YesJulz is known as a powerhouse of entertainment, branding and marketing based in Miami. She is an event curator and host, owner of YesJulz Agency and manages one of the best up and coming female rap artists, 070 Shake. She also releases playlists each week including New Music Mondayz, Trap Thursdayz and the one she featured Yezzi & King Kirk on: Submission Sundayz.
Last Sunday, Miss Cash added “Twist It” a hit by Yezzi featuring King Kirk to the playlist. Since then it has received over 22 thousand listens. So I got an exclusive from King Kirk himself, a rap artist out of Middletown, CT, whose brother works as a music producer at TDE (op Dawg Entertainment). Take a listen and hear what he has to say about his art below.
How long have you been rapping and how did you get into it?
I’ve been rapping for about a year and a half now, but I’ve been into writing poetry and story since I can remember so I feel like its always been in me. Growing up I would always have my brother recording down in the basement with his boys and I’d want to hang with them so bad and be apart, so I guess you could stay that really sparked my interest. All during high school me and my boys would have cyphers in the halls and once I started to get a little nice with that I began to write bars and take it more seriously. Around my junior year my aunt gave me her old computer, I got a mic and stumbled on to a new passion.
You go by two different names for your music, King Kirk and $hmitty Raw, can you explain a little more about that?
Originally my rap name was Stevie Wonderful just for like freestyling, but when I started taking shit serious I felt more mature mentally and more conscious so with that it felt necessary to rename. King Kirk is more conscious and lyrically powerful. I approach as King Kirk when I’m feelin’ myself and when my flow and the beat sounds hard to me. It makes me really feel like a King like the most high. $hmitty Raw was just recently acquired and my boy Don aka Ruggi$h (one of the best producers in my city) helped me create it. $hmitty Raw is just raw energy and sauce. I don’t wanna say its when I’m not trying but more like when it just comes naturally. Like when I hop on trap beats or hype tracks its more of a carefree vibe and more fun than serious.
Your brother JuiceOfAllTrades is a producer at TDE, whose your favorite artist on their label?
I’d have to say Kendrick Lamar is my favorite artist on TDE because the messages he sends into the world. He’s very conscious and woke and I think it say a lot about how mentally strong he is because coming where he comes from, violence, negative shit is mostly what is produced. I just respect what he’s tryna create and that he made his own wave. But to be honest, all of TDE is raw as fuck and I fuck with all they music.
How did it feel when YesJulz picked up your song for her playlist?
When YesJulz picked ‘Twist It’ for the Sunday playlist it gave a strong feeling of hope. I say that because when you just put ya music out there all you see is the views really, you don’t know if niggas really fuckin’ with it. So seeing that made me feel like the talent is really there and maybe we have a real chance of doing something. YesJulz has such a huge following and she’s like a music junkie so I know she would put no whack shit out. And I’m just happy my boy Yezzi let me feature on it. My boy Subachi, on the productions, they the ones who really put work in on it. We did that track right when I got back from Cali and I ain’t seen dude in a year but we had great vibes off rip and the track came together so smooth and fast. He’s truly talented though, he raps and produces and is nasty as fuck at both. I featured on a couple songs on his new mix tape, one being “Nights in the Mental 2”. I feel like he’s making the most noise in CT right now.
So you have a mixtape coming out, what can you tell me about that?
I’m currently working on my first mixtape called King Raw and I’m just tryna make a statement with it and let niggas know what I have to offer and what’s to come. It has tracks on it I wrote from years ago that I’ve just been saving for the right moment. With this mix tape I wanna open up and start showing people who I really am as a artist and how I see the world around me. The vibes I catch are very strong and my goal is to have those emotions and energy go through the listener and not only have them enjoy it but also think and feel. I feel like music is very powerful and can change how people see themselves nad the world we live in. Most of my boys bouta be on it, either producing or spitting and I feel like it’s gonna have a lot of people talking about the Mental. (Mental = Middletown, CT)
When you release your mixtape, where can people find it? And how long might it be till we can hear it?
Imma be posting it on Soundcloud, Spinrilla and my Twitter. To be honest, I’m not sure when it’s gonna be done cause I’m still choosing beats and setting the line up but I’m hoping sometime around the middle of September. I’ll give you a little peak at one of the tracks on my mixtape produced by my brother. It’s supposed to say King Kirk but when my nigga put it up he put $hmitty.
Follow King Kirk on Twitter & Soundcloud.
Follow Yezzi on Twitter & Soundcloud.
