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YXNG K.A Makes Relatable Music on Purpose

by Derrius Edwards
YXNG K.A

A career in rap wasn’t YXNG K.A’s initial plan for his life. In fact, the Philadelphia native had hoop dreams long before booth dreams. However, legend has it that K.A traded in his ball for a pen and never looked back, but as he states, “It wasn’t my plan, but people saw my potential and serious stuff started happening for me, so it’s like why not take advantage of this opportunity.” 

K.A’s come up is all about consistency. This newfound focus on rap full-time has exposed the constant downsides that come with fame, but his spirit remains happy and optimistic. “I try to look at everything positive now,” YXNG K.A affirms during our conversation. On wax, he opens up about betrayal, life in the streets and other personal problems. No, life isn’t always easy, but when it comes to weathering the storm, this expression helps define K.A’s narrative. 

Perhaps his biggest flex, YXNG K.A’s rapid-fire delivery and melodic cadences accent his raw talent. Studio sessions are reserved for therapeutic encounters, finding the 18-year-old rapper venting to find solace. “My music is personal” — and K.A’s art form is endowed with a palpable sense of relatability: generalizing statements in hopes of finding a commonality of interest amongst listeners. Most recently, K.A notched features from Lil Tjay and J.I The Prince of N.Y for the remix to “It Is What It Is”, a personal account about trust issues and plainspoken truths.

He wants to connect with fans on a personal level, even if that means revisiting the past and the disquieting feelings that come with it. A linchpin of influence when it comes to this new age of rap, get to know YXNG K.A, a breakout artist with a meteoric rise. Our conversation follows below. 

 

 

With you being a Philly native, how has the city influenced your sound?

Frfr, I would say the slang that I use, that would be the only thing. Everybody say I don’t sound like I’m from Philly. It ain’t no Philly rappers, influences or anything like that. It’s just me, that’s just the way I sound. I just started rapping last year, this was never no plan of mine.

 

Wait, so you’ve only been rapping for one year now? 

Yeah bro, I started rapping February 2019. It wasn’t my plan, but people saw my potential and serious stuff started happening for me, so it’s like why not take advantage of this opportunity. I made myself focus on it more, and now we here. 

 

You’re still relatively young in age. In retrospect, do you have any fears about not embracing the days of your youth and enjoying your teenage years?

Nah, I ain’t miss out on anything. I think this came at the perfect time for me. Everything that I planned on doing wasn’t going right. I used to play sports heavy, I was into football and basketball. I played almost everything, not to boost or anything. 

 

Your music exudes pain and vulnerability. What is the hardest part about YXNG K.A’s story?

Me losing my grandma and my cousin. My grandma was a real big part of my life, I lost her like two years ago. I try to look at everything positive now. I speak my mind in the music, but  I don’t really like to dwell on the past ya feel me. 

 

Do you ever struggle with separating your personal life from your life as a musician? 

It’s not a struggle, but it be some difficulties with it. My music is personal. For example, the song “It Is What It Is”, I try to make everything a general statement. It’s relatable to everybody else. It can be something that I’m going through personally and I’m just saying it ‘cause a thousand other muhfuckas have been through it. I just like to make everything relatable. 

 

Who do you make music for and how do you identify with your listeners?

I really make it for myself because it helps me get through what I’m going through. I don’t vent to nobody or talk to anybody about my issues majority of the time. 99 percent of the time, I’m really in the studio talking about it, so it really just be for me to help me get through. 

 

What do you feel like has been your defining moment at this stage in your career? 

The way it’s going now is good, but I’m more excited about this new music I’m about to put out. It’s going to take me to another level from where we are now.

 

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