Unified Underground Interview: Orlando Kennedy - Houston's Art Rapper
Here's one of the first interviews we at Unified Underground ever conducted. It was with Alternative Hip-Hop artists and Producer, Orlando Kennedy. Check it out below and look our for more interviews from Unified Underground!
You seem to have adopted the nostalgia and anime obsessed "Cloud Rap" aesthetic that artists like Yung Lean and Xavier Wulf are known for. What do you think of the scene and how has it influenced you?
The scene is real cool, it has its positive and negative just like any other scene but I really appreciate the fact that it's kinda bringing anime up as a serious topic in hip hop cause that is something really important to me. I also really appreciate the fact that artist in this scene are working to expand the sonic landscape of hip hop. That is something very important to every genre and any artist who is contributing positively with their art to a genre deserve some form of respect and recognition.
This scene influenced me because it helped me lay out a blue print for what I wanna do sonically to start out and I was able to mix in my other ideas and influences into those blue prints that "Cloud rappers " laid out
I definitely don't see myself as a cloud rapper and would never box myself into any sort of sub genre but I really appreciate what they do.
Most of your song titles and lyrics are based on different types of anime, which could be considered an immature topic by some, especially in a genre filled with gangsters and thugs. Did you think fans or other artists would take you seriously as a rapper? Will you ever change your subject matter or stick to your roots?
I honestly didn't think about if people would take my music seriously, I was just really focused on making a project that transferred the emotions and ideals I wanted to present. Some people may not take it seriously but it's a lot more serous than some guy who puts on a facade and talks about something they've never experienced.
And in regards to subject matter, the reason Otaku 2006 is so focused on anime is because it's a tribute to how much it means to me and how it has shaped my childhood and a lot of my personality but I'm definitely not gonna stop making anime references in my songs, I was really uncomfortable putting all my feelings out there explicitly so I kinda shrouded it in anime but I want to be a lot more straight forward with my lyrically content for now on. Anime is a topic I'll always cover in my songs and it'll be something I'm interested in for my whole life, when I get older and have a child I wanna introduce them to it but I definitely am gonna tone down the references and get more personal in my lyrics
Basically my lyrics are gonna grow with me as a person.
Your production seems to be influenced by the "cloud rap" scene as well. How do you choose/create the beats that appear on your tracks? What is your set up and creative process?
Well yes as previously stated I appreciate the cloud rap scene and really like what they do, so ya I prefer the more atmospheric and melodic beats but I feel like there is a good balance between softness and aggression on the production I chose and the production I made for Otaku 2006. The over arching theme of Otaku 2006 is that even if you're alone, you can listen to this album and it can take you to a different place where you can feel like there's someone who can relate to you so I wanted the beats to have a distant and melancholy vibe to fit the emotional picture I'm trying to paint. I go about choosing beats by just picking what appeals to me musically and when I hear a beat It has to make me see an image in my head and certain beats make me imagine certain things and the beats I tend to enjoy make me imagine abstract art or nature. My beat creation method is that I look at a painting or photo or album cover and I just try to turn that image into a sound. So basically my creative process is very visual and set up wise I just use Logic Pro and Native Instruments Maschine for everything.
Besides Hip-Hop which other genres do you dabble in?
Well actually for me it's the other way around I'm into a bunch of other genres and I just recently started dabbling in hip hop, don't get me wrong, I love the genre and an studying the history of hip hop and learning the art of rapping but it's all new to me. I've been playing guitar for 6 years and I love metal, rock jazz and electronic music, I play guitar in a progressive metal band called Illusions of Anathema and the beat for After School Tea Time was originally for an electronic project I was making that never came to fruition but me I'm a music lover, I love almost every genre and I respect so many artists across all genres.
How did you get into the rapping game? You seem to have made a lot of connections despite your young age. Has that ever hindered you as an artist?
I had know for a couple months that I wanted to make a mixtape so I just got started one day and now I have Otaku 2006. The connections that I've made, I already had before I became a rapper. I was just a chill guy online and so I already had a decent size group of friends online so you know if I needed to contact someone who was out of my league popularity wise I would have a friend hook me up and is just make a new friend. To me the most important thing is everyone I meet I try to become friends with them. When I make a connection with someone it's not about music it's just about having a good time.
And no this hasn't ever hindered me as an artist but it makes me feel a lot of pressure. I feel like I can't let anyone down and I have to hear everyone's opinion on my art which makes me doubt myself or overthink everything sometimes.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Orlando: Well I'll separate this into sorta two different answers, so first my biggest influences as a rapper are Childish Gambino, milo, busdriver, Nocando, Open Mike Eagle, Lofty 305, Bones, Xavier Wulf and Del the Funky Homosapian.
My biggest influences on my art overall are Pat Metheny, Tosin Abasi, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Paul Masdival, Fredrik Thorendal, Kurt Cobain and I could list a bunch others but those are probably some of the most important to me.
Also Melrose has influenced me a lot. Ever since we met I've been improving rapidly as a musician and he taught me a lot about recording and producing.
Album cover art for Orlando Kennedy's sophomore album, Argentina (Release date December 15, 2014). Featuring a collaboration with Ace Cosgrove. Check out the first single from the album by clicking the picture above.
This could be self explanatory question haha but how did you decide upon your name?
Well when I was little people used to call me Lan because my name is Kirkland and it was kinda long and some people mispronounced it so when I was older and I heard the name OrLANdo I just kinda took the Lan and made Orlando. I was picked on as a kid a lot cause of the name Kirkland too. People used to say I was white and all that type of shit so I became Orlando. The Kennedy just sorta came to me when I was thinking of a rap name so I put it together and boom Orlando Kennedy. Now to me Orlando Kennedy is the person I have become based of my life experiences and I use him as a way to evaluate the person I've become and judge my flaws and the decisions I've made whether they be good or bad.
Your music seems to carry an extremely positive message that reaches out to "loners". What did you experience to make you want to put this message into your songs? What do you think of mainstream music's overall message?
Yes my music is meant to be positive and relatable. I want people to be able to put on my music and feel like they aren't alone. I want my music to create a community of positivity and help people become more kind and compassionate. The event that first made me realize that people will just hate you for who you are was when I went to first grade and a bunch of kids were teasing me and I was sitting in a corner all by myself and the one kid that talked to me was walking over to me and then another kid yelled don't talk to that loser and so the one person who I thought was my friend ran away and never talked to me again and so even since then I've had a hard time with trust and friendship but I want my music to change people's mindsets so that no one else has to experience events like that over and over in there lifetime like I have.
I think mainstream musics overall message is very negative especially for the black community because in recent years because in recent years the black community has become very impressionable and so with rappers on the radio discussing topics like materialism and misogyny really hurts everyone but especially African Americans since the majority of hip hop artist are African American and they have one of the biggest influences on the culture.
On your Bandcamp you shout out to TM (The Minority) Could you explain to everybody what/who that is?
TM gang is the name of group who I basically play video games with online and I named the group after my TM movement idea but TM gang is basically the start of the community of acceptance I'm trying to create. TM gang is just a bunch of people that come from different walks of life that are completely different who can all come together and be friends and have a great time.
The Minority is basically the conceptual form of TM gang basically it's my movement to encourage others to be themselves and think for themselves and accept others even if they disagree with you on something you feel very strongly about. Everyone is a minority because everyone is an individual there is only one you that's exactly why you need others cause u aren't everything and it takes a community to become bigger than yourself and that basically what The Minority is. It is a movement for self empowerment and the spreading and sharing of kindness.
On your track "nouCome" You state that " the Internet era is really affecting [you]". What do you mean by that?
The full line is "The Internet era is really affecting me, really screws up my perception of everything" to me the line is a statement towards how the internet is affecting every generation and effecting us all differently. Some generations like my grandparents can completely ignore the internet and all technological advantages while my generation is immersed in the Internet. I can't remember a time before the Internet. I remember sitting in my moms lap using a dial up computer. Technology affects every generation differently and effects how we perceive one another and how we communicate. It's not positive or negative but technology is reshaping our world and our society and we need to be aware of that.
You state you are still a sophomore in high school. Does music get in the way of school or vice versa? What are your parents opinions on your music? Do you plan to continue being in the music business when you go to college?
My music is my main priority but school is very important. I need an education but I need to make new art and promote it so at certain times music will get in the way of school and at other times school will get in the way of music. It goes back and forth but they are both necessary to my progression as an artist and they more things I learn and the more experiences and social interactions I have the more I'll have to rap about so I'll continue to work on balancing everything out. My parents think my music is alright, my mom is from LA so she was into Snoop Dogg and stuff like that so she likes the laid back style of my music and she likes the positivity. My dad on the other hand I don't know what he thinks, he hasn't heard my music. He knows I make music but I don't know how interested in it he is.
Yes, I'm plan on making music into my career in some way, shape or form and college is going to help me grow even more as an artist so definitely I will continue music. Nothing is going to stop me from making music and trying to be and artist.
How has living in Houston affected your art?
Living in Houston has affected my art because it has exposed to a lot of hateful aspects of southern culture such as racism, bigotry and many other things. Don't get me wrong I love Houston this is my home and you can experience all those issues anywhere in the world but I have seen them here and if I hadn't seen those things I would be a different person and if I was a different person I might be rapping. Houston has affected my art because I have experienced the negatives and positives of life in Houston. It gives me a goal to reach for and a story to tell.
