BlkSunChild

BLKSUNCHILD is a 23 year old rapper from Nashville, Tennessee. After following his musical journey for the past few months, I knew he was an artist with real integrity. His latest release, "Low off the Hii" which was preceded by his EP "Hii on the Lows" is a piece of work that reveals a peek into the the soulful, psychedelic nature of BLK's mind.

Of the 7 track EP, our favourites are Afrikan Yogurt, Vice City and Bohemian Roses featuring Kiya Lacey. The chemistry between BLK and Kiya is evident as Kiya's smooth vocals atop BLK's emotive tone work together in harmony to create a sound that instills a feeling of calm in the listener.

Throughout the EP, BLK's influences are evident, having grown up listening to blues, jazz, neo-soul, trance and HipHop, there are elements of each genre within every track. Especially Bohemian Roses, which has a smooth jazzy sample that this writer had on rotation all week!

Spreading a message of both love, positivity, and more poignantly, of a celebration of ones melanin- BLKSUNCHILD's flow is intimate, laid back and interspersed with his own extended vocals. BLK's vibe along with excellent production on the EP, featuring Indie Chris, Mark Akash, Pink Slip, JWT and Samurai Del make this work something both timeless and organic. Put simply, this is an essential for any HipHop head who needs some easily listening with a pure message to vibe out to. - COZY MAG (LONDON)

BLKSUNCHILD’s upcoming Low Off the Hii EP is on the way, but in the meantime he presents us with a chilled-out track featuring Case Arnold. Indie Chris provides the two artists with a smooth, laidback instrumental perfect for their respective styles. Also be sure to look out for more from these two individually, as they’re both preparing to release a ton of new content. - RESPECT MAG

BLKSUNCHILD has kept things fairly low-key since dropping his memorable Hii On the Lows EP back in March. We’re constantly pining for new music from BLK, so the enigmatic MC had to slide in one last single for 2014. It’s an end-of-year gift that captures the unique energy of Hii On the Lows, while musically looking forward.

“Po’Larry T” is a collaboration with Nashville artists Kiya Lacey and S.T.A.N. that sounds more like a deep cut from an upcoming album between the three, than just a one-off single. BLKSUNCHILD and Kiya Lacey provide the opening hook, creating some beautiful harmonies over hippyish guitar licks and dusty snare loops. S.T.A.N. and BLKSUNCHILD both provide verses, before BLK and Kiya wax poetic over the hook a couple more times. The overall effect is very Fugees-esque. - Nashville Scene (Nashville Cream)

Trance, psychedelia, and good vibes are all associated with Nashville-based artist, BLKSUNCHILD. After some time off from music, he’s back to show the world and his fans what he has to offer to hip-hop. Psychedelic hip-hop is relatively new to the scene; it takes the listener to new frontiers of sound that truly pulls out the essence and beauty of the music and the voices that accompanies it. BLKSUNCHILD is set to release his free EP Low Off The Hii on May 20th, and I was lucky enough to sit down and talk to the emcee after listening to an early copy of the EP. Go ahead and read through and begin to understand the mind behind the music.

Where you do draw your influences from? Who influences you the most? Uhhhh. . . fuckin’ nature for real (laughs). It starts off back in Cleveland (BLKSUNCHILD’S birthplace) with artists I grew up on. Back in Cleveland my mom was a beautician; she would play neo-soul. Mainly Erykah Badu, listening to Baduizm, my mom said, “this a bad bitch right here!” She free-styled on stage more than once because she was high as hell. I didn’t know what that meant but I liked it. That’s what I grew up on, that’s the style that eventually shaped my perception. My dad played jazz and played a lot of hip-hop on vinyl. He would play Biggie, Pac, Bone Thugs N Harmony and all the weird people back then (laughs hard). The only reason I said nature played a big part is when I actually started experimenting with psychedelics, that’s when I started really looking deep inside and I could start hearing things, you know. Just vibe to things outside and move in on those things.

You really gotta respect Mother Nature in her destructive forces, but also new life. Oh yeah definitely, I always imagined Mother Nature as an Amazon lady that could beat ya bitch ass.

I’ve heard that you have UK connects. How strong a force is that in your musical career? It’s a really huge part for me because I get to bridge that gap. I believe in making music more than just in my backyard; to me the whole idea of boundaries and state borders and stuff, I don’t believe in that shit. I believe that music is deep and personal; it should captivate and I’m lovin’ it. Anyone with ears should be able to understand vibrations in music.

Where do want your music to take you, not just fame wise, but how do you want your music to affect people? I want my music to…it’s not about really what I’m saying, it’s what you feel from what I’s saying. Because different people resonate with the vibrations differently, and I’m into art, so I want my music to be an art form. I want it to provoke people so they can tell me what they see and feel. When people listen to my music, there is always a double meaning to it, most definitely influenced by psychedelics and stuff.

So you took some time off of music to focus on your art, what exactly was the focus? Well, initially I didn’t know that it was going to be art…I started drawing and I taught myself how to paint, then I started selling and I was like, oh shit, I’m making money. Then it started getting serious, people started buying at $200 and $250. I was like, oh shit. Then I started gaining an artistic fan base around me and the entity that I am, so I was like, cool, I’ma start utilizing this. I know I’m not the first, but I want to be the first artist predominantly that does this painting shit. I had my first exhibition, but still know I’m this rapping ass nigga.

What does the future hold for you? I see myself working with Andre 3000 and Erykah Badu (laughs). One day just call him up and just work on some shit. I would be honored to say I worked with one of the biggest influences on me. Just his flow and vocal style really push me. I really listened to The Love Below (OutKast) because it showed really how crazy he is.

What other albums influenced you? The earliest was Mos Def, but now its Sonny Moon and Little Dragon, their latest album. Erykah Badu New Amerykah Part One and Two. It’s really just the vibe and the overall prophetic feel. She’s a golden ass lion, you know (laughs).

You keep mentioning you have a good feeling, where does this take you next? Baby steps man, really really live by baby steps and to live by the motto. Things happen and you have to do something about it. Definitely have things in place, but you have to consistently believe in these things and you have to work for it. The groundwork is being done and you can’t be frustrated when things don’t come your way and be bothered by the little things if you’re not willing to change it. Like waking up in a bad mood or being unsatisified with situation around me, then you realize if you shut the fuck up and work, people are so focused on what’s around them. Just focus on what’s beside you. And that’s art right there; you pull that from the inside. Your situation is a just a part of your subconcious and you don’t have to worry about it too much. A little trickle of that shit will take you far, for real. You can move waters with that shit. I just gotta keep working towards what I’m doing. When it happens, I’ma look back and laugh about the shit in the end.

Do you see yourself as a voice that inspires people to get creative and follow their dreams? Oh yeah, definitely, there’s people that give me credit for doing that and that’s fine, cause that’s what I’m here to do. To dig more into their artistic side, for people like me that’s broke as shit. Skinny black guy with nappy ass hair, I do my motherfucking thing you know, man! People fuck with that you know. At the end of the day, I do see myself as the voice for a generation, to teach children to be creative, and what gift better than art. I’m not trying to force religion or my perspectives on them, I’m just trying to get them going and hopefully in art they’ll find themselves in between the spectrum and just not at one end.

So what do you get from BLKSUNCHILD? First you get an experience, a quality that not many artists have today. You feel the truth behind the words of a young man striving for his dreams through his own experiences, good and bad. And with the truth, you have substance, the substance that’s heard through his voice as he raps and sings to a young generation that desperately needs a strong motivating presence in their lives. Humble. I have nothing but respect for a man that knows the power of his voice and who uses it to promote a more positive world. As listeners of hip-hop, we can see the obvious influences that have carried over in his childhood till now. With Low Off The Hii, you’ll be taken to a different place; a different mind-set created by music. BLKSUNCHILD is somebody that cannot be ignored: “To the newer fans, if you feel the vibe and you get it, we all family”. With the mindset and work ethic that he possesses, it seems as if the future is bright for the young artist. - BLUNTIQ