Artist Interview: Rap: Kyle Hubbard

Rapper. Rocker. Thinker. Ladies & Gentlemen, Kyle Hubbard.

What comes to mind when you think of music?

Kyle: To me music is the only real refuge one can hope to seek in the world we live in. There are a lot of trite and cliché sayings about the power of music and other things of that nature, and as corny as those sayings are a lot of them true. I also believe music is the ultimate art form because so much of what a song is truly about depends on how the listener interprets it, and that is beautiful. Music is the only kind of art that allows a person to tack on their own emotions and feelings to complete the picture, at the very least, for them.

Was there a particular song that inspired you to rap?

Kyle: Hands down C.R.E.A.M by Wu-Tang Clan. I first heard this song long before I was a jaded cynic. It was definitely a holy shit moment, I was dumb founded by how they were able to say such poetic things with vivid imagery and still connect it all together with rhymes. I would play the song over and over again and I would pace around my room as I did it. That song taught me how to stay on beat, how to count bars, and the importance of a solid hook to tie a song together. Not to mention that song’s message becomes more and more relatable as time marches forward, cash rules everything around me…and you.

What are your goals as a music artist?

Kyle: I don’t have to get to hov status to be happy, and I don’t have to be drowning in dough either. All I want is to be able to provide a happy life to my children, as far away as struggle as I can possibly get. As an artist I just want to be able to continue to make music and have people listen to it, real simple. If I could make a career out of doing something I loved I would be content making teacher salary because being able to wake up everyday for the purpose of creation is more than money can provide. I strive for respect, a loyal fan base, and longevity...and more importantly a chance to open doors for the talent peopled in my life that I have love and respect for. I just want to be happy and you don’t have to be rich to get property on easy street.

What is the 1st impression you feel you make as a music artist?

Kyle: I think initially people walk away with a sense that I march to my own drum and your not going to get anything formulaic from me. I know my fans are intelligent people so I feel that I owe it to them to go against the notion of trying to fit in or abiding to a formula that has made somebody else a success. My music is all my own so I think when you first hear it, even if your reaction is negative, it’s not going to be easy to legitimately compare it to anything that is already on the market.

If you could only make one more song as a music artist, what would it be about?

Kyle: Something I have realized recently is that Kyle Hubbard the artist is a lot more in tune with my heart than Kyle Hubbard the person is. So, in a sense, to stop making music would be to never speak again. I say that to say this, my final song would be titled “The Death of Kyle Hubbard” and I would use it to as platform to say everything I always wanted to say to my loved ones, things I could never say face to face in a real conversation. This song would be painfully personal and I would aim to make the listener spill some tears. I would go out in the most dramatic and striking way that I could think of.

It seems like many people are complaining about the quality of rap music nowadays. What would you say to those people?

Kyle: To a certain, degree I would have to agree with them. The hip-hop audience has been abused and mistreated by the industry for a long time. In the early 00s the real music was driven underneath the pavement and straight bullshit was paraded around as true talent, but things have changed. Records don’t sell anymore, so the formulaic gimmick that used to be a sure shot for labels doesn’t guarantee anything nowadays. The Internet, and more specifically file sharing, raped and pillaged the industry, suddenly the casual masses weren’t spending hard earned money on highly publicized gimmicks. 

All of a sudden the only people that would spend cash on records were the people who critically listen to music and who are not easily impressed, basically people who wouldn’t fall for the labels bullshit product much less buy it. This has forced the industry to have to pay more attention to the slice of the market that can only be swayed to buy an album for it’s worth in terms of music, imagine that! The past year and half has been a full blow renaissance in hip-hop…the quality of the genre as a whole as reached a level it has never seen before. 

Truly talented cats like Bobby Ray, Drake, and Kid Cudi are the ones on the covers of magazines and that get air time on MTV, and I honestly don’t believe these cats would have been given the same opportunity to blow a few years ago. It took the industry hitting rock bottom to show the suit and ties that they really don’t know shit and that it’s time to give the music business back to the musicians, at least in a sense.

You're part of a rap/rock group. What's the group's name, and how would you describe the music?

Kyle: Our name is The Krunkquistadors. Our music is crazy man, it’s really hard to try and put into a box. It has elements of rap, it has elements of rock, it’s got elements of electronic and then it has a whole bunch of different inspirations sprinkled across it. Our sound is big and relentless and it doesn’t let up. It’s some real dope in your face kind of shit.

How did you come to form a rap/rock group with your partners?

Kyle: Initially the group started out as the brainchild of the other two emcees in the group, Kris Krunk and Earl Wang. They released an album, “Undercover”, just them two a few years ago. Since then they had decided to expand the group and evolve the sound. Right now there are 6 of us. Kris Krunk and Earl Wang provide the backdrops for the music as well as lend their vocals as MCs, Jake “JK-47” Rawls is on the guitar, Matt “Mattska” Martinez on the drums, DJ Lizard on the turntables, and me on the microphone.

How would you say your work as a solo artist is different from your contributions to your group?

Kyle: I would have to say that my music as a solo artist is more traditional in the realm of hip-hop. That is not to say that my music is bland and like everything else, I just mean in comparison to the Krunkquistadors my music, as Kyle Hubbard is a lot more boom-bap driven. Also my process for writing lyrics is completely different. When it comes to Krunkquistadors my focus is to hit you with as many punch lines and rhyme schemes as I possibly can within in the 16 bars I have on a song. When it’s a Kyle Hubbard song my focus is more on what I am saying, not necessary how I am saying it, because those songs are all me. With my solo shit I am trying to give you insight on Kyle Hubbard as a person, not a rapper.

What are things you feel rap & rock music have in common?

Kyle: Everything and nothing. The creation process is completely different, from writing to recording, and obviously sonically you are dealing with two different products. But what the two genres have in common goes beyond any of their differences and that similarity is the heart. The aspiring rock artist and the aspiring rapper dream the same dream, face the same hardships, and pray the same prayers. I say to say this, the emotions I would put into a rap song is the same a guitarist would put into a rock song and that goes for any musician across the board in any genre. The fact that the two genres can share that same heart only means that their sonic differences are minor and something that can be worked around.

If there's anything you would want for someone to take away from this interview after reading it, what would that be?

Kyle: Just that I do what I do to please the people listening. I work hard and earnest to be the most creative artist I can possibly be and to provide you with something unlike something you are familiar with. I appreciate everyone who supports me.

Kyle Hubbard - New School Slang

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