AK Talks Dropping Highly Anticipated EP “On Me”

Hype Mag: Hi AK! How did your journey into hip hop begin?

AK: I was put onto Hip Hop by my brother Todd in 7th or 8th grade. The first song he showed me was ‘Ill Mind Of Hopsin 5’. He would always play me the best music.

I started out just writing poetry to express how I was feeling about life and my intro to making music started in 8th or 9th grade with my older brother Todd and his friends. They used to make songs for fun and I always thought the idea of that was dope, but I was never allowed to join them. There was one weekend when my brother left to go visit his friend at college, so I stole the laptop and mic out of his room and took it to mine to record. When he came back from his trip, I played him the song I made and he was shocked.

I realized I was skipping out on hanging out with friends, playing video games, and a lot of other things I usually wouldn’t miss out on in order to make music. Junior year is when the flip switched for me. That’s when I really fell in love with Music. I took whatever effort I would’ve given school, and put it towards learning how to record songs in my room. It became obvious that loved it and at that point I knew I wanted to pursue it as a career.

Hype Mag: What was the transition like once your music started blowing up on YouTube?

AK: I feel like the transition is still happening. My whole life has been different since I started pursuing music as a career. Especially in the beginning though, because I was still in High School and I was preparing to take on life after graduation of my music being my only focus. No college. I was definitely in a unique position then and still am now. It’s still something I’m adjusting to.

Hype Mag: Your new EP is titled “On Me”. What made you choose that title?

The title of my EP ‘On Me’ is about me accepting how crucial every decision I make in my life is. How much more control you can take over your life once you acknowledge the power in the decisions you make. Like if I’m tryna get better physically, it’s on me to get in the gym and eat clean. With my career, it’s on me to lock in, focus, and learn more about whatever I’m working towards. It’s on me to put my family in a better situation than they are now. I’m embracing that pressure when I say it’s on me. It’s me saying, It’s on me and I got this. Every decision I make is impacting my future and direction. I feel like it’s important for others to start acknowledging the weight their decisions hold for them as well.

Hype Mag: What is your writing process like?

AK: It is always different depending on where I am and who I’m with. If I’m alone, it’s different. When I am home, I love working in my room. My home studio is where I feel like I do my best work.

Hype Mag: What artists inspired you growing up and what artists inspire you now?

AK: Growing up… Akon, Tpain, Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, JCole. Now… JCole, Kendrick, DaBaby, and Post Malone

Hype Mag: If you had to pick, which song would be your favorite song off the EP?

AK: Closed Off. I wrote that song in my home studio and produced it from scratch. So, that song will always hold a special place in my heart especially out of the songs on my Ep ‘On Me.’

Hype Mag: Which music video was the most fun to create and why?

AK: Closed Off and 30 Blunts were both really fun shoots. I liked having the office building and cubicles with all the extras in the Closed Off video. I also loved the visual of me bossing up and having people working for me despite my age. 30 Blunts was
just a vibe. I got to play 2 different ‘characters’ for that video and got to just let loose and have fun with it.

Hype Mag: How does it feel to have self-produced the track “Closed Off” and see the music video reach over 1 million views on YouTube?

AK: It honestly is a blessing and I just peeped our streams on Spotify and we just hit over 2 Million. So crazy, such a blessing nothing but love to the fans. The numbers would look nothing
like that without them.

Hype Mag: What is one thing your fans don’t already know about you?

AK: Haha I can drink a entire bottle of water in less than 2 seconds LOL

Hype Mag: Who is your dream artist to collab with, dead or alive?

JCole

AK: Where do you hope to be 5 years from now?

Further along than I am now.

Hype Mag: Where can we follow you?

AK: @iamtherealak on all social media outlets!

Listen to AK’s new EP “On Me” https://ffm.to/ak_on_me

SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER

Tags: #HypeMagazine, Ak, Hip Hop, ON ME, Rap