Dope Ass Conversations #1: 4200Kory
Or: Part One of a New Series Highlighting Dope People Doing Dope Things
I’m not gonna lie, I was in a bit of a rut the past month and half or so. I had a hard time writing for my newsletter not because I was particularly uninspired, but because I was just exhausted from burnout and lacked the necessary focus/energy. One thing that’s always helps me get out of funks like that is simply connecting with other creative or otherwise likeminded people and just chopping it up. It’s these intimate moments that remind me that maybe life is worth sticking around for. Even if it’s just to have an enlightening discussion with someone I’ve yet to meet.
Learning new things about someone is always fascinating and there’s always pieces of wisdom for me to take home. It’s one of the reasons that I’m grateful to be in the field I’m in as a writer, as I’ve always like to say that I’m not in the business of doing interviews, I’m in the business of having dope ass conversations with dope ass people (word to Yoh Phillips). Then I decided, “what if I just shared these conversations with my newsletter?” I know a lot interesting people that I think are doing some pretty noteworthy stuff. So here I am, starting something new. Let me know what you think
The first entry in this series is 20 year-old rapper and Indianapolis native 4200Kory. I came across his music last winter after my big homie Eric sent me his album HOLD ON 4 DEAR LIFE, and I was blown away. I was stunned to discover this was just his debut album and he only had released just an EP prior to it. It sounded so well-done and polished, it became a buzzer beater addition to my year-end Favorite Music list.
I’ve gotten to know him a bit personally and can tell he’s the real deal. Since Kory is pretty much a brand new name in Chicago’s music scene, I figured he’d be the perfect guinea pig for this series, as I’m hoping to put on at least a few of y’all onto his music.
Q: Who is 4200Kory?
A: 4200Kory is this persona, this energy from Indianapolis, Indiana that that consist of a lot of trial and error. I mean you have a lot of things that can influence that trial and error. But I mean it's all for the sake of growth… It's hard to even explain because there's so many things there's so many layers to that to me and my art, my artistry, and I know like right now you can scratch the surface of it with the projects that I have out, but like there's so much more. So it's like it's hard to explain, but in the simplest terms I say he’s just the energy that hails from Indianapolis. He is a very like distinct person, a very independent individual with a story to tell that you got to actually listen to, you know, in order to understand.
When did you start making music?
I started making music really when I was like, honestly say when I turned 14. I started to really record and that was when I was recording myself. I used to record through a computer. I didn't have a mic. I had a computer and I used to record through the computer with the earbuds, not even with the software that I downloaded for recording. I would use like an online site. So like it was like it was a mess but I started recording around that time. I started off writing like poetry and just like making up stories and stuff. Like they would be loosely based off a real life events, without switching it up, changed names and stuff like that. And then it eventually became music because it was copacetic. After my father passed around the age of 12, they tried to put me through like, therapy and whatnot. That really didn't gel well with me. Like my first class of therapy I left right out mid-sentence. And everything after that sort of like, was writing and eventually turned into music because it just felt right for me.
Who were your musical influences growing up?
Off-top, Kanye. My influences derive from big moments in my life, or moments that have help scope me into who I am now, what was I listening to back then. So like, I'd hear like Kendrick Lamar, that good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Kendrick Lamar EP, Overly Dedicated, stuff like that. I said Kanye. Andre 3000 and OutKast most definitely a big influence, and stuff like John Legend. As of late, my biggest influences are James Blake, David Bowie. Mick Jenkins’ pen is really nice, I like how he writes. Saba has become a bigger influence over time… I pick up everything from everybody I feel like. Even if somebody can't rap like, I would like their beat selection or I would like the fact that they use a specific ad-lib behind the bar. So the little intricacies that I can take from somebody, but as far as names go, those are my favorites.
You mention James Blake and David Bowie as influences. How does their music translate into your raps? Do You ever see yourself making music outside of the hip-hop genre?
For me, I love hip-hop. Hip-hop saved my life in so many ways. So for me, I don't think I'll ever shy away from hip-hop. And that’s what being an artist has become for me especially for the stuff we’re working post-HO4DL… I'm trying to see how far can I push and still hold on to the elements of hip hop, while also touching this other genre. Because hip-hop, hip-hop is amazing, right? But it's like, when you have all these other genres, it makes it easier to get a point across when you use another genre. It depends on what you're talking about or what you may be going through. But I mean, like when I listen to those artists, they influenced me in the way they do because I may pick up, from James Blake, I know what I picked up was songwriting. You know, like, I love his album last year, it was that my album of the year. So when I listen to that record, I just think of how it's so full even though it's so simple, the instrumentals are great. You know, he had great features, but it's the fact that his songwriting was that good to match with his singing. The same thing with David Bowie. I picked up his carelessness, but also his intention. It’s those little things, man, you got to invite these aspects into hip-hop. So we can have a newer conversation because everything's already busy. So that's what it is.
Who are some artists in Chicago you’d like to connect with?
It’s interesting because I’ve never been big on features. There are some feature runs, like when people talk about what Lil Wayne did back then or I know how Durk just came off one, that I really enjoy because I love the competitive nature of the game. But when I’m making a record, I’m not thinkin “oh man, you know who would sound good on this,” because I’m so caught up in the fact that I’m getting my thoughts across. But if I can name like bigger names it’d be Saba. I like Herb’s voice. As of right now though, the people I’m interested in are Gayun Cannon, I love what she’s doing. KAI is another one, he was actually one of the first people I was introduced to in this city. Those are my favorites right now. Dre Izaya is nice, he can rap.
Tell me about your collective that you’re a part of. Who is Slumbaby Family?
Slumbaby Family, at first, was a musical collective that I started in middle school with a couple guys that liked the same music as I do. It was called something else at the time, but as time went on, people want different ways. You know what high school does to people. My senior year, I was getting ready to drop my Rest Easy EP. We ended up rebranding it and calling Slumbaby family, and I cleared the whole roster at that point. Now it’s a creative collective where we take in anyone who can make anything worthwhile. Our thing is “are you hungry? Are you creative?” We have this gene that I can’t describe. Everyone involved has their own niche… It’s a family. The moment you listen to a record and are like “oh, this is pretty good,” you’re a part of that family. It’s an energy you can’t really explain. We’re always constantly moving and accepting people’s truth and willingness to be themselves.
Biggest lesson you’ve learned since making music?
I think be authentic, man. Because when I first started making music, and I think everybody is like this when you first start, you want to make music that you enjoy listening to. When you make that music you don't realize you're mimicking something. And once you come across the fact that you can have your own flow, like I think that's what makes my album so good to me, for me it’s like I know that it's authentic. It doesn't emulate anything else. It’s for me, and it’s from me. And when I first started it wasn't like that. I wanted to sound like Kendrick, I wanted to sound like Cole. Then at the time, you could hear it in my music and people would compare it and you could tell like why it wasn't doing good. But once you have an original sound, and it’s real, I think that works in your favor. A lot of other stuff I learned that come with the music stuff, I learned that just from living life. Like being patient, watching things play out. Because if you want to do well in music you got to be patient. You're gonna hurt yourself trying to rush anything.
Post-rollouts for albums are really underrated in this current era of short attention spans and overconsumption. Most artists will just drop then move on after like a week because there’s this pressure to release new content in a short amount of time but there are some artists who are good at pushing projects for a long period like Saba with Care For Me. Why do you still push your album HO4DL as hard as you do instead of moving onto to the next one?
I had a conversation with another artist by the name of Baby Ebony and I was fortunate enough to get free game from him. He told me this before I ever dropped a project. He was like, “Man, how many records on the project?” I was like, 14. He's like, “Okay, so what you supposed to be doing is treat record has if you pushing it for a month each.” The thing for me was like, I knew it was important. We worked really hard on it. That's why I push it like I do now. We worked extremely hard on like, you hear those skits, that skits we did like so many takes just for it to sound the right way. There's a lot of those verses that are emotional, a lot of verses that I was breaking down, I had to stop recording and do another one. Like I will be doing myself and my team injustice if I didn't push it as hard as I do.
How do you see yourself putting on Indianapolis? How does your city come through your music?
Let me start this the right way… Do you know anything about Indiana’s music scene? What's funny is like, because our music scene is so weird. Like, I was talking to somebody in LA. And I was like, “Man, the biggest artist we ever had outta Indiana is Michael Jackson,” and they were confused. They didn't know he was from Indiana. It's stuff like that for me, that's like, man, I really try to do a lot of stuff to try to band together the artist so we can make this thing work because I'm not the only one that has good music… When it comes to my city man, I tried to respect it the best way possible. I do a lot of charity work, it doesn't matter where I'm donating, it doesn't matter what I'm doing. Like even when I was in high school. One time, I'm saying I probably had like $50 on me you know? And that was for like prom or something, you know, but stuff like that never mattered to me. I seen three people that were homeless on a bus stop, and I walked over there and I asked them– and I do not tell people this, but it's a lot of times I do things like this, and I really don't talk about it– But it's like, I take people out to eat randomly just because I feel like that's what's right. It gives me some type of fulfillment, I guess, you know, to know that I'm helping somebody because there was a period of my life where I was homeless… I done gave food drives for the kids in my neighborhood on 42nd and Post Road. Next month, we’ll be having a giveaway for the Boys and Girls Club. We'll be hosting it and giving out free haircuts, free shoes, and holding a basketball tournament for the kids. I just be really trying to put on my city… When it comes to my music man, I think of a record like “GODBODY,” and that grit. When you hear it, you get to hear that energy, you get to hear me being from where I'm from. It's just like football. You know it's rough, it's brash, it’s appealing, it’s going to get your attention because it's supposed to. It’s flamboyant and energetic. I like stuff like that because that’s where I’m from.
What exactly does Hold On 4 Dear Life mean?
Hold On 4 Dear Life is a phrase that a real close friend said to me a long really time ago. It means giving yourself something that is the battery in the back for pushing. For me. Like what is it that you believe in? Are you holding onto to a regret or second guess. That’s what holding on to dear life means. For me, I hold on for dear life for the thought to create longevity… I’m holding on to the idea that one day, I’mma have more to myself, like I’m worth more than what anyone can ever tell me. That's what I’m holding onto. And for anybody else, it can mean whatever you hold onto.
Follow 4200Kory on social @4200Kory on IG and twitter
(Q&A slightly edited and condensed for continuity and clarity)
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