Ki-2

(Written by:Lauren Brown)
~
~
Atlanta rapper Ki-2 doesnt want you to view him as just another rapper. In fact, he doesnt want you to look at him as an artist at all. Instead, he would prefer that you see him as a man who does what he does, for the same reasons most people get up and go to work each morning. To let him tell it, he actually hates his job, he just sees punching the clock day in and day out as a stepping stone on his path to a greater career. However, rap just happens to be his profession, and his musical talent is undeniable. Ki-2 is a fresh sprout off the tree of a Reasonable Doubt era Jay-Z or T.I. when he released Im Serious. His lyrics of drug dealing, strip clubs, fast money, big cars, and a life filled with the immediate pleasures and pains of being raised by the streets resonate with listeners because like Jay-Z and T.I. all of his stories are true. He chose this line of work following the death of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. Ki-2 felt rap music had lost the sole artist whos music conveyed any intellectual passion. Gone for ever was music written with real emotion at its roots. Which was the type of music he always enjoyed most. Convinced he would never hear music made with the same significance to it, he took the task upon himself to record the type of tracks, forever deleted from rap music with the end of Tupacs life. Now gainfully employed by Atlantas independent circuit Ki-2 is hungry to be rap musics next legend. His work is cut out for him, but his goals are clear. Few rappers in the game devour a track and make any kind of lyrical presence, where as Ki-2 can rip a verse on demand. Ki-2s edgy country tinged flow is delivered with a laid back braggadocio, that feels more like a a conversation with an old friend. Its a refreshing reprieve from albums of late that do more instruction shouting than entertaining. Ki-2 shares with listeners his ghetto philosophies based on life-the lessons we learn as we transition into adulthood and the dilemmas we all experience just trying to make it through each day. In a rap game filled with wannabe hustlers and studio gangstas, Ki-2 brings his personal experiences to the mic to create street anthems of the new south, and emotion filled rhymes detailing the complexities of a young life lived on overdrive. The 26-year old College Park native rhymes with a graceful arrogance, that forces you to feel the depth of every line. He isnt out there making music just to have a hustle-his rhymes come from a true place of artistic creativity that much of current music lacks. Its music that makes you think music that makes you feel, music that ultimately makes you wanna have a good time. While his chosen pursuit has yet to move him into the category of a salaried emcee, there is nothing subpar about this emerging artist. He has honed his own technique simply by channeling his introspection into thought provoking lyrics. For someone who has been a part of the music industry for such a brief period of time, Ki-2 has found his hip-hop niche, and has no intention of moving from it, as he creates a name for himself in his new profession. Call him an overachiever, hes already developed his own formula for success. After all rapping is what he does to make a living.