[postsincol category=”null” col=”3″ count=”null” excerpt=”show or hide”]There are truly a few artists that have been in my rotation consistently this last year but for Augustus-native Rot Ken, he’s been on repeat for the last couple. The 19-year-old artist has had his foot on the pedal from the start, earning co-signs from Internet Money, Jetsonmade, and many others. I had the true privilege to interview Rot Ken, who draws influence from NBA Youngboy and Lil Baby, yet sets himself apart due to his unique energy and wordplay.
EY: Who is Rot Ken for those who don’t know and what do you represent?
RK: Rot Ken is a 19 Year Old From Augusta, GA and I represent good, real music and hard work.
EY: You’re from Augusta, Georgia. Walk us through what your life was like in the early years of growing up?
RK: It was hard but we made the best out of it. Lights off a lot, water off, in and out of trouble, but it didn’t phase us, we just made it work.
EY: Were there any musicians in your family that played a role in your music-making career? If not, who was an early inspiration for you and why?
RK: Nobody did music in my family but I looked up to Tupac a lot and Biggie. I watched their documentaries growing up.
EY: When did music become a factor in your life? When did you realize that this was something you’d take seriously?
RK: When I was like 9, I knew I loved music. I was trash at first to be honest but I loved it so much, I made myself better so I could be where I am today.
EY: I was first introduced to your music when you released Free Me and I was blown away by the quality of music that you put out, notably “Foreign” and “Star.” What was the creative process behind Free Me? Did the outcome of this album exceed your expectations in regard to where you wanted to be?
RK: Yeah it did better than I thought it would but since it dropped while I was locked up, I really was lost and I didn’t know how big I was. My music process is simple, I record easily. I don’t need any drinks or food or a certain vibe, just give me my engineer Terry and I’m going to make good music.
EY: I’m a huge fan of the song you have with SoFaygo called “Beautiful.” Can you run down how this collaboration came to fruition?
RK: Well one day my manager TP hit me up like “I’m going to try to get you a feature with Faygo.” I had been playing Faygo’s music anyway so I was like “Bet, that’s going to be hard” and it just happened that I pulled up while he was making the song. I already could tell it was hard.
EY: What’s different now, compared to your life around this time last year? Can you tell the story of how you got discovered and signed to BoyMeetSpace and Internet Money?
RK: I had been working with Taz but I was going so they sent me back but then I came back to work again, that’s when I met jetsonmade and we started working and we became like brothers ever since. Then when I got locked up, they signed me like 5 months before I got out.
EY: I understand your upcoming project is titled Yahweh Child which by definition, is “God’s child” in Hebrew. What was the inspiration behind this project and what does this mean to you?
RK: I believe I’m God’s child because of everything I’ve made it through but in my family, we say “Yahweh” instead of “God.”
EY: This project features production from OG Parker, jetsonmade, and Internet Money’s own Taz Taylor. What was the thought process behind choosing the production for this project? Were you in the studio with all these guys?
RK: I just pick any good, hard beat I hear. I don’t care about the specific producer, it’s just good producers make good beats.
EY: To those who aren’t familiar with your sound/music, how would you describe it?
RK: Melodic Rap, like my own lane-type music.
EY: What have you learned so far being in the music industry?
RK: I’ve learned that hard work really pays off.
EY: What can we expect from Rot Ken in 2023?
RK: In 2023, I’m trying to be the most consistent artist.
