have to be learned alone in certain situations, just stuff like that, you know, stuff that just comes along with expressing yourself, you just want to be connected to people you want people to understand, or at least respect what you're doing. Um, and I would only ask for people to express and respect themselves the same way I do for myself when I can.

Ewan Pratt 15:32
Yeah, I feel like, yeah, that's just wanting people to be genuine and not necessarily force things. Yeah. As a, like, sort of underground artist, you could say, or I guess, not just like, yeah, it must be hard to sort of manage expectations in terms of like, goal setting or milestones. I was like, how do you set? Like, I don't know, how do you view milestones as someone that's still early in their career, like, you've put a lot of emphasis on like, streams or shares? Or is it more like, your art, I don't know,

Kwame Adu 16:14
it's, to a point, it has to be both, it has to be you have to, you have to maintain that balance, the thing that people don't really say often, or as far as I know, it doesn't seem like people say it often, like, the professional existence is both art and entertainment. You know, they're not, they're not mutually exclusive. So, you know, me being an artist, my job is to, you know, express myself in a medium, and, you know, not go crazy in the, you know, everywhere in between doing that, while me being an entertainer means I'm gonna have to literally keep in mind like performing and like my audience, and just certain things. And then that's where a lot of the milestones come in from. So I think I like to set my milestones. I like to have them, but not really put too much weight on them. You know, if I've been telling myself that I'm going to be like, superstar, like, I've, I've been telling myself, I'm gonna reach these certain things, since I was 16. And I'm starting to see certain things now. Like, it's, you know, it's more so that like, just just keeping in mind what I already knew I could have done, and not letting that get to me, you know, whether it's for better or worse, because that could just, you know, either put pressure on myself or make myself overconfident and what I'm doing. So just keeping, keep just being mindful, just being aware, I'll just make some, like, you know, if we're talking about like, streaming, or Grammys, like, you know, not acting like they aren't milestones, these aren't necessarily easy things to do as an entertainer, but just keeping in mind that, like, you know, I don't have to change my art for the sake of achieving milestones, you know, for the sake of like going viral, or like winning awards or getting paid, you know, I mean, I think I don't know if that answered the question.

Ewan Pratt 18:30
No, it definitely does. And you've been touched on something I was gonna bring up after with how you said, you don't necessarily want to change your sound to go viral or like yeah, a cater to this, like social media audience. I mean, that's how I found you is through like, like I said, people like this and watch when I found them on, like, Instagram and Tiktok. But that form is so like, it's making everything shorter and shorter. And songs are like catcher and louder. It must be hard to try to balance like being able to like appeal to the audience, you want to appeal but not appeal to but not like, feel like you're giving up?

Kwame Adu 19:13
Yeah, dude, it's pretty crazy. Like, honestly, I even didn't have a tick tock to like this year, and I didn't I still don't use it. Like, the the cannabis mine. I don't, I don't use it. And I think knowing that there's a lot of people out there you could reach out to can make you feel crazy when you're not like making an active effort every day to like, get this stuff like, I want as many people to see, like, you know, knowing that you can, but you're not because you just generally don't want to. You don't want to compromise on who you are. You know? It can make me feel a little crazy in that regard. But, you know, it's a big world. There's billions of people like this the same thing. As I was saying before, like, eventually, like, I knew that there would be people who are going to listen, because there's just so many people to have come across this. I don't need to maximize the amount of years to listen. Because if I keep making this stuff, and it all sounds great, and it all sounds like me, there's going to be plenty of people who are going to come across, you know? Yeah,

Ewan Pratt 20:24
yeah. No, I think that's definitely a good point 7 billion people, there's definitely gonna be some money out there. Yeah. I feel like that approach also might have its own benefits, too, because it allows you maybe to experiment more to where you don't necessarily have to release. Like, a commercial song. I'm blanking on the title of it. But you have the one like, like you said, Drum and Bass track, where it's just like, the breakdown, the drum breakdown, and there's no lyrics at all. It's one of my favorite.

Kwame Adu 20:59
I'm still Yeah.

Ewan Pratt 21:01
Yeah, I mean, just stuff like that. Feel like, it's super nice to be able to take that suit, like a big chance. But you know, what, I mean, like, break out of a formula?

Kwame Adu 21:11
Yeah, yeah. I mean, the, the idea of what's even commercial is has been so blurred, and like what seems to be conventional, like, it's all starting to blur. So just consider it. And on top of the fact that even what's commercial and conventional, like changes, like all the time, so there's no purpose, and you can only consider so much of that, you know, like, before you're just compromising on yourself. So I'd rather just not even think about it at all, and just work with whatever just so happens to see more, you know, feasible to listen to, if that makes sense.

Ewan Pratt 21:54
Yeah, that does make sense. I feel like as an artist, you're definitely not afraid of collaborations? Um, you sort of touched on it a little bit, but is like, is there a different approach you take to your solo stuff versus collaborations? That's not just sort of like working with another artist, if that makes sense?

Kwame Adu 22:23
Like in regards to?

Ewan Pratt 22:28
I don't know. Like, do you take your collaborations less seriously than your solo stuff? Or? I feel like a lot of the collaborations you do have you'd like put names to them like qualms a and driving in doors? Do you do that sort of just because it's cool to have like another thing outside of Crimea do exist? Or is it sort of you want to take it more seriously, so you make it permanent?

Kwame Adu 22:51
No, it's just fun. Like, it's just fun. Like, when it comes to like, You got qualms ze you got driving indoors, and I just, I have it just songs across the world, like a lot of my friends, like, more consistently than others. It's, it's kind of the opposite, like, driving indoors existed because me and Frank the fourth the other, like, we were highschool best friends, it's practically my brother. And it's the same thing to say like, means they've been like really, really, really, really, he's one of my closest friends right now. Like, he's practically my brother. So we're just, it's just just kind of fun. It's kind of, it's kind of opposite. It's like, yeah, not wanting to be so serious. And that kind of leads in that direction, where it like solidifies itself, it becomes its own unit. Um, especially based off what I'm doing. Like I said, qualms is very much like, technical, it's not as interpersonal all the time. Like, you know, so qualms a exists in itself as a whole other thing, especially even when they like, the beats that Zane is making, or that I'm making, like, they're not, they doesn't, they solo stuff isn't gonna, like feel the same way. Like almost at all, it might have the same feeling, but sonically, it's like just a whole different thing. So it's like that, like our collaborations in those regards, are just, yes, super raw, and they develop into something. A lot of the collaborations I do with like, just other artists generally, I think it's the same thing like you know, when you get I think, maybe with other artists, like maybe even just doing collaborative stuff, it could be maybe more serious, never got, a lot of times people will, like, you know, asked me to, like, do something on their work as of lately, you know. So it's like, there's a level of intention that's already being brought to me to follow up on so I think In that regard, you can say it's more series when it's just like, a lot of one off stuff. But when it's like deeper, and like super collaborative like group stuff, I think that stuff is never really that serious. I think that's also why like, a lot of collab projects by like bigger artists never really sound as good. Or like they're never received as well the same way because most of the time those really really really like, close, close, close, close friends. Like it just seems kind of arbitrary. Like, I think about like, doing a whole project on some rapper shit with like, most of my homies are just kind of being like, weird, like, why am I at your house is making music? Like, what are we doing right now? Turn the switch on. It's like that, you know? Yeah.

Ewan Pratt 25:55
Yeah, um, you sort of talked about it a little, I kind of wanted to jump back, I guess. With sort of, like, setting your own milestones. Recently, you've had Janine hit a million streams on Spotify. How do you feel like how did you sort of feel about that? What is like, Oh, this was a long time coming? Or you're sort of surprised that this was the track that did it. Or that that did it but you know what I mean, like, this was the one that reached at first

Kwame Adu 26:25
it were talking to Nene specifically. I did not do Ginny will be like my biggest song. I didn't think it almost didn't end up on like streaming platforms. Like in general, like, you know, I didn't take like I didn't, yeah, I was super surprised. But that one to be the one is definitely one of my more. Maybe even my most genuine like song too. You know. So looking back, I could have maybe seen it, but maybe because it was so genuine. Like, I'm not looking at it so much from the outside. And to know that this could have really been like, my biggest song to date. Yeah. But even then, like, in the bigger scheme of things, I've always like, been like, Yeah, we're gonna get here. So when we did when IBM died, had reached a million, I was like, you know, this is a blessing like we made it, we made it long enough to see this thing that we thought would have happened. It's like that.

Ewan Pratt 27:31
Yeah. What do you see like right now, in terms of like, what do you see as your bottleneck in terms of success? Like, is it sort of the time you have to spend making music? The money that you'd have to spend for like tours and stuff? Or just like the reach? Or do you think it's just time? Like, what do you think is the bottleneck?

Kwame Adu 27:51
Oh, what's kind of like, taking me to the

Ewan Pratt 27:56
it just, I mean, like, what? Yeah, what do you think is? What do you think is not necessarily holding you back? But what do you think is like, what you're waiting? I don't know, if I see how to put it like, like,

Kwame Adu 28:11
I think the bottleneck, I think what? Maybe important and taking me to a next step, if you ask me, I think I just want to get on. Maybe just like, a larger outreach, like a bigger, it seems like there's a lot of people who are interested in the music. But the thing that changes for all artists is like being on the road, and going on tour and seeing like, you know, even if it is like 20 or 30 people at a time, seeing a bunch of people who know what you're saying, in your songs. I mean, that's like, the next thing, like just being on the roads really tell myself that like, Oh, this is a real thing. You know, especially when people say, like, streams do this and streams do that. It's very, it's usually in the realm of like, you know, it's still, it's still intangible. Like there's a million streams on Jeanine, but it's like, that's a lot of plays for a lot of people who I've never met in my life, like, you know, so I think that like, the finishing factor would be just tour, just just going on the road, because that also means money. That also means seeing the people who appreciate my work and I think both of those things are important to maybe just to continue what you're doing, you know, at a certain point, I'm still making music regardless, I'm making music when I had nothing, but um it definitely helps when you know, people who you've never met who really liked your work that much and it definitely definitely helps when you have to worry about bills. So

Ewan Pratt 29:58
yeah, I feel like you've had a few like a decent amount of live performances. I was your last show, like compared to other ones.

Kwame Adu 30:12
Like my last last show.

Ewan Pratt 30:14
I don't know if it was your last last year. The last one that I saw was the one your little WP came out the prayer one. So yay. I don't know if I don't know if you've had some sense then.

Kwame Adu 30:26
I think I had one or two. No, I was one.

Ewan Pratt 30:32
I think it's well, I guess like just in general recently, have they been going? Have you noticed like a change in your live shows are still just Oh, it's a lot about like outreach and still not?

Kwame Adu 30:41
Yeah, it's definitely it was really cool. It was definitely rep work. I think Los Angeles being a city of like, people like it's a city known for entertainment. But because entertainment is like a purely like people ran people ran not the same way other places are but like, I'm like my homie Taylor refers to is like city referral, like, so it's like, the more shows that I did. And a lot of them were in LA. The more people happen to know me as you know, Kwame, who raps and his music is fire Quan ze that he does with his homies a like it's fire, like, go to a show. I have people all the time who be like, No, bro, like, I wish she knew my own. But that's crazy. Like I didn't your music. It's fire. I didn't even really like know that I really didn't hear it. And a lot of that came just throughout the summer, just doing a lot of shows getting reps off. People knowing me. As somebody who has your show on Friday, I have a show on Monday, like it was like that. So that was one of the bigger changes externally. Internal change. I've always been a good performer. But maybe this just like helped, you know, just sharpen the sword more. I say that kind of like contain any raw energy I had on the stage and really, like refined it. I think a lot of that too.

Ewan Pratt 32:16
Yeah, I mean, the little video you put out for a silly little prayers, definitely. Very good way to put it, like you said, refined. Just a cool way to do it. For someone like me, I'm all the way in North Carolina, not gonna be able to go to a show in LA, but it's still sort of releasing stuff outside of just the music to bring attention in. Yeah, that's one of my bigger life favorite parts about music. Like I said, I really like albums and all the stuff like surrounding albums. It's really cool. Um, yeah. What's sort of like, the roadmap for the next few months,

Kwame Adu 32:58
I'm gonna be releasing a bigger body of work closer to the end of the year from us as myself as climate. So that going into next year, you know, I'm still going to be plenty of music going into next year. Plenty of music just in the next year, you know, that's not really going to change. Maybe just the the goal is, you know, bigger, like just next step stuff. You know, I mean, being on the road, being outside of SoCal to perform more often. Yeah, maybe some music that's like, not so much when people expect that of me, you know, especially going back to the qualms a like, just the idea of the sound, the sound has put people in a position to see me a certain way, which is never really an issue. But I think because, you know, we're all growing at the same time in different paces. I want people to see what I can really do. Like, there's things that I haven't done yet that I had, that, you know, people haven't got to hear yet. So stuff like that stuff like that. A lot of stuff that people might not expect out of me. A lot of stuff that maybe people will see me, like, physically makes you very likely.

Ewan Pratt 34:33
That's really interesting. I feel like it's pretty. I mean, from the outside, I guess you said you've been making music for a long time. I guess just from my perspective only found you recently. It's kind of jarring to hear like, Oh, I'm going to do something just switch it up now. It's not a bad thing. I think it's a really smart like, like you said you don't want like people have already started to know you for a certain sound through Quantum Say it's kind of interesting that you're taking an intentional choice to, like, break out of that, even as it's just starting to sort of like, kick up and get you more notoriety. Like very bold,

Kwame Adu 35:15
it's, it's, you know, it's, I won't say that it's like my driving factor moving forward, more, so then it's more so just showing more dimensions of myself, because that's, that sounds still exists, there's more clumsy, I'll say that much. Like, there's more clumsy like that. And even within my solo stuff like that feeling, that same feeling still exists, like, I'm going to be hip hop, like, um, hip hop, like, you know, in the way that people kind of see it a lot. But I think my job is an artist to show is that the way that people feel when they hear the stuff I have now can still be felt. through other means, do other instruments through other sounds, do other samples, you know, through other genres even, you know, even if it's like, genre being arbitrary, you know, it kind of is all one of the same thing, you know, so, yeah, um, yeah, just a lot of that. I'll say that much more. You know, I wouldn't want to make it sound like I'm stopping. I'm not doing one thing more than it is just showing more things along with thing I can already do.

Ewan Pratt 36:28
Yeah, okay. Okay, I'm didn't what you're saying, in terms of this new solo album? Are you sort of are you gonna depart from the short form qualms a EP, they're gonna be more like, when you say album, I guess? What are you thinking with album?

Kwame Adu 36:47
Um, the thing that I'm releasing is like, it's more than it's more than like four or five songs. It's more than that. And it's a lot more than rap. It's a lot more. Yeah, it's a lot more than rap. It's a lot more than chops. It's a lot more than it's longer than 10 minutes, I'll tell you that much. Like it's a full body of work, you know, um, it's, it's, it encapsulates everything that's made up to be me up until now, or at least as of now.

Ewan Pratt 37:25
Okay, okay, that's that's pretty exciting to hear. Because I was actually surprised when I like when I first found you and I went to your Spotify page, you have like a pretty deep catalogue. So it's exciting to hear that like a lot of that stuff from down there's probably going to resurface or not resurface but qualms a or Kwame is going to be doing more Kwame stuff. Exciting. It's always nice when you find a new artist, and then you go to their Spotify page, or their music page or whatever you just see like, album album, more from the artist appears on it's like, Oh, no.

Kwame Adu 38:04
Like, yeah, no, yeah, same way. Yeah. You know, it's a good feeling. And it's cool. It's cool. Me being the one making it just like, knowing that the stuff before me can get appreciated for what it is, you know, whether or not like people like it or not, I think if to a level like me, understanding that people like me is quite meant to do. And understanding that Kwame to do as the artist is, miss this thing like has existed before then like, you know, it's really cool for people to kind of see it and appreciate that, you know, because who would I it was only so much I could have guessed when I was making that stuff from before. That. You know, I just knew I'd be somewhere I didn't know how I couldn't know where I'd be in that present moment. You know, I just know that it'd be far. So.

Ewan Pratt 39:04
Yeah. And that probably like that confidence with your older work. Probably just comes from being genuine as you're making it. You don't really have to worry about like people finding you out or anything like that. Yeah. With this new project coming out, do you want to sort of like, give away any information like title and maybe some collaborations?

Kwame Adu 39:27
All right, yeah, I'll say this much. I'll see you soon. It's called Shin gees album. Shinji Japanese. It's a protagonist from a particular anime. For those who do know it, they'll kind of get it already. And I think people who don't kind of get into it once I start like rolling this stuff out. But it's called Chinggis album. So laundrette Half hour long a lot of the production is me. Got a lot of help from some homies. But yeah, it's mostly me. There's some feed, there are some features. There are some features, but a lot of it is like homegrown, like a lot of my like homies like, the album was made. The album was made and almost near finished. The album was made summer last year and practically finished this summer of this year. So it's very much like before the clumsy stuff started taking off. Before Janine before, like me and IV and stuff started taking off. Like it's super genuine, super genuine. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll say that much. It's very interpersonal. It's about me. It's about me.

Ewan Pratt 40:59
Yeah. And I've sort of gathered the vibe just from talking to you this, this this long, like, not the type of person to just throw on a feature to try to get publicity or just because their name is big. Definitely, like, sounds like all the collaborations and all the work you put into it is super intentional, and more for the sound than anything.

Kwame Adu 41:20
Yeah, I mean, if you write if you're being if it's about being intentional, like I can only do so much with like having another artist on a body of work, because I'm not opposed to featuring, I'm not opposed to reaching out to people for the sake of like, them fitting what I'm already doing. But I think for that same reason, if I have an album that reflects on like, who I was, like, I'm not expecting this person who signed to a major label to be on it, you know, maybe. Honestly, I don't see anything wrong with either, you know, just like we said, this is what, why you're doing it. And, you know, yeah.

Ewan Pratt 42:09
Yeah, um, in terms of so you have the album coming out in November, you said you wanted to sort of get more shows, hopefully outside of Southern California, with your recent shows. What sort of like the vibe and and people taking the music? Well, you've been like, unexpectedly, people? Is it like, is the reaction like unexpected or anything like that?

Kwame Adu 42:35
I think. Yeah, it's pretty unexpected. You never know who's gonna show up. Because me being in LA for a certain amount of time. Like, I have, like, a lot, a lot. A lot of acquaintances and people who might just know of me, even if I don't know them, so you never really gnomes gonna show up? You know? And that's not to say people do or don't, depending on the show. But, um, yeah, I've, we've, I've had a lot of shows with Jay where it's like, we're making like 10 New 10. There's like, 10 new people who are like fans on the spot, like, that's like, you know, out of out of the blue. You know, when we did when we did the moderation jam fest, and we did, we did a set and we opened up for Mavi. Like, we were one of the sets underneath the Mavi. Headlining that was like, people people were attracted to the sound, they kind of take in that same regard. So that like do stuff

Ewan Pratt 43:39
a lot. are like, yeah, do shows that are definitely good fit. Yeah,

Kwame Adu 43:43
you call me so it's like, stuff like that, or like shows that are very hip hop orientated. usually expect a lot of people who like okay, like we're doing this thing, that the people who are coming to the shows like, so, you never know who's gonna go show up. But in those regards, you guys expect somebody to leave? Like I say a fan. And if it's more so, maybe something more broad, maybe if it seems more one off, like, you know, performances by clumsy and these other people for this, like grand grandeur thing. That's really like, okay, like, we're gonna have a good time. Like, we're here to have a good time. You know, it depends on the intention of the show. You know, are we that help or our people come in? Listen.

Ewan Pratt 44:35
Yeah, that makes sense. Talked about that. On another interview, like, definitely would be a vibe shift if you're the headliner versus the opener versus just like you're at an art gallery just performing in the corner. Yeah,

Kwame Adu 44:49
yeah, exactly. You know, and you could still the most important part is that is that you have to be the same like for all three of those, otherwise, like Like, I'm not gonna say otherwise. But like most of the people who reached a certain level of success or a certain level of notoriety, it comes from things like that. If you're able to like wrap your heart out or perform your heart out and there's like two people, then you're bound to take off when you when it's time to be in front of 2000. People like it's really just what it's always been. What it seems to be all say,

Ewan Pratt 45:34
Yeah, I'm sort of reaching the end of the questions I had prepared. Is there anything you want to talk about?

Kwame Adu 45:42
Um, Listen, man, we got some Newsday all caps. So, Newsday, SUSE is coming. All my homies are coming with something like crazy, like the people who I've known for years and years before, like, any of this stuff popped off, like, they're coming through, and they're doing some crazy things. So, and I'll be around for a lot of that. So, you know, I'm personally excited for that, you know, along with my own stuff. I'm very excited for what my friends have coming. Say. Whether it's Who's my favorite color? My close friend danza Lee, who's also one of my closest producer friend, Kim decipher, like, I just have my homie. Vanessa flair Taylor, that's my dog. Like, we just lots of lots of things, lots of things. Lots of things are coming into it. It'll be a movement, area of reductions. We just, that's my homies out here to just release a TV show. Got an acting role in it. Like it's just a lot, a lot. A lot of cool things are coming. A lot of cool things are coming.

Ewan Pratt 47:00
Yeah, yeah. sort of outside of music. Do you have anything like any other forms of expression or any like hobbies that you're super into?

Kwame Adu 47:09
I was acting in the private show in the series, limited series called Private Shut up well, in the limited series called private school. Directed written by my good friends, Jared Bishop and Santina. macdon a row productions. That's been like one of the bigger things I've done so far. What it's a beautiful, beautiful series. It's on it's already out. It's on YouTube, Amazon Amazon Prime. So that's that that's something I've gotten into acting. And mostly that mostly that I like to just do other things like read manga. That's my other incredible talent. Does read in just read and play Smash Brothers. Is your main national villager.

Ewan Pratt 48:04
Oh, yeah, me too. Me too. Well, I do Lucas and villager, me autorun is available as well. Sometimes you're a psycho to ninth grade? Me? Yeah. Kind of my philosophy is who's going to like what character is going to be the funniest beating up you right now? Yeah. builder.

Kwame Adu 48:22
So why is this dog who's also like, what the Secretary of State like? Why is she telling me to bits? That's a beautiful way to do it.

Ewan Pratt 48:35
Yeah, you gotta add the, like, demoralizing effect to get in their head. Yeah, right.

Kwame Adu 48:41
Just got to psych them out. Like, you're like I am. I'm Captain Falcon. I drive 1000 miles per hour. I'm getting beat by this.

Ewan Pratt 48:50
They're charging up the Falcon Punch. And I'm just throwing efficient. But I was just saying, like, planting a tree,

Kwame Adu 48:58
Dan. Yeah, you get it. You get it? Yeah.

Ewan Pratt 49:03
You have any sort of like, favorite artists that aren't musicians?

Kwame Adu 49:07
Yeah, yeah. Um, a lot of my current artists that I've had a lot of focus on. It will be a Hideaki I know

Kwame Adu 49:19
who made Neon Genesis Evangelion. Very important to animate to who I always say it's been one of my favorites. I've been focusing on a lot of his work a lot.

Kwame Adu 49:39
Excuse me, um, a lot of that, I guess. I guess, Larry David. I've been I've been watching. I've been watching Seinfeld and I'm like, wow, this is some crazy TV. Is it some crazy TV? So a lot of that a lot of that. Um, Okay, this artists Okay, oh, for my time. He's my homie. He's a visual like he works in visual art, like painting, oil pastels and the like. And he's killing it right now. Very wonderful, like, super crazy images. Like, it's so crazy. Yeah. When I think about it, just those those in the meantime.

Ewan Pratt 50:28
Yeah, yeah, I've noticed the qualms a covers are very, like, very nice. Where did those come from? Oh, like cover art

Kwame Adu 50:37
funny enough? Um, okay. Oh fermata he did the mountain EP cover. So that was the second project he had done that. And the first one was by Adrian two, from not butchering your last name. I think Adrian too. And I believe he's noted for my V's let the sun talk out and covered, I think, oh, that's what he's a nice word. But he made the first motherland project. Cover. So very much like similar. Like, we don't make this like real, like, just Earth toned and like, just yeah. Just textured. It's very much that.

Ewan Pratt 51:32
Yeah, yeah. Was there like a there a process behind that? Is you sort of just like handling the music? And then they give it back? Or was it like, did they listen to the music beforehand? Are they trying to inspire through the sound? Or is it just matched up? Well,

Kwame Adu 51:47
I think we might have shown I might have shown might have shown Okay, the music for nine. I don't remember if we showed Adrian for motherland. We had the songs done, though. Like, I think in both cases, excuse me. I think in both cases, the music was done first, and we had just a vibe that we wanted to get off. Like, like motherland has we have basketball jerseys on like, you know, it was like stuff like that, like just just specific references. So just what we're into people to understand like polka music is supposed to be I think,

Ewan Pratt 52:28
nice. Um, I wanted to touch on this before I forgot. How did the sort of name camellia do? Like come to be what it is? That's not your real name is it? It is.

Kwame Adu 52:45
My government name is Brandon. My cultural name My family's from like my family being from where they from Kwame means that I'm, I'm a male, who was born on a Saturday. That's I'm just translated from my ethnic group. It's like a system that they had in the Ashanti region, or and they got caught up. And then it do is like one of my, one of my grandparents. So it's like that. Yeah. So it's my name in the same way I look at like Brandon V money. And

Ewan Pratt 53:27
yeah. Okay, so Well, I was gonna ask if there's like a law behind the persona, but I mean, it's just yeah, that makes sense. A lot of your music is genuine. Yeah, your solo stuff. Super

Kwame Adu 53:40
mean, I used to go by Brandon Mischenko. And that was a bit out there. And Miss Sanko being like, similar to my last name, and also having cool like Dragon Ball reference. But I think the more I grew into myself, the more I was willing to see myself for who I was, and that is, you know, that was quite me to do.

Ewan Pratt 54:07
Nice. Maybe for someone that hasn't heard your music before. What would you say would be like, three to five essential songs, they should go check out. They want to get a sense of who you are.

Kwame Adu 54:23
Um, I think before this album is out, I'll say Janine. I have a song called counting losses from early early last year, early 2021. And probably is a really good question. Probably prayer, I'm gonna say prayer and say, Yeah, Janine county losses. Prayer

Ewan Pratt 55:19
Yeah, I'll just do a little outro here. Appreciate you all for tuning in. I'm Ewan aka DJ off belay I was here with Kwame Adu for this installment of the alt rap pipeline deep cuts on WKNC 88.1 FM HD one Raleigh.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai