Take a listen to: Kang
With a bold voice and a bold sound Kang makes music that can be incredibly engaging and energizing. Often reminiscent of trap music with the use of 808 like bass and hi hats, Kang’s music is highlighted by the various melodies his songs present and the versatility Kang displays as a singer and rapper.
Kang currently has five songs out; “Stretch These Bills,” “Survivor,” “Scrooge,” “Frosty Freestyle,” and “Satisfied”. One of the things I love most about Kang’s music is the strength of the melody in each of his songs. The melody of Kang’s songs and the catchy lyrics that make up his hooks help make his music really satisfying to listen to. On top of that, with Kang being able to sing and rap, I think there is definitely a bit of everything for everyone who is a music lover in Kang’s songs.
I had the opportunity to talk to Kang about his growth and history as an artist, as well as some of the behind the scenes decisions he makes when creating.
Abo-Keze Kang Ewimbi is a Business major at Montgomery College and a musician. Kang is Abo-Keze’s middle name as well as his artist tag. The Decision to go with Kang as a tag came about after some name searching. Abo-Keze remembers going by the name Charlie fire as early as middle school. Years later, what originally would have been King.242 is now Kang.242 ever since Abo realized how fitting his middle name was for an Artist tag.
Kang is part of a label he started with his artist friends however he does put out independent works not associated with the Empire.242 group.
For Kang, music has always been an active part of his life. In my conversation with Kang, he recalled the first band he ever tried to start with his sisters: Golden rush. Influenced by the notorious Big Time rush, Golden Rush was a band of about eleven people Kang recalled.
“We were doing a lot of like gospel music, and Christian contemporary and it was cool.”
“I think I was around the age of ten at that time.”
Even before taking part in his first band Kang remembers trying his hand at song writing as early as seven or eight years old.
“It was really corny, but it was kind of catchy honestly.”
As a relatively new listener of Kang’s music something that readily stands out in his songs is Kang’s vocal ability. On his song “Survivor” we hear Kang singing an incredibly catchy hook. Kang’s vocal ability is even more apparent on his song “Satisfied” which is completely dedicated to his talent as a singer.
Considering Kangs background in Gospel music and his talent as a singer I spoke to Kang about the role his faith had in his growth as an artist, and even his artistry as it is now.
“My faith plays a big part in my artist history in the sense of my development.”
“I used to bring my guitar to church every Sunday.”
Kang recalled always coming to church early and playing the guitar was something for him to do during that time.
“People would see my playing and I’d be like ‘Oh yeah, I’m playing the guitar,’ and they’d be like ‘That’s cool, keep it up.’”
“So, seeing people appreciate me… I really like applause and positive affirmation, so I was like ‘I like this, let me try to pursue this more.’”
To this day Kang still plays guitar and has also picked up the bass, piano, and drums. He has learned them enough so that he can song write utilizing those instruments.
Being as versatile as he is, I asked Kang about the production of his solo tracks and the songs he has put out with the rest of his label. Whether or not he was the primary producer, or if production was more of a group effort.
“In terms of production, producing as in being the Nick fury of the song, putting all of the elements together and getting the vocalist, overseeing the recording process and making sure everyone gets their vocals in on time; I typically do that more often than the other guys do. In terms of beat making, I used to make beats a lot, but I realized I really can not fade making beats. I don’t enjoy it anymore. I prefer song writing and recording. The person who makes beats the most is Deepak, who is really awesome. The majority of our beats are from him.”
A this point of our conversation it was evident that as an artist Kang really enjoys having a hand in as many parts of the creating process as he can.
I spoke to Kang about his lyrical ability. I had already pointed out how apparent his vocal ability is; however, Kang is not just a vocalist. On his independent tracks “Scrooge” and “Frosty Freestyle”, we really get a chance to hear Kang’s ability to deliver a bar. “Frosty freestyle” being the most rap heavy song of his five solo tracks. Lyrically a lot of Kangs songs seem to come about very naturally. I get the feeling that there is a lot of work put into making the lyrics not seem forced.
“In terms of lyricism I don’t consider myself the best lyricist when it comes to rap, in the genre you have to put a lot of effort and thought into your lyrics to make sure they sound good and they’re not corny you know. That’s why recently I’ve leaned away from typical rap. I Consider myself a pop artist because it allows you to have more versatility. I can drop like a rock pop song or a pop rap song or just drop a straight up pop song and nobody would bat an eye you know?”
“The first memory I have of rapping or writing bars was when I was on the way to Florida with some family friends and my family. We drove the whole way. I had just recently watched “Let it Shine,” the Disney movie and I was like ‘I want to do this!’ So, I started writing these corny raps in my little journal and that’s how I started getting into hip hop. I got into it through Disney.”
From here our conversation went deeper into Kang’s feeling about genres. As an artist Kang is no stranger to trying his hand at different sounds so I was interested to see how he felt genre affects his song making process.
“Some genres are more restrictive than others. When I make a song, I do honestly think about, ‘Ok, what genre is this song going to be, like what vibe do I want it to give off,’ and then as I keep building the song, as more elements come in it starts to sound more like me. I might hear a song like “Shake It” by Metro Station and I’m like ‘Ok I like this song, what would it sound like if I made this song?’ So, I would start taking the elements and then it would start sounding like an original song. So, I guess genres do play a large part into what kind of stuff I’m making. I like to call myself the avatar a lot because I’m trying to master all the genres, I’m trying to master all the elements of the entertainment process from recording, beat making, singing, rapping, mixing, video production. I’m on my way there.
I think this is a fitting response. One of the first impressions I got from listening to Kang’s music and looking at his socials was that he is a jack of all trades. Whether we’re talking about Kang’s musical ability or what he does behind the scenes for his independent tracks and the Empire.242 group, it’s evident that he enjoys being able to display his versatility.
“It makes you a more valuable player to your team. I love teamwork, I work my best in teams. The way I see it the team is only as strong as its weakest link so you got to do whatever you can to make sure you are not the weakest link. If everybody on the team knows how to do everything that means its easier to specialize amongst things and it is easier to switch specializations. We can have different perspectives on all the songs that we drop. It just makes the team more valuable when you increase your own value.”
Later we spoke about his music making process and what the balancing act of choosing when to display his vocal ability or deliver bars looks like.
“When I’m sitting down making a song, I’m like, ‘ok, I just recently dropped a pop-ish type song where I’m singing mostly so do I want to do something where I’m rapping more, or do I want to keep on that train?’”
As a listener it makes for a great experience knowing the artist you’re listening to can deliver in several ways. Kang offers such an experience with his vocals, his rapping, and even the behind-the-scenes production, mixing, and mastering that ultimately elevates the quality of his work. For those who haven’t listened to Kang’s songs and anyone looking for new music or an artist to keep an eye on, trust me when I say Kang can deliver. Check out his sound cloud, Instagram, and YouTube to find his solo music and songs he has dropped with his group Empire.242.
