Beyond Belief | Amalgam Digital Blog

Beyond Belief Artist: Kilogram Interviewer: JAKE WEINREB

Kilogram Weighs in Beyond Belief
Kilogram interviewed by Jake Weinreb 07/13/09

AmalgamDigital.com: What sparked your interested Hip Hop?

Kilogram: I was first interested in hip-hop growing up watching people like Run DMC, LL Cool J, and Kool Moe Dee. Those types of people really made me want to do this. I was inspired by their music and by their message. I decided that when I grew up that was my calling-that was what I wanted to do.

AmalgamDigital.com: Did you enjoy growing up in New Jersey?

Kilogram: Yeah. To me, New Jersey is a diverse state. You can get to New York within 45 minutes; you can get to Philly within a half an hour. We’re right in the middle of everything, and I like that.

AmalgamDigital.com: Who do you draw your musical inspiration from?

Kilogram: I draw my inspiration mainly from the streets. The streets birthed hip-hop. It’s in its rawest form when it comes from the streets. Also, I’m inspired by guys like Jay-Z. Seeing him start at basically the grassroots level and work to become one of the top artists of the world. That shows me that if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything.

AmalgamDigital.com: Tell me a little about Chain of Command Records.

Kilogram: I’m CEO of Chain of Command Records. I also have two partners, Shawn Andrews, who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, and a guy named Israel.  They actually found me on the streets putting out my own CD and getting my videos played on MTV and approached me as investors. We also have a guy named Marky Mangum who does A&R for the label.

AmalgamDigital.com: I know that you went to Delaware State. Was that a good experience for you and do you think what you learned there is helping you now?

Kilogram: Delaware State was instrumental in what I’m doing now. When I was there, they had a lot of musical things going on like talent shows. I majored in education. I wanted to be a teacher first, but at the same time I was winning every talent show. My professors encouraged me that If I have a dream that I want to follow, I have to put 100% into that.  I’ve applied the information that they told me and I have it stuck in my mind. I won’t take no for an answer and that’s why I’ve been so successful. I took a risk by leaving college to pursue music, but college has definitely helped me.

AmalgamDigital.com: Your new album, “Nobody Believed in My Music,” is about to hit stores July 14^th. Are you satisfied with the way the album came out?

Kilogram: Yeah, I’m satisfied with how it came out. The whole theme behind “Nobody Believed in My Music” was catered towards record labels. They told me I couldn’t do this and I couldn’t do that, but I’ve done a lot of things on my own. “106th and Park,” MTV, getting commercial radio play, and having major artists reach out to me to collaborate on records.  When I say “Nobody Believed,” it’s really the record labels not seeing what I’m bringing to the table. It’s really a body of work of everything that I’ve been through. My collaborations…Peedi Crakk was really the start of everything. Then getting Gillie da Kid, Lil’ Flip, and Maino all involved with the project really showed me that I don’t have to rely solely on a major label to make things happen for my career.

AmalgamDigital.com: So you seem like you’re pretty happy as an independent artist. Do you see yourself working a label in the future?

Kilogram: I’m happy being independent, but I think everyone wants to graduate to a higher level. I love being independent, but the work is solely on me and my staff. The money is better, but at the end of the day I just want to be able to get my craft out to the world. I want it to be appreciated by millions of people and not just a certain region. My goal is definitely to go major, it just has to be the right situation.

AmalgamDigital.com: I thought the video for “Jersey” came out really well. Did you have a good time shooting that video?

Kilogram: Yeah, we had fun shooting that video. I actually wrote the treatment for it, and I really wanted to give it a 90’s feel. I wanted to pay homage to the MC’s that paved the way for me to do what I do. I wanted a “Yo! MTV Raps” type of vibe. It doesn’t have the “bling bling” that you normally see on TV. It wasn’t really like a booty shakin’ video either. The girls that were in the video were just home girls of mine that I called up. It was just a street video that paid homage to the icons that came before me and also to my state.

AmalgamDigital.com: You have worked with some amazing artists and gotten yourself on national television all on your own. Was it hard to achieve the success you’ve had without the support of a label?

Kilogram: It was very hard to achieve the success that I’ve had because it’s always harder when you have to take the backdoor approach. When you have to take the long way somewhere it can kind of burn you out. But at the same time, I’ve learned so much that it’s seasoned me. I think that God takes his favorites through a struggle.  Out of that struggle I have distribution with Amalgam now, my video premiered on “106^th and Park,” and I’m getting 35 spins on MTV Jams, and it’s because of the hard work and grind that I put in. It was definitely hard but rewarding at the same time.

AmalgamDigital.com: What advice would you give to people who want to follow in your footsteps and make it on their own?

Kilogram: The title of my album says it best, “Nobody Believed in My Music” but me. Believe in yourself and don’t take no for an answer. Even though you might face hardships and obstacles, just continue on with your plan and you’ll be successful.  It might not happen at the time you want it to happen, but with persistence, dedication, and commitment, it will happen.

Stay Updated With Kilogram;

www.myspace.com/kilogramts

Tags: Interviews, Kilogram

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 at 9:22 AM and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.