Kalan.FrFr, an LA-native who claims both Compton and Carson as home takes pride in shining a spotlight on his city. 

Signed to Roc Nation, his artistry is an amalgamation of r&b and hip-hop, which captures his musicality and individuality. With skillful ease he flows from singing to rapping, growing his list of co-signs the MC with some of the current West Coast icons that speak volumes about his credibility, in and outside of the booth. From Dom Kennedy, Mozzy, Roddy Rich and G Perico, to BlueBucks Clan, Westside Boogie and 1TakeJay.

An excellent storyteller, sharing his perspective on everything from love and relationships to parties and penthouses have spawned a flurry of player anthems Over the past five years, Kalan.FrFr has carved out a niche in the market by staying true to himself and delivering a buffet of records that articulate his truth. While he’s already built a dedicated fanbase, with each drop his popularity increases. FLAUNT had the opportunity to catch up with Kalan.FrFr and speak to him about everything from his new Hitmaka & OG-Parker-produced single “Butterfly Coupe” featuring Tyga to his deep reverence for Nipsey Hussle’s legacy. 

Can you talk about the inspiration behind the new song Butterfly Coupe? I know you grew up in LA was it heavily influenced by car culture?

 We were at the studio and I’m just talking about popping fly stuff while we were working on the album, and we were just checking off a list of things that were gonna hurt people’s feelings. You can just watch somebody’s face when you pull up to the club in a coupe with the butterfly doors and people look at you different. It's stunt music; a great summer song to ride to.

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What was it like working with Hitmaka and OG Parker to produce this record? And why did you think they would be a good fit? 

I heard the beat through a session with Hitmaka and he called OG Parker and they were both telling me that I definitely had to do this one and that it was that one. I was feeling it, too and so we just knocked it out. Me and Hitmaka was in the studio for like a week and a half working on different joints and this just turned out to be the first song we decided to go with. The studio session was a vibe. Hitmaka brings the energy out in the room.

Can you tell me how this collab with Tyga came about? 

I wanted to put somebody on the record that was gonna be fire and I had never worked with Tyga before so I said I’d hit him and see if he wanted to work and surprisingly, as soon as I hit him, he was like ‘man, send the record.' And the rest is history. One thing I appreciated about working with him was how professional he is and how he brings out the best in the song and wants the best end result. He’d call and hit me and be like, ‘Hey bro, this hard, but we gotta change this and we gotta do that and when we gonna shoot the video?’ So having such an iconic artist be so interested in what I got going on was love and I really appreciated it. He was mad cool, he was dope.

You're part of a new generation of rising West Coast artists, who are some of your biggest inspirations from Cali on the music side and why?

My inspirations are all West Coast legends. Nip, definitely. RIP Nip. He was a solid person all the way through and he ain’tnever have nothin bad on his name. He handled his business and taught people real game. What inspires me the most about him is how he inspired people to be bigger than what the norm is and to beat the system. And just getting your money and not being a fool and knowing your worth with everything. He proved that you can do anything you want and I really appreciate that. Kendrick is everything. Growing up in Carson and Compton, we grew up off Dot. And just how iconic he is and the music he’s making and the barriers he’s not afraid to cross and just the confidence he has, is incredible. And for him to be as humble as he is, I admire that a lot. Tyler, the Creator is huge and a lot of people don’t notice he’s a West Coast artist. When you think of Cali artists, you don’t normally think about him but he’s amazing. From him making his own music, to the clothes, to the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival; everything he’s got going on is inspiring. And to be extremely successful at it…I mess with that type of inspiration.

I saw you recently got a big tattoo that says "No Hard Feelings" can you talk to me about that and how that concept plays into your music?

Since I’ve been working on the project, the words ‘no hard feelings’ has been how life’s been hitting me. Stuff’s been going on and everything’s happening outta my control but those words keep coming up for me. I don’t make fake music. I make music about what’s really going on in my life and right now, I’m at the point where it’s no hard feelings whether that’s losing friends, losing homies, losing relationships or anything. A lot’s been happening and at the end of the day, if it’s outta my control then I can’t let it stop me. So really, it’s no hard feelings. Me getting a tattoo across my stomach is probably one of the most painful places to get a tattoo and I just went and put it across my stomach like, no hard feelings. I wanted to let everybody know this is what I’m standing on and I mean this. It was the right thing to do in the moment. All of my tattoos tell a story and symbolize something I’m passionate about. I got a lot of passionate tattoos but ‘No Hard Feelings’ speaks volumes. I can’t count how many tats I got. I got em on both of my arms, my chest, my stomach, my legs. I got tattoos. 

Streaming link:

https://presave.umusic.com/kalan-frfr-butterfly-coupe

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/kalan.frfr