Fresh young talent comes in the form of King Kay rising through the London hip hop scene.
Taking influences from a combination of Lauryn Hill and Biggie, D’Angelo through to the jazz & soul roots he grew up with, King Kay brings a fresh twist on a classic sound with the release of ‘Mr Gatsby’ later this Spring. Fortitude Magazine got an exclusive look at what is due to drop March 23rd.
Check out his recent debut on SBTV with the soulful sounds of ‘Shoreditch Resident’; a smokey piano neo-soul soundtrack that elevates him miles above the roadmen of The Square currently dominating the underground music scene in London.
“If I was to try and describe my sound, I would say it was the space between hip hop and neo-soul. My aim is to make widely appreciated music without having to compromise on lyricism.”
We asked him why his sound is so different to the stereotypical black young sound of London;
“Coming from a middle-class background, going to boarding school and that type of shit has definitely influenced my content. Even though I was born in East London, moving to the suburbs at an early age meant I wasn’t really around any guns, gangs, or drugs so I’m not going to talk about some shit I didn’t experience…”
This is a fantastic combination of incredible samples, using Kirk Whalum’s faultless saxophone prowess while rapping with the ease of early Common or Kano.
It’s clear on listening to the album that he is still fully capable of spitting over the most classic of grime beats, and talks about wanting to continue the exploration of his sound;
“I think it’s just the current space I’m in right now. Really chilled. My next tape I’ll probably play around more with funk. I just don’t want to be put in a box called ‘grime’ or ‘rap’, I like playing around with melodies and shit.”
Check out his most recent track from the forthcoming album ‘The Revolution’, which you can watch by clicking here.
Follow King Kay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KaysWorld_S
Follow King Kay on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kitoyesworld
Follow King Kay on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitoye.soremekun