Discussing life with St. Paul artist Why Khaliq for his new EP Under The Perspective Tree.
There’s someone making music that we think you should know about. His name is Why Khaliq, and he’s from St. Paul, Minnesota. Tucked away in a small rentable space on the University of Minnesota campus, we sat down and discussed an assortment of things including his new EP, titled Under The Perspective Tree.
Who are you, what should people know about you?
“I’m Why Khaliq. I’m a real conceptional artist. I’m the type of artist that paints pictures, and you have to be the type of person with an intellectual side to listen to my music. At the same time, I’m still creative enough to make it entertaining. I just think people should know that if they listen to my music, there’s always an emotion that I’m trying to give.”
Who and what inspires you?
“A lot of the time while I was writing UTPT was when I first knew I was having my daughter. That definitely fueled it. And life inspires me. It sounds cliche to say that, but I get inspiration from shit that I go through and see. Or traveling. Even when I was making songs when I was catching the bus to work, and that was an hour and a half bus ride, I would just people watch. I would see life through a different lens. I’m like walking inspiration, whatever I catch and grab is just a part of me and my journey.”
Khaliq continues and discusses catching the bus to a high school he briefly attended, expressing the difficulty of affording a $5 a day lunch for an already expensive private institution, reiterating that experiences like this have been what inspires him throughout his life.
Tell us about the EP.
“At first I didn’t like any of the beats. Lelan Foley produced the whole project. He’s from here but lives in Chicago. He sent me a package of 7 beats, and I used them all except for one. The first beat that I used was “Knew The Half”, and I didn’t like the other ones. Then me and Tezzy (manager) was riding home one day getting blazed and I was like, these beats are kinda tight. Then I remember playing it for my girl, and she was like nah, this shit’s wack. She was like, it sounds like a play, and I was like, that’s what I need. So that’s how the production came along and then I just started working on the songs. The first name I came up with was Under The Perspective Tree. And then after that, everything clicked for me and I knew what I wanted.”
Our conversation progressed and Khaliq described the meaning of the cover art. He explained that the man hanging from the noose above substances represents the mental slavery that occurs when someone is battling their vices, whether that be drugs, alcohol, etc.
Describe Under The Perspective Tree in one word.
“I got two words. One would be theatrical. Just because to me, I’m really proud of how everything sits and how it comes. Or I would say emotion, because it came from pure emotion of the inspiration of my daughter. I remember writing verses when she was born, cuz we had to stay in there two days, and I was writing off the pure inspiration of that.”
What do you want people to do while listening to UTPT?
“If I could, I wish people could take like 20 minutes away from their life, and just sit back and listen to it. I feel like if you’re driving and talking, you won’t catch it. You’re gonna miss some vital metaphors and vital skits, it’s like a movie. You gotta be ready to listen.”
What would Daily Chiefers be without some weed questions though??
If you’re album was a weed strain what would it be? And how do you want people to get high while listening to UTPT?
“That’s a good question. It’d be some OG. And everything. Whatever gets you high. Take a dab, then smoke a joint, then roll a blunt, then smoke a bowl, you know what I’m saying, then a vape. You gotta do it all. Just get baked and then listen to it. I just want people to listen to it.”
Chill dude, right? Now that you’ve learned more about Why Khaliq, sit back, and press play on his new 7-track EP Under The Perspective Tree.
LISTEN:
Editors note: Stop sleepin’ on Why Khaliq already and press fuckin’ play above. You’re welcome.
[…] Back at it again with the dope tracks! The St. Paul artist we fuck heavily with, Why Khaliq, released some derivative work over Madeintyo‘s “Uber Everywhere”. If you like what you hear, peep our exclusive interview with Khaliq for his recent release Under The Perspective Tree here. […]