K I N G K R A S H
He stands looking down in the dark parking lot of a used car dealership. A fur-lined hood covers his head and face, bringing attention to his custom diamond necklace. He’s dressed in a t of denim—jacket and jeans—with deep blue sneakers. He moves about the lot and a nearbyalleyway leading up to the line, “I’ve been to jail. I ain’t going back.”The camera pans in slow motion to conclude the music video to the rapper’s latest single, “Krash Course.” King Krash, a Chicago-born rapper, moved to the Madison area after the death of his brother, Pierre “Nitty” Johnson. Krash wanted to leave his past encounters with violence in Chicago for a new beginning and the opportunity to carry his brother’s memory. Krash’s music career began at the age of nine, when he started making beats on a keyboard from his father. He knew he wanted to put lyrics to his beats but couldn’t nd anyone to produce the music. So he started making them himself. “People were telling me that I was good, but I didn’t really believe them,” Krash said. “More people started asking me to perform, so I just started doing it more.”
The upcoming rapper’s career accelerated in 2011, when a friend challenged him to a rap battle. Krash accepted and won. His Youtube videos began gaining more popularity as he won consecutive battles. While he started noticing his talent for himself, that’s not the focus the artist wants for his music. “Yeah, that’s the look, but it’s not about that,” he said. “I’m like a messenger.” Krash says he wants to use his talent to motivate and encourage people within the Black community, especially during the steady enthusiasm around the Black Lives Matter Movement. “I try to work internally, lifting people up the best I can, since I’ve been through a lot.”
When he was 19, the rapper became an amputee after a motorcycle accident severely injured his leg. “I was just hanging around and involved with all the wrong people. I was only in that situation because of that.” Krash also served multiple sentences in jail for unlawful possession of a weapon. He said these reasons are why there’s emotion around the line, “I’ve been to jail. I ain’t going back.” Krash says he wants to bring value from his past experiencesand help others grow from them. “I want to be a motivational speaker through my music,” he said. “Music is powerful.” “I want to be a motivational speaker through my music... Music is powerful.” -KING KRASH
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online