Interview: $KINNY BRAGG Discusses His New EP "I announced this off Impulse. Enjoy"
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We connected with Pearl, Mississippi based rapper and producer $KINNY BRAGG for an exclusive interview to discuss his new EP “I announced this off Impulse. Enjoy”. We also conversed with $KINNY BRAGG about the hip-hop scene in Mississippi, what software/hardware he used to make his beats, how he describes his music brand and much more.
After reading our Q&A with $KINNY BRAGG, be sure to listen to the “I announced this off Impulse. Enjoy” EP, connect with him on his social media, and check out some more of his music on Spotify.
Congratulations on the completion and release of your new EP "I announced this off Impulse. Enjoy"; it's a very DOPE EP. What initially motivated you to create this project and how long did it take to complete?
Thank you! Means a lot considering I have always gotten told “ohh your music is great and you’re so talented but it’s too intense” ....anyway I guess that’s for a later time to rant about.
Well, I already had these songs recorded because I have been working on my album “My Cotton Candy Filled Demise” and I got damn near 40 songs done; none are throwaway. People been asking me for music and when I released my music video for “Miss You” at the end, I announced I would be dropping “Boo’d up with that Nina” soon. Didn’t happen.
Then in like November or December me and Chapa was drinking 1800 and I was like “bruh I wanna make a song about smacking a nigga in the head with some Hennessy”, so we made Hennessy that same night. Once we make that song I previewed it on my IG and everyone was going crazy. Memphis folks, Mississippi folks, Cali Folks. So I said I would release it in January. Did not.
Then one day I was driving and I made a post saying I wanted to release an EP of like 5 or 6 songs. It was an impulse decision but too many people on Facebook started liking and sharing the post. So naturally I now had to keep my word. So I knew off top I needed to put “Hennessy” on there and also “Boo’d up with that Nina”. The EP was born.
I announced it like on a Wednesday and I got home and stayed up all night getting the project ready for a release pretty much touching up some mixes and such. Then I submitted it to my distributor and hey THE EP WAS BORN.
You've mentioned that you produced on the EP along with BOZ and joshu. Which songs did you produce and what software/hardware do you use to make your beats?
I produced “60 Seconds” with a dude named G. Typically speaking I produce about 95% of my music but with this one I used different producers because I wasn’t trying to hit them with the sludge just yet.
I wanted this EP to be fun and cute and violent. So yeah FL Studio and I record and mix everything in Pro Tools. The whole setup is in my room because I don’t trust anyone with my music.
Your visual imagery (EP cover graphic, pics) matches the EP's sound in that both are lively, in your face, and hard to forget. How would you describe your music brand itself and what it represents?
Heavy and cute. Angry. Much like my personality I’m really big on authentic. So yeah I think that’s where I pull people in on stage. I dress how I dress but at the same time, I mean business. So boom they see this skinny dude with different oversized earrings and an Ace of Base t shirt on with a choker then I get started and people are just amazed. That means the most to me because I’ve always expressed myself I’ve always been into colors like pink and other “feminine” colors.
I’ve always broke boundaries as much as I could while still being comfortable like I’m probably not wearing a dress because personally I’m not interested because I don’t think I could pull that off and I’m not even into dresses. More power to those who can. Catch me in a crop top lookin great in the function with a deuce deuce in my shoe.
What are some things/places/people that inspire your creativity as an artist and your desire to be different, especially now when so many rappers sound and look the same?
Metal music and Hardcore music. The Memphis rap scene and Memphis sound in general. Like I love how you hear something and you’re like “okay that’s Memphis right there”; I don’t really get inspired by other rappers because that’s how you end up sounding like a clone.
Being from the south I been around that southern boom shit for a while and trap beats won me over when I was in 8th grade. I been around rap my whole life; my mom loves rap music. So I’ve heard all the classics and stuff and I think that’s what makes me take my lyricism and hip-hop so serious. I love it.
Tell us about hip-hop in Mississippi in 2020; what is one thing you would change for the better and one thing that you like about the music scene there?
Terrible. Haters and clones. It’s really bad. I would get more rap venues out here that don’t just wanna book “conscious” rap. What about the Alternative kids? Pretty much in Mississippi if you aren’t a trap rapper performing at clubs, it’s over. That’s why I love Memphis. They took me in when no one else would. Before that, I was performing at hardcore shows where I was the only rapper and while that was cool; I wanted to be part of a rap scene. I don’t like anything about the scene here. Bunch of fake gatekeepers and conscious venues listening to them. How is it that I was packing out shows but still no venue wants to book me? Or a media outlet out here wants to work with me then all of a sudden they ghost me and I see them working with someone I used to do shows with. It hurts. And that’s where the intensity comes from in my music. I’m hungry. So I guess I like the fact that it’s so trash; it makes me hungry to prove everyone wrong.
Stream and Share “I announced this off Impulse. Enjoy” on Spotify