Every musician seems to strive for success, but ask two artists the meaning of the word, and their answers will differ greatly. For many, success is fame – it’s vanity, wealth, a material reward for their dedication to their craft. But for Ohio rapper theKD, success has nothing to do with money.
Balancing a full-time job with a music career, the stereotypical dreams of becoming a music-making millionaire have never crossed the rapper’s mind. Instead, theKD is after something much more personal: self-improvement, authenticity, and a solidified identity in the music scene. His upcoming album, OTC (On the Clock), is a musical embodiment of that journey.
Unlike many musicians who dedicate every minute to their art, theKD hasn’t the time to pursue solely his hip hop dreams. Nonetheless, the rapper has found ways to insert his musical aspirations into his everyday life. “I work from home a lot of times because I do I.T., so I get the luxury of sitting at my house doing computer work,” he said. “A lot of these songs were written and recorded while I was working, hence the name, On the Clock. It kind of goes through my whole progression of balancing a successful daytime career with a successful music career.”
Beyond finding a balance between his professions, On the Clock sees theKD juggle his inspirations to hone a sound of his own. “I’ve realised during the whole creation of this project, the rap music I’ve been hearing – while it’s good – is not necessarily what I want to make. I feel like this project and how different it is – from the flows, to the features that are on it – it feels like I’m more so experimenting with my style and trying to find my sound, and just drawing a picture of music … I was just trying to make the best body of work that sounds like the best representation of myself.”
Over the years, theKD has defined himself as a rapper, occasionally dipping his toes into more pop-centric and melodic territory. With OTC, however, the album might mark the end of an era in the artist’s career. “This might be the last pure hip hop album I do,” he said. “We’re still gonna rap on some trap beats and all that fun stuff, but just expect some experimentation, having fun with music for a little bit.”
Even under the label of a hip hop album, OTC is shaping up to be one of the artist’s most diverse efforts yet. From the boom bap throwback ‘KLOUT’ to the trap-inspired percussion of ‘SCHOLARSHIPS!’ and ‘MARIAH’, each single has unveiled a different strength and flavour of the rapper’s ability. Part of that versatility can be accredited to theKD’s work ethic.
He described his creative process as “spontaneous strategy.” Elaborating further, he said, “A lot of the music I make, I’ll just be listening to something, then it will come to my head. Or somebody will just say something. I’ll be like, ‘Oh shit, that sounds cool as fuck. What if we turn it into a song?’ … I can’t write it down. I’m the type of person where, if I write it down, I’m going to lose the feeling because I’m thinking about it too hard … If you start thinking about your music, it’s not going to be as authentic as you want it to be. I try not to.”
That mantra carries through to theKD’s collaborations, spontaneously searching for the right voices to add to his sound. “There are some times when I’ll have something in the vault, thinking, ‘I need to get a feature. This would work so well with this guy, or this guy.’ I’ll have a list of names I think about hitting up. You’ll see ‘KD is typing,’ but you’ll never see the finished message. You’ll just see I typed something. You’ll ask me what, but I’ll never respond. I’m that bad.”
Camaran, Poob, and Kenneth Singer are just a few of the musicians theKD has been working with for OTC. On social media, the artist has teased the inclusion of another, more well-known guest, but even in our interview, theKD was stingy with details, answering with a wry smile and a coyness to his tone. “What I will say about the big feature is that they were at [Kendrick Lamar’s] Pop Out. It’s one of them; someone who was at the Pop Out.”
For the most part, however, OTC remains theKD’s vision. Whereas other artists might rush to include as many guests as possible to fill up a track-list, the rapper is determined not to shoehorn in any unnatural collaboration. “You can’t really force a feature. If it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t feel right. You can tell. The people listening to it can always tell when you’re faking something. I try not to do that. I try to be as authentic as I can.”
Although the artist’s plans to shift genre might surprise fans, it wouldn’t be the first time. From as early on as his childhood, theKD has been surrounded by music, hopping from sound to sound since as far back as his days in the choir.
“I’ve been singing since I was little,” he said, “but I wasn’t making real music until my junior year of high school. I had a couple of friends who made a bunch of EDM music, and I was really into EDM at the time, so I was like, ‘Yo, guys, what software do you use to make this?’ … When I got bored of that, I transitioned into making rap beats.”
Regardless of whatever genre theKD finds himself in, his passion for songwriting has never wavered. Even before he started out as a producer, the artist was writing music for his fellow music-makers. “One day in my junior year, my dude was like, ‘Hey man, you want to hop on a song?’ And I’m like, ‘Sure!’ I wrote a verse, I showed it to him, he was like, ‘Yeah, it looks good, let me hear it though.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean, hear it?’ Then he goes, ‘Well, you’re going to rap, right? No, no, no, you’re going to show me your shit. Rap it right now.’ I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, no cap. I’ve written a bunch of songs, but in my head, it never occurred to me to actually rap. After that, I was hooked. I’ve never really stopped since.”
Above all else, OTC is a testament to theKD’s drive to create. Balancing a nine-to-five job with his musical career, his story follows the same beats as most aspiring creatives. He may not have the time to pursue solely music, but nonetheless, his love for the art form keeps him hooked on creating. That drive, in and of itself, is enough for theKD to call himself successful.
“Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams,” he said. “Fuck what everybody else says. Genuinely, and I know everybody says this, but if you want to do something, do it. Chase that dream. Fuck if your teacher told you it’s stupid. Prove them wrong. Show that you have what it takes. Even if you don’t make it, you’ll feel better having taken that journey.”
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