Exclusive Interview: KAMARI

Recently, I caught up with Kamari, a young hip-hop artist from my hometown of Niagara Falls, NY. Kamari released a new video for his song “Out of my head” in January and it’s already close to reaching 10,000 views on YouTube. Check out the video and my interview below:

Ken: What is the song “Out of my head” about? What inspired you to write this song?

Kamari: The song “Out of my head” is about a kid who dealt with break ups in a relationship. For some people it’s easier to get over someone they use to love. Not for this kid who’s been having trouble of letting go.

The song was inspired by the singer “EZA” who is the voice you hear on the hook. The original piece to the song was called High and Low. After listening to the song so much I was just inspired to tell my side of the story.

Ken: What are your methods when you’re in the studio?

Kamari: When I’m in the studio my main focus is to be comfortable. Comfortable with my environment and comfortable with myself. Knowing how powerful music is I’m very preservative on the energy I put out into the world.

I never finish a song in one day. After laying down the vocals my engineers mixes it down until we’re ready to work on the next track. I then go home and listen to a song at least 100-200 times before releasing it just to make sure it’s exactly how I visioned it when i wrote it.

Ken: Who has inspired you to become a rapper?

Kamari: I inspired myself as an artist two years ago when I realized that I wasn’t going to make it to the NBA. My first dream was to go pro and believe it or not watching the warriors win the championship inspired me to be an artist. Seeing the atmosphere of a playoff game, watching the starting lineups and realizing that 90% of the sold out arena was to see Steph Curry made me want to experience life on that level. Just not as a basketball player. As I grew more as an artist I fell in love with different sounds and genres of music. Chance the rapper project “Acid Rap” changed my whole perception on music and still to this day I’m inspired by that man’s versatility.

Ken: What are some of the difficulties of being an up-and-comer in 2017?

Kamari: Some difficulties I’ve been facing in 2017 as an upcoming artist is how do I want the world to view me. My music is Genre-less so it varies by emotions making it harder to decide which songs to put out when it’s time

Ken: Where does the name “Kamari” come from?

Kamari: The name Kamari came from a book I was forced to read back in middle school which I remember nothing about. For some reason that name stuck with me. When I made my first song I didn’t even have a name yet. A few weeks later I met a girl with that name so I researched what it meant and realized that it fits me perfectly.

Ken: About how much time would you say you devote to your music?

Kamari: Realistically it’s hard to put a time frame on it because music is just the half of it. Being an artist is a full time job. Whenever I’m not working a 9-5 I’m in Artist mode so all my time is invested in writing, recording, marketing, promotions etc..

Ken: What separates your musical style from all of the other rappers out there just starting out?

Kamari: What I believe separates me from other rappers is the environment we grew up in. I was born and raised in a gritty environment where I done seen it all done it all with all the other kids from the projects that grew up around me. My parents placed me in a private school from pre-k to 12th grade which influenced my whole life to see and experience the way other kids live and were raised. To me it’s unique being brought up around many different types of people and making friends with everyone I came across. In my opinion that’s what makes my music diverse

Ken: How can we hear your music?

Kamari: For more music you can follow me on SoundCloud “KingKamari”

Follow me on twitter and IG @(Itskingkamari) to stay tuned with other projects I will be releasing.

Ken: Is there anything else you’d like people to know?

Kamari: I would like everyone to know that I will be releasing a 12 track project so be on the lookout, and make sure you follow me on social media to find out first.

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Tags: Hip Hop, Indie, Kamari, Ken Cosentino, niagara falls, Rap

About the Author

Ken Cosentino Ken Cosentino is an artist from Niagara Falls, NY. He is an award winning filmmaker, CEO of White Lion Studios, LLC and a published author.