Photographed by Adam DeGross
Louisville-based rapper 2KBABY has come a long way since his first major track “Old Streets” which recently achieved RIAA Gold Status a few months back. Attracting the attention of Masked Gorilla founder Roger Gengo, he signed to Warner imprint, Masked Records. Now, with the release of his new single and video “Like This'' with Marshmello, 2K shows that he is a multifaceted artist capable of doing anything.
_Flaunt_ had the opportunity to speak with 2KBABY about his latest single, how he started making music, and what’s next.
**So you’re from Louisville, KY. What was it like growing up there?**
I think it’s really it’s own world, you know what I mean? I don’t know if it’s because of where we are located, but we catch a lot of culture from other places around. And I mean, like, Detroit, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta. We are somewhat influenced by cities around, but at the same time, it all kind of meshes together and gives a little this on that. That’s with the music and the food, well, on the food side, I’d say Louisville is a little more of the southern type, but as far as like the lingo and some of the fashion and shit, we get influences from everywhere.
**When did you start making music?**
I started making music when I was 14, my best friend got locked up. So when he got locked up, I waited like six months and he went downtown. Like six months later, they said he was ready to go to camp for like two to three years. So I was just like shit, worst case scenario, my n\*\*\*a be gone soon. So I just started rapping just to say free my n\*\*\*a.
But, like, at this point, might as well make sure there’s a legacy left for something. I was really just rapping as a young n\*\*\*a just to say free my n\*\*\*as. But by the time my n\*\*\*a came home from jail and shit, I already had the city on my back.
**What was your biggest inspiration when you first started out?**
My biggest inspiration? My big brother Soon Tonio, he inspired me to make music. He was the first person in Louisville to really create a rap scene for Louisville. He was the first n\*\*\*a to come from the hood really rapping, doing numbers and showing people it’s possible. So my big brother Soon definitely inspired me to do that shit.
Outside of that, just like musical influences, I fuck with G Herbo, Lil Wayne, Michael Jackson, John Legend and John Mayer, shit.
Photographed by Adam DeGross
**How did you come up with the name 2KBABY?**
I came up with that because I’m a 2000s baby, I was born in the 2000s. 2K, baby!
**Your latest single “Like This” featuring Marshmello just came out, how does it feel?**
It was great. Like, the song did a lot better than I expected, honestly. I mean crazy just because of his audience and his platform. The song when it came out, I was just really getting a whole bunch of love. I was just really excited just to drop it just because I wanted to show people that I’m versatile. I can do everything, make sh\*t for the streets, make pop music and R&B, make some sad music, I can do everything.
The Marshmello song definitely felt good to finally put out there just to show people that I’m an artist, I’m a musician, not just a rapper.
**What was it like to shoot the music video?**
That was fun, it was really fun. It was dope, I love the set. Set was super professional, whole bunch of people. Everybody’s vibe was great, everybody was just showing love. I loved everybody’s vibe from the stylists to the director. It was just a fun shoot, and then even when we weren’t shooting we were just chilling, vibing.
There were some scenes where they had some actors doing some scenes. If you watch the video, I had some football going on and then we also had scenes with n\*\*\*as in the trenches. I loved it, it was cool and it was fun. It was probably one of the first music videos that I felt like I was in a movie. Just trailers and having people shooting over here and people shooting over there like it was multiple things going on. I had stunt doubles and shit.
**You had your first big hit “Old Streets” a few years ago and it quickly gained traction, how have things changed since then?**
I’ve just learned a lot. I never really had any money or real money, you know. N\*\*\*as always made money hustling but like I’ve never really had money, real money where you can do whatever you want. I just really learned a lot just with money and just with people. How to handle people, how to deal with people and also how to just stay in control of my environment and what I allow around me and allowed to take my energy and my time. So now being in the position that I’m in for the past two to three year I've learned how to live because I’ve got something to lose now.
I’ve got to think about everybody else with every decision I make because everybody’s life around me changed and got accustomed to what we got going on now.
Musically, I’ve just grown as an artist. I really just started doing the melody sh\*t. That “Old Streets” song was probably one of the first songs I started doing the melody shit on there. I’ve just been still learning, singing my damn self, still learning how to melodize and use my voice as an instrument. Take over other octaves and genres and that type of thing. As an artist I’ve continued to stay as a student and just try to learn.
Photographed by Adam DeGross
**Any goals for yourself at this point in your career?**
I definitely want for one of my songs to go crazy like hit Billboards, like one top song. I want to be invited to the Grammys, that they need everywhere. Not because of my clout, not because of my fame or my numbers, but because of my music. I’m really just trying to make the best music I could possibly make so that people would just love my music. I’m not worried about being the coolest n\*\*\*a or the classiest, none of that, I just want people to love my music. There are some artists in this world that we’ll never see like that but their music is so powerful they don’t need to be seen like that.
I’m not saying my goal is to go off the grid or none of that if anything but I’m definitely planning on becoming a lot more active and for my fans to watch even more me this year but my biggest thing is always about the music.
**What can we expect next from you?**
As everybody knows by now, I just dropped that song with Marshmello, big pop record. But next, I’m about to drop some sh\*t for the streets and I got some R&B shit I might drop after that. I got like two, maybe three more tracks just so I can show people what’s to come. Then I’m going to drop a project, I got my first tape dropping. I dropped an EP last year and this year I’m going to drop a tape which is going to be called First Quarter to follow up Pregame Rituals.
I’m just trying to go crazy and flood everybody, I’ve been known as the artist to drop every 4-6 months but I’m really trying to apply pressure this year, like every month, giving not just songs but I’m trying to get visuals to at least one or two visuals a month and just really be fluid on the internet.
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