With “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…” out now, we took some time to hear from Kojo Kay. Read below to learn more about Kojo Kay, the story behind “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…,” and what’s to come.
Hi Kojo Kay! Let’s start with how did you choose your artist name?
Kojo is my middle name it originates from Ghana. Growing up my last name was hard to pronounce as the spelling does not match phonetic pronunciation, it was often abbreviated to the letter “K.”
What city are you from, and where are you based now?
I’m from all over, but I mostly grew up in Vancouver, BC, so that’s home to me. I’ve been based in multiple places, but right now I’m in Seattle. Both Canada and the PNW got mad talent, honored to be a part of both scenes.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
Music has always been a part of my life. I grew up performing at talent shows, etc., and then in my pre teen years, transitioned to elite track and field. I later had some injuries that didn’t allow me to keep competing. That’s when I started to take music more seriously. And honestly, I’m so glad, this is definitely where I was meant to be, I feel it every time I create.
How has your upbringing played a role in shaping who you are and defining your sound?
Definitely a huge role, I grew up a first generation American-Canadian with my mom being from Uganda and my father from Ghana. Fusing the influences and messages from all these backgrounds is a huge part of who I am today and my sound.
How would you describe your sound?
Very novel, but yet so comfortably familiar, like a lover or a friend one has never met but still has dreams of. Future nostalgic, if you will.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
I’ve always been a fan of the game smash bros but despite all my efforts I’m still not very good haha. I have a switch, but the Wii is still my favorite console despite how dated it technically is now. 2000s media just hits too hard. I pull a lot of inspiration from that era to stay creative in addition to just listening to a ton of new music.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Canada is definitely a massive pop scene growing up with The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Avril Lavigne and more constantly on the radio definitely shaped my melodic flow which I fuse with rap. On the production side, the blog era and the SoundCloud eras were monumental to my personal taste and a place to build on my classic hip-hop foundation like Biggie, 2Pac, N.E.R.D, Nas, Outkast, Early Kanye projects, and more that my momma put me onto growing up. I also love my ’90s and 2000s rock Nirvana, Blink 182, Green Day, All American Rejects, the list goes on.
I’ll basically listen to literally everything catch Rhianna sitting next to Frank Ocean, Ninajirachi, Kendrick, Pink Pantheress, Teezo Touchdown, The Chainsmokers, KayCyy, and Paramore on my playlist, haha.
What’s one of the proudest moments of your music career so far?
Honestly, the DMs that I have received from my listeners, both new and old, to the first couple of songs in the rollout has really made me feel like I’m making a difference. I’m so excited for them to hear the whole mixtape.
What would you say are the greatest lessons that you’ve learned so far?
Not to rush, trust your ears, follow your heart, try and be just a little bit better each day.
Now onto your release, “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…” What inspired this song?
The song’s melody and my sisters actually inspired me – it came to me in my head after a call with my sister, and I knew I had to get it out. Shoutout my sisters. <3
What is “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…” about?
It’s about keeping on – we can be nostalgic about the past or we can be hopeful about the future. Ironically we can control neither, all we can control is our attitude and mindset in the present.
What was the inspiration behind the cover artwork for “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…?”
Where there is dark, there must too always be light for the dark to exist. You can see where I’m positioned relative to the dark but you can’t tell if I’m exiting or entering. Essentially, it’s a reflection of how life itself can often feel.
What was the creative process like when making “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…?”
When I’m locked in on a song, I like to be literally locked in. It was just me in my home studio in my room doing what I love the most, producing and recording with no distractions phone on airplane mode or DND is key for me staying in flow.
How long did it take to complete “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…?”
The skeleton of the beat existed for a long time on my hard drive, after the call with my sister I was inspired to complete it that night.
What is your favorite lyric in “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…” and why?
“Inhale… exhale.” I know it is probably the simplest alongside all the triple entendres and metaphors, especially given it’s two words long, but sometimes it’s the simple things that we need the most.
What do you hope fans take away from “THE HUMMINGBIRD TOLD ME IT’S ALL GONNA BE ALRIGHT SO I GUESS IT REALLY WILL BE SO…” and your music in general?
It’s all gonna be alright. Everyone is going through something and those “somethings” seem more numerous given the current state of the world. There’s a lot of artists pushing hope right now from Bad Bunny to Jim Lexgacy to SZA to Slayr, I’m just trying to do my part too. I hope my fans feel they aren’t alone when they listen to my music, that’s what made me fall in love with both listening to and making music in the first place.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects, or do you have any upcoming shows that we should be on the lookout for?
I’m always working on everything. My mixtape is complete. This song has a music video on the way, and I’ll be dropping tons more singles this year leading up to the mixtape.
Where can we follow you on social media?
All my links are at my site: www.realartbyrealpeople.ca.
Before you go, let’s ask you an off-topic question. What’s one thing that most people don’t know about you?
I try and frequently succeed at limiting my total compiled social media time a day to 40 minutes. Touching grass isn’t just cool, but it’s human, we weren’t made to compare and contrast through the screen all day. I think we can enjoy modern things, but also keep the peace of simpler things. I hope that overtime our generation can return to our roots and enjoy the balance of the internet and screens, but also actually live life IRL. I feel like too many of us get too caught up in the virtual world and the numbers that disappear as soon as the app/site does too. We all tend to forget about what’s actually permanent.
Thank you for the great interview; wish you much continued success!
