RAT KING

Dami: What’s your first introduction to hip hop?

RK: I got into hip hop very late in my life. After being assaulted by a roommate when I was 20, I ended up homeless in the Minnesota winter. The first night I didn’t really know what to do so I slept in my car. Problem is, the weather outside was reaching -60 degrees at the time during my night and my car didn’t have a working heater. That night, I didn’t really know what to do. During a good 2 years of depression, I had let all of my passions go and was miserable and now I had a chance of dying in my car. I wrapped up in all the clothes I owned and pulled out a Bluetooth speaker I had and played Kid Cudi’s “Man on the Moon”. A week before all this, my friends parents had divorced and he told me that Kid Cudi had helped him through a lot of the emotions in that situation. Turns out, he was right. I don’t know what it was that made that moment so magical, but for the rest of the night I kept that album on repeat. Before that, I knew some hip hop songs and what not, but that was the moment it all just hit. I realized hip hop was such a powerful storytelling mechanism, and the rest is history.

Dami: Who are your biggest inspirations?

RK: For starters, Kid Cudi of course. La Luz and Mac Demarco introduced me to a sound of modern psychedelia that I try to use a lot. Tame Impala as well. For rap, I’m always keeping an eye to Tyler the Creator. I’m also largely inspired by Eminem and take notes from his flow when I can. As far as production, MF Doom, Madlib, Knxwledge, and El-P.

Dami: How would you describe your sound?

RK: Hip hop with a twist of life. I feel my sound is driven through creative users of genre blending, giving me a versatile discography that adds a little bit of everything I like. I’m a musician for music lovers and the average music listener alike. I guess the best way to put it is that my sound is mine. It’s a bit all over the place, and so am I.

Dami: What’s your creative process like?

RK: Admittedly hard to pin down as well, I usually start with a mental thread I find, and I pull that thread to see where it goes. A lot of the time I find myself telling a story, so from there I establish where I’m going, connect the dots of each piece and get to work. The best I can say about my creative process is that once I’m latched to an idea I feel will work, I go after it. My process isn’t really a set list of steps, but rather an all-together push to make a vision I see reality. As far as time, I put a lot of time into my work. Probably 40-50 hours weekly. This includes recording, mixing, mastering, graphic design, advertising, social media marketing, and brainstorming. Oftentimes, I take MF Doom’s advice and top it all off with 1 beer for confidence.

Dami: When it’s time to make music, what do you grab inspiration from?

RK: I take from the world around me in general. News, TV, movies, other albums, history etc. Bob Dylan put out the philosophy in his book “Chronicles” that he drew his inspiration from everything, and because of it, his music was free and unlimited. After reading that, I felt my music really comes from a similar vein, so I took to that philosophy as well.

Dami: You got an EP dropping on Halloween titled “Ghost Stories”. What should we expect from it?

RK: Exactly what it says. I’ve always been a huge fan of horror, and so when Halloween comes around every year, I get really excited. This year, I wanted to “Tales from the Crypt” it up with a good variety EP that showcases my talents as an artist while transporting the listener through a bunch of ‘portals’ of the afterlife. I’ve got songs based on haunted houses and even Courage the Cowardly Dog. I’ve also been counting down since October 17th with a new piece of merch. 14 different custom designs that are available on laptop stickers and on shirts. I’m really proud of the designs and hope other people will love them as much as I do.

Dami: Any dream collabs?

RK: I want to work with La Luz, and also do a freestyle on Kenny Beats stream session sometime. I also feel like I could contribute some insanity to a Tyler the Creator album very well. Some different combos I want to try would be King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Poppy, Anderson Paak, The Gorillaz, Logic, and IDLES.

Dami: What would you say has been your biggest challenge as an artist?

RK: Learning and growing, both as a person and as a musician. Having started in such a raw and emotional place was difficult, and because of it, I used to hinder myself by thinking I wasn’t good enough to do everything I wanted to do right from the start. Luckily, I grew out of that phase quickly and took to really learning how to do what I want. As part of that creative process, I am relentlessly researching and testing new styles and techniques out to improve, and that improvement has really shown over time. Everything I do in my music is self-taught and coming from hours and hours of experimenting, listening, and finding resources to make what I want in the best way possible. I know as an artist, one of my biggest challenges is also one of my greatest advantages, and that’s the willingness to learn, improve, and make my way to the top one step at a time.

A special message from the NOBRAND team:

To all individuals suffering from depression, rejection and hopelessness you are not alone, you are loved, accepted and appreciated. Keep going, don't give up your dreams are valid and obtainable.

The interview information was curated and done by Dami

Links:

https://ratkingrap.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RatKingRap