As a thank you to his fans, King Los is has released a brand new video, “Only One Of Me,” to kick off 2015 the right way. Many know King Los from his mind-boggling freestyles and re-makes of records over the years, and from being one of Diddy’s brightest young Bad Boy stars, but the B-More native has successfully carved out a unique lane of his own, and is entering a new, exciting phase of his career. He signed a new deal with RCA towards the end of last year, and is poised to have a hell of a 2015. We caught up with the man who Lupe Fiasco calls one of the best rappers alive to see where his head is as he gets ready for these next 12 months.
Congrats on the RCA deal, first and foremost.
Thank you
Now are you able to go a little more in-depth with how your RCA deal works. And what fans that are familiar with your approach can expect?
Yeah, to be honest with you its just more visibility now. We’re not trying to change up the game plan or re-work a different angle. Its just about maximizing the visibility and capitalizing on the things that the fans love and now having that actual plateau down to display some of the things that people maybe haven’t seen. Along with radio, visuals and things of that nature.
Great. Tell us about your “Try Me” remix. You added a lot to it. What’s your approach to getting on another artist’s record?
I just thought it was dope. I haven’t rapped over another artists record in a while, so it was about that time. I thought it would be more of a challenge because Dej has more of a melodic approach. I just wanted to see, creatively, what I could do. I just like a challenge and I thought it was challenging – the whole song, she sang it — So, I just wanted to see what my approach would be, because I don’t write. I like to figure it out as I do it.
You have a 15-year career. What motivates you? What keeps you consistent over the years to the point where you now have another hurdle that clearly sets forward another foundation to lay?
I always wanted to be great at what I do. So that always motivated me. When you want to be great at something, all the other factors around it probably enhance it, but the main thing is that you’re in constant pursuit of something. And because of that, it won’t allow you to rest comfortably until you achieve whatever you feel like that is. And since it’s a constant pursuit, it ever-changing. So you don’t even really see that time span until you look back. While you’re doing it, it can take 7or 8 years just for one thing to happen. So, once that one thing happens, you celebrate and move on to the next. When you look back, you think, “mans, it’s been that long?” But, I’m still chasing.
In “Try Me” there are many 90’s references to Martin, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and other movies. What are some of your pop culture influences – ones that you know you can relate to your fan base and crowd. Like, Wale’s Seinfeld references…
Well you can tell, definitely Martin. I’m a big time Martin fan. I make a lot of basketball references, sports metaphors… things of that nature. Basketball was my first love before music.
What’s your favorite Martin episode?
I don’t have an exact favorite, but one of my favorites is definitely the one when he was in his Nino Brown, with the all black with the diamond necklace, thunder and lightning, and the fake Rottweiler.
Ha! The CD player episode
Wilding out on his whole crew. That’s like one of my favorites. You can’t narrow it down to just one episode.
Now you’re from Baltimore. Are you a Wizards fan?
I actually am a fan of the wizards. Just because, you know, the home team kind of thing. That’s like being a fan of the Redskins but it’s more of a supportive thing. Like, of course I’m a Ravens guy. The Wizards are D.C., which isn’t exactly Baltimore, but the closest thing we have. I’m actually a big fan of Melo –
— A Baltimore guy.
He’s on the Knicks and he’s a Baltimore guy. To me, that’s more of a direct correlation, if closer –to me — to be a fan of Melo, someone you know, saw on the come up in B’more, and now plays for the Knicks.
Now what about your musical influences? Were there any artists in particular, or albums you may have heard that triggered you making music a full-time thing?
Like, in general?
In general and on the come up. What are some albums that you’ve heard in the past and even more recently that have made you want to pull up another notch and move up a level?
I like Good Kid, M.A.A.D City a lot. The way it was constructed. Then, I like how eclectic the vibe was; it wasn’t just one-dimensional. It had a lot of elements to it. I like that. Coming from someone that’s a peer, I thought he really nailed it. I like Wale’s last album too. Sonically, I thought it was incredible, and soulful. Aside from that, it’s more old-school.
Let us know!
It Was Written (Nas), Blueprint (Jay Z), The Truth (Beanie Sigel), Big L’s album (Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous), Power of a Dollar (50 Cent). Just OutKast as a crew, Andre 300 individually. Oh, Ready to Die (The Notorious B.I.G.), and definitely All Eyez On Me (2Pac).
I noticed you are a brand ambassador for Civil Clothing. How did that come about?
So far, we’ve done the clothing. We haven’t done exclusive pieces yet, but I’ve just basically been the brand ambassador with what they’re launching.
Any word on your album?
We’re just working on it right now. The record we released wasn’t realy a single. I mean, technically, it is because we release it, but it’s not like the traditional definition of what a single is. It’s like a tone setter. A great place to start; Like an introduction situation. We wanted to make it sonically diverse.
