Premiere/Interview: KTheChosen
I really wish this interview was a podcast. It’s difficult to capture the essence of a conversation that is so rich with insight, passion, and authenticity. And I guess that’s a good way to capture who KTheChosen is; he’s a passionate community builder, insightful advocate, and authentic soul - and there is a lot to unpack with that. Regardless, he’s an artist you should get to know, and more importantly one you should listen to. I had the opportunity to *virtually* sit down with Calgary rapper KTheChosen, otherwise known as Thabo Chinake, to discuss finding his stride as an artist and his debut album Jouska, premiering today on Cups N’s Cakes network. Get the album rolling on the player, then scroll past for my chat with KTheChosen.
- Carly Weiler
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, KTheChosen moved to Calgary to pursue a degree in business and the dreams of a big-city music career. As a rapper, he saw Calgary as a city of promise and opportunity, but maybe not in the way he expected. “Calgary is the festival city – I didn’t realize that was folk – I found that out when I arrived”, he laughs while reminiscing on the unexpected surprise. Once finding his footing in the eclectic scene of southern Alberta, he began to realize that his hip-hop persona didn’t match his values. “My mom wanted to name me Ketiwe…it means ‘the chosen one’” he mentioned, “because I am the first-born, my mom was super excited to have me, so much so that she actually wrote me letters while I was still in her in the womb. And part of my writing actually comes from her, because she was an English teacher and loved writing. Even when I started making music she would critique it, and it was very weird to be writing rap and having my mom listen to it because I would swear all the time” he laughed, reflecting on the impact his mother’s critiques had on his writing. “I was heading for Uni in Canada and this was the first time I was leaving the nest, I’ve always been super close to home” he says, “In my second year I was studying business development management…and I wasn’t enjoying [it], I was feeling homesick, and I started to doubt who I was and what I was doing in life, and at this time I was rapping under a different name. I started rapping in high school, and it would just be me and my friends banging on lockers, and just freestyling.” As any kid trying to personify what they see in the media and from their peers, a lot of his previous stylings encompassed a familiar message – showing how macho you were, how to get the girls, letting your ego drive the music. “I didn’t feel like these things related to who I was in my core…trying to rap under that name just didn’t feel right” he said, deciding it was time for a change. “I actually never read this letter, my mom had given me the letter when I had left for Uni, and I said ‘you know what when the day comes I’ll look for this letter and read it’”, he said, about the message from his mother to her unborn child. “So I picked up the letter and it was my mom saying, you know, ‘I love you, you are destined for great things, we haven’t even met in person yet but I know that you and I are really going to cherish our relationship.’” he said, “I read that letter and it literally brought me out of the space I was in. Like, look - I have purpose. How could my mom have so much confidence in me, before she even met me?” Using the name Ketiwe to address her first born on the letter, Thabo took the meaning, “the chosen one” and honoured the almost alternate reality of a time when he was known as someone different, allowing him to establish a new foundation, and a new stepping off point in what he was always set to embody as an artist. From there, KTheChosen was born.
With a renewed sense of self, the young artist began his journey into this dynamic talent, taking influence from favourite rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West, and taking time to really learn about the nuances of his trade “Be more deliberate with your songs” he said, when discussing the importance of cohesion in an album. “When you have one song after the next, you don’t just put them after each other because they sound good” he said, “they have to go with the flow of the story.” Taking inspiration from albums like Late Registration, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and Flower Boy, concept pieces from J-Cole, and diving into music theory through podcasts like Dissect, KTheChosen had the foundation to build a well-rounded, introspective look at the industry and society through Jouska, by weaving a story that’s as much about himself as it is applicable to anyone listening “So, even within this project I talk about a lot [of topics], but outside of my musical inspirations or aspirations, you don’t really hear a lot about my story until you get to Nomad’s Tale Pt. 4” he says, regarding the last song on the album. “Sometimes that’s great because it allows people to insert themselves in the story.”
“A part of me, especially in the last week, has been wondering if I need to push [Jouska’s release] back because of everything happening. But it’s actually become kind of the opposite, because there seems to be a space where people really want to promote black creatives now, which is a bit weird too because it’s like, huh? You want us now?” he laughs. “There’s been a lot of - social media wise - a lot of people, let’s say a website that promotes artists in general has now dedicated the entirety of June to black artists.” If you haven’t seen the remarkable push on social media to support Black Lives Matter and black communities across the world, then I’m assuming you don’t know how to use the internet. And this is just the most recent development of what has been an undeniably noteworthy year - I mean, don’t the Australian wildfires feel like something that happened two years ago? Yet, through everything that is happening that shocks us, makes us question ourselves and our values, and flips everything on its head, shouldn’t we also have something that picks us back up? “I think there are a lot of issues that I touch on [in the album]. I don’t think I go into police brutality, per se, but I did talk about people treating others differently” KTheChosen notes, touching on things like gender equity and sexual orientation, topics that he actively advocates for in his personal life, “as well as the experience of being an immigrant living in Canada.” What KTheChosen wants is for people to listen to his album and think, be inspired, question, and use it as a tool to appreciate how we are still alive and there are things to be grateful for. “Songs like ‘Koast’ might help with that” he says, wanting people to not forget to celebrate life.
One of my favourite things about this album are the nods to other artists. If you’re a big hip-hop fan, you know that feeling when you’re listening to a track and you hear a familiar line from another song – that “ah-ha!” moment that makes you want to jump out of your seat. “People sometimes used to feel that hip-hop was a very immature genre…but if anything it’s an appreciation of other music, and appreciation of art that other people have done.” K notes, acknowledging the artists that have inspired his art while also cultivating that connection with the listener – I mean, I sure felt validated that we listened to the same songs. As you move through the album, you’ll hear familiar lines from early Kanye on “Koast”, Tyler, The Creator and A$AP Rocky on “Amazon”, and Drake on “MAMA”, and it immediately makes the album feel more nuanced and measured. And its goddamn great.
Though every album is made up of a compilation of tracks that lend to the theme or story, there is always one song that gets to the heart of the project – and I think it’s important to understand the meaning to truly appreciate what’s happening through your headphones. On the track “15 Minutes/Fame”, KTheChosen brings Jouska to life on many fronts. “Jouska’s actually a made up word” K said, when talking about how the track ties into the album title, “I feel like I may be the one and only rapper who uses Pinterest” he laughs, noting the origin of the word comes from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrow, which he found on the website. It should also be noted that “all rappers should use Pinterest” - direct quote, you literally heard it hear first. “[Jouksa] is an imaginary conversation with yourself” K said, “that’s what the project is. It’s this idea of me dealing with fame, celebrity, and the lifestyle of being an accomplished artist, and that’s when “15 Minutes/Fame” almost becomes the central theme of the project, where I actually interact with Fame directly” Through this conversation, KTheChosen finds himself being drawn into this mysterious, attractive, and seemingly harmless woman, who later introduces herself as Fame. Half way through the track, as we hit the beat switch, we see the flip side of Fame – the pressure, the exhaustion she is feeling, the desire to find someone new – and the conversation flips to the stress and weight of living with Fame, making nods to artists who have succumbed to her suffocating grip. Though fame cannot be physically seen, the track allows us to see it manifest into a shape that’s all too familiar for those in the industry, and those watching from the outside.
Jouska, as a whole, is a great album, and KTheChosen is using his talents and creativity to bring different groups together. “’Amazon’ is the stepping stone to realizing what I’m always trying to do, I’m just trying to create with other people.” he said, reflecting on the first single of the album where he collaborated with talented individuals across various artistic communities. “I’ve got a multitude of ideas, but sometimes my skill set doesn’t put me in a space where I can do everything myself, but because of the network I have and the attitude of people in Calgary, they are always happy to work on something whether they are getting paid or not. ‘Amazon’ was how you and I met, and now we are doing an interview for the publication I was going to reach out to” he says, noting that he was thinking of reaching out to Cups n’ Cakes network before my offer for an interview, “there’s something magical about the vibe in Calgary.” And to this sentiment, I couldn’t agree more.
To give a final bit of insight on KTheChosen, I’ve asked him a series of rapid fire questions and recorded his first response. I told him it was based on his personal opinion, but I lied and I’ve graded them here.
Rapid Fire Round – Hip-Hip Edition
Q: Kanye West or Kendrick Lamar A: Kanye West (correct)
Q: Cartoons or Cereal A: Cartoons (incorrect)
Q: Nicki Minaj or Cardi B A: Please don’t ask make me answer this (incorrect)
Q: East Coast or West Coast A: Can I say Chicago? (incorrect, not an option)
Q: Cups, Cakes or Cupcakes? A: Cupcakes (correct)
You can listen to Jouska on all streaming platforms TODAY. If you’re looking for more KTheChosen, you can listen to his previous EP and single releases on Spotify and Soundcloud. In addition, the Cups N Cakes Network also has an exclusive premiere of the music video for “Blue (Feat. Mbe).”
Enjoy!