Mavi was one of the first artists I reached out to when deciding to relaunch Kinda Neat, so it's only fitting he ended up as the last guest of this "season" before I take a little summer break. When I reached out I'd recently gotten hip to his triumphant debut, Let the Sun Talk . I t turns out Mavi had recently decided to take a break from school to concentrate on playing shows and building on the momentous buzz of the record. Then the world came to a halt. I can't help but feel for all the youn...
Jun 30, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 196
When ovrkast . came through last year, demahjiae came with him to the studio. I wasn't hip yet, but ovrkast. promised me he was next up. He was right! demahjiae's 2020 release " And, Such Is Life. " boosted itself right into my favorite albums of the year upon it's release. The self-produced opus features a litany of guests that stay in my rotation (Navy Blue, Pink Siifu, Zeroh, ovrkast.), thoughtfully cohesive production, and constantly inward facing lyricism. It's well worth your time and trul...
Jun 23, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 195
SG Ali was brought to my attention by a trusted source and I've loved everything I've heard so far. She has a deeply intuitive sense of melody, and consistently creates inspirational ear worms. Turns out she's been honing her craft since childhood. Born and raised in Near North Chicago, in the Cabrini-Green Homes, she was lucky enough to be a part of a music education program in middle school called "Friday Crew" where members learned to make beats, make raps, and make music videos. While she wa...
Jun 16, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 194
Travis Thompso n and I go way back now. Even before his performance of “ Need You ” went massively viral back in 2017, he was following my friends and I online, and occasionally asking for guidance, as far back as 2011. He’s one of the friendliest folks to ever come on the show, and I feel a bit like a big brother (whether he wants me to or not). After “Need You” blew up, labels came calling, and he signed with Epic. His first release with them Reckless Endangerment admittedly didn’t do what he ...
Jun 09, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 193
Been a Njomza fan for a long time now. After hearing about her way back in 2014, inviting her to perform on the show (I have an unreleased GEM of hers in the archives), and having her play one of my last shows back in 2015, I was thrilled to have her team reach out about performing the latest single on KN. A theme of this episode is drive and ambition. Njomza learned she could sing very young, and by the time she was in junior high she held auditions to start a band. She began posting cover song...
Jun 02, 2021•58 min•Ep. 192
Lou From Paradise hit it big in 2016 with a video that took him from never playing a solo show, to playing festivals within a matter of months. He was quickly swept into the major label system, and describes it as all being too much too soon. Feeling trapped by a machine that didn't want to see him grow and evolve, he asked to be released, and is now back on the indie grind feeling fully recharged. Lou's set to have a very busy year. With 3 releases already in the pocket, including the soon to b...
May 26, 2021•55 min•Ep. 191
Kipp Stone 's 2020 release HOMME was a carefully crafted and perfectly cohesive album. It was a stylistic leap forward for Kipp, and the first time he'd genuinely felt he found his voice on record. "Sprague Street" featuring Mick Jenkins was picked up by a number of playlists, and Kipp's buzz has been steadily on the rise. Born and raised in Cleveland, this was Kipp's first trip to Los Angeles. With the release of his excellent new EP Faygo Baby , and the "three perfect albums" he has plotted in...
May 19, 2021•57 min•Ep. 190
Was recently put on to Kear and intrigued by her innate pop sensibilities, confident delivery, and sensational ear for beats. The Philadelphia native was on her first trip to Los Angeles and it turns out she may never leave. After only working on music for a year, she has fully thrown herself into it, gathered a team, and made the trek across country to see if they can make it work. She seems to have all the right weaponry to achieve her goals. This episode contains a somber story of housing ins...
May 12, 2021•56 min•Ep. 189
I came across Airøspace in a Twitter thread. I asked people to put me on to new music, and out of the hundreds of responses, 2020's Senjougahara Hitagi, Vol. IV tape really stood out. His 2019 release Sorry to Bother You further solidified how asleep I'd been. He lives in DC, and trying to arrange an episode of KN during the pandemic became touch and go due to the fact my wife was approaching her due date during the week he was in town. My wife was having contractions the evening we recorded the...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 188
Carpetgarden 's latest EP, " The Way He Looks ," blew me away. The songwriting is impeccable, the production is great, and their gently deep resonant tone really hits an emotional soft spot. I gush over their talent in the episode because I really do think they have hit-record potential. With such a wide range of influence and consumed media throughout their youth, Carpetgarden has a established a sound with crossover appeal to all sorts of music lovers. Growing up on social media and online gam...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 187
You're not going to find a lot of Clip 's music on streaming platforms yet. Her underground hit " SAD B!TCH " sits alone on DSPs, but a quick trip to her Soundcloud page will show you why the industry is salivating over her. Her versatility and style is instantly apparent, and with the well established aesthetic of someone raised on the internet, it's only a matter of time until she and her gang Burn All Sex Dolls pop off something major. Born in Brooklyn to scholarship athlete parents, and rais...
Mar 17, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 186
Put Jacks Haupt on your radar now. We're tapping in extremely early in her career, and this could be a sure bet. With her sultry pop-savvy sound, and bilingual lyrical sensibilities, I could envision her being an international phenomenon. Big words to live up to, but we can look back on this post in a few years and see how it went. Jacks grew up in Dallas and recently had her first whirlwind trip to LA, where she filmed music videos, became part of a documentary, and got her first taste of the m...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 185
Jansport J has been working working. In 2020 alone he dropped four beat tape projects, and he's already released his first of 2021 in Save My Soul II . He's also been getting amazing placements from the likes of Benny The Butcher, Freddie Gibbs, Snoop, Ty Dolla Sign and many more. His soulful sample chops and swingy drums are a perfect palette for rappers, or wonderful standalone pieces that hold up just as well in headphones as they do knocking in your vehicle speakers. I've known of, and been ...
Mar 03, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 184
Been wanting to have Rexx Life Raj on the show for some years now and finally worked it out. The Bay Area native has a butter smooth delivery, intuitive sense of melody, and a plethora of range in topics and emotional depth. His latest release California Poppy 2 finds him releasing the sequel to his heralded 2018 tape. While that release found him collaborating with Bay legend E-40, the follow up welcomes New Orleans legend Juvenile to the party as well. Raj started rapping in high school, when ...
Feb 24, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 183
N8NOFACE has been making music for almost 30 years, but for over 20 of those years he made it in secrecy. His first love, east coast rap music, inspired him to order an SP1200 from the back of a magazine when there wasn't a single music store in his home state of Arizona selling them. For years he toiled away learning how to make beats and rap, but never showed anyone. Even when he and his brother both owned hip hop shops in Tucson, hosting open mics and battle events in store, he still kept it ...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 182
Nana's recently released Save Yourself LP is an absolute gem. Looking at the complete picture - extremely high production value, master class level bars, cinematic visuals, polished and professional album photography - it's hard to believe the record was released independently. Even the collaboration with TDE's Reason was an organic introduction from family and friends in the Crenshaw District. Nana's been quietly honing his craft for over 10 years. Save Yourself, and 2018's Nana's EP , are care...
Feb 10, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 181
The Khan has been bubbling in the underground for a few years now, but underground rap wasn't his first foray into music. Originally inspired by classic rock, he started a band inspired by the likes of Led Zeppelin while still in middle school. Born and raised in DC, Khan's unique experience has inspired his political activity. The song he performed, "BLM PLAZA," was created after weeks of protesting in front of the White House (Pen Ave & 16th). After weeks of BLM protesters being beaten, be...
Feb 03, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 180
Oliver the 2nd is a rapper out of Fontana, CA (the I.E.) who's been honing his craft for years. He's been collaborating with his cousin Jeremiah Jae since before Jae was signed to Brainfeeder, he was featured in a Boiler Room episode with Jon Wayne, Zeroh, and Azizi Gibson, and he's had the opportunity to work with Alchemist multiple times over the last few years. Clearly he's in a circle with some of rap's elite, so why did he almost disappear for 6 years? He released his last project in 2014, ...
Jan 27, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 179
Dana Dentata 's story is a real roller coaster ride. After becoming a model at age 14, her journey has been filled with seedy men, shady scenes, and lots of demons. Those demons were a signature part of her visual aesthetic to this point, but she's recently brightened her outlook after signing to legendary metal label Roadrunner Records and, through therapy, learning about her dissociative disorder. From close encounters with Jeffrey Epstein, to being the face of American Apparel, and eventually...
Jan 20, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 178
YUNGMORPHEUS had a busy 2020. Starting off the year dropping the impressive collaboration Bag Talk with Pink Siifu, before continuing with solo project Black Schemata, a beat tape Pieces, and wrapping it up with the great EP Mise En Place. He's started 2021 with the same feverish pace dropping the States of Precarity LP last week. In the song he performed for us, "Championship Spliff," he states he "took time to hone the pen, I had something to say." His progress as a rapper and beatsmith have b...
Jan 13, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 177
Huey Briss is a Long Beach, CA native who’s recently come into his own as a rapper after years of working on his sound. What’s his new x-factor? His producer Nikobeats . When the two started working together he noticed an immediate chemistry and growth in his sound. The fact Niko’s father is hip hop legend DJ Babu has helped them both learn to polish their industry acumen and professionalism. With a string of releases set to flood this holiday season, he’ll be ending up on a lot more radars in 2...
Dec 16, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 176
Eyedress is effortlessly cool. His latest record “ Let’s Skip to the Wedding ” is an exercise exploring every genre that made him such a chill dude. With styles ranging from Joy Division inspired 80’s new wave goth, to Zapp & Roger funk fueled vocoder anthems, the record is simultaneously all over the place, and absolutely cohesive. That’s probably because he carries all the heavy lifting from song-writing, to production, to instrumentation himself. Born in the slums of the Philippines, rais...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 175
Mike Eagle is one of the people I've known longest in my strange career path. We met over 15 years ago, we've worked together on countless little things like this episode, and he's someone I used to see almost every weekend at functions in my mid to late 20's. The first time I ever toured, Mike was on the tour. We were just dudes in the same "scene." Our lives diverged at some point, as scene friends' lives often do. But unlike most compatriots I don't seen as often, Mike's continued to release ...
Dec 02, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 174
Last time I interviewed smrtdeath , he told me off-air, he was in talks with Epitaph about potentially signing a record deal with them. Now, a year and a half later, his Epitaph debut is being released this week. "Somethjngs Wrong" is a step forward for smrtdeath sonically, visually, and professionally. Graduating from an indie artist who accomplishes everything by favors and beneficial collaboration, to being a signed musician with a budget for marketing, visuals, and even paying producers up f...
Nov 18, 2020•53 min•Ep. 173
Remy Banks is rapper out of Queens that emanates New York grittiness, street smarts, and smoothness. I first started hearing of Remy as a solo artist way back in 2014 when he released a single produced by King Krule called "7th heaven. (interlude)." I didn't realize how long he'd already been involved in the scene and working as a rapper by then, so you can imagine all the stories he has by now. Episodes like this are a joy for me because I love hearing about scene origins, and the beginnings of...
Nov 11, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 172
Brennan Savage never had dreams of being a musician, but meeting a young Gus Åhr in his adolescence accidentally put his life on crash course towards rap life. Now, half a lifetime later he's racked up hundreds of millions of streams, garnered an enormous following, and seems to have pop-crossover potential. His latest EP, Slow Motion, finds him broadening his sound and horizons as major labels are surely foaming at the mouth. Hear us talk about growing up skating, moving to LA with Lil Peep, an...
Nov 04, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 171
In this episode I kept saying it was the third time I've had my mom on the show for some reason, turns out this is actually the 4th episode with her. Interviewing my mom and trying to get a record of her (and our) life story is a time honored KN tradition. We haven't done one since January of 2016, so I'm glad I was able to even see her this year due to COVID, let alone get time to do an episode with her. She was down helping my grandmother out for a couple weeks and we recorded the night before...
Oct 14, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 170
My first conversation with Leafar Seyer of Prayers was quite possibly one of the most intriguing episodes we've ever done. It was an emotional rollercoaster filled with energy, stories, and even a few tears. His voice was a bit fried from a sold out show the night before so we didn't record a performance. I've gotten dozens of requests for a follow up interview with Leafar since then, so I was geeked when he randomly reached out to come through again, and this time he wanted to perform a song as...
Oct 07, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 169
Lil Zubin is someone I've wanted to have on the show a few years now. From his string of solo EPs, to his work with Misery Club, and now If I Die First, Zubin's output as a singer has been widely varied in style and genre. His "Misery" EP is up there with some of my favorite EPs released in the decade. But he got off to a late start vocally. Zubin didn't make his foray into lead vocalist until a few years ago, even though he's been in bands since he was 12 years old. His upcoming project with Ya...
Sep 30, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 168
St. Panther is a multi-instrumentalist / singer / producer from Irvine, CA. Her latest EP, "These Days," is a funky, soulful, genre-crossing, moving, and often danceable display of all her talents. As comfortable laying down her own drums as she is rapping and singing, SP is a creative powerhouse. Shes actually had to slow herself down and be more picky about when and what she creates so she can feel like all her songs have purpose. Now under the wing, and label, of Grammy nominated smash hit pr...
Sep 23, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 167
