Q&A With Underground Hip Hop Artist Some Guy Named Kyle

Hey Some Guy Named Kyle! Much respect on your new album. We appreciate solid music, especially from true up and coming MC’s. Please tell me how long have you been rapping? Where are you from? Do you remember where you were at exactly when you wrote your first track!!??

Thank you so much, that means a lot! I actually started rapping when i was around 8 years old because I waned to be like my big brother who had a rap group at the time. I’m from Wichita, Kansas and I remember my first track I was in my mom’s house in South City Wichita. Music was how I dealt with my problems so I probably wrote it in my room crying or shit haha.

We have to ask, how did you come up with your artist name!? We hate to sound cliche, but it really does stand out!!

Appreciate that! I wish I had some super cool story but I don’t. I was at my brother-n-law crib whos name is also Kyle and I was having a discussion about how cool every Kyle I have ever met is. My wife began to co-sign it by telling us a story about someone helping her out via customer care for some company and she said “of course it was some guy named kyle” and it just stuck. My entire family was like Kyle, you should go by that! it’s so catchy! At the time i was using my real name Kyle Ellison but Some Guy Named Kyle just
stuck out to me.

Your style and rhyme scheme is super raw and different! How do you describe you sound? How long did it take for you to find your sound?

My entire life! I’m 30 years old and I feel i am always growing as a person and in my art. I’m from the Midwest but I’ve been to the west coast and for 3 years lived on the east coast. I’ve always been into music from all over including the south. My dad being from Arkansas made it easy to love a lot of different styles and sounds. I’d say my sound is something people miss, something that for in my opinion needs to exist. I’d guess it’s somewhat raw and different because it was 100% honesty coming from me.

Tell us about your Hip Hop and/or music influences? Any Wichita influences? Was there anyone in your life that motivated your to STEP IT UP when it comes to making dope Hip Hop?

In Hip Hop I love Eminem, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Andre 3000. In Wichita, I’d say my older brother “Town” and my entire city influences me because I’m a product of my environment and the folks around me. Also my boys Freddy High and Samuel David, two other artists in my city. I feel like we challenge each other to be the best emcees we can be. I just want my hometown to feel like I’m representing us correctly. Far as motivating me, or even challenging me its my friends. Each song on the album is real life conversations my friends and I have had, some songs are even for them specifically. My boy Mik always talks to me like he’s Diddy or something so it makes me laugh but keeping his stupid ass comments in my head makes me try to stay on my A Game. My dad is the biggest critic I know and he’s always going challenge me, since I’ve been in the studio at 16 years old.

In the underground community, some big names are from out there Strange Music cmap and more! And now, your are on the come up. How important is Kansas to you when it comes to branding your music?

HUGE! You mention Srange Music and I have so much respect for those guys over there. I was actually at a Tech concert in KC last year and I’ve met Tech, opened for Tech years ago but it was in Wichita. I had never seen Tech in Kansas City and that was surreal to me. I’m like yo, this dude is Jay-Z here. I have to do this for Wichita and for Kansas. Tech is a huge reason why I decided to come back to music and continue to create, I’m like this dude put in work for years and he’s still doing it. I have no excuse.

Please breakdown the creative process of your latest album “For the Culture”.

I had not made any music for the last 2-3 years except for the occasional feature here and there. Honestly, probably like two features total. After the recent election, my wife would probably agree I went through a brief depression. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I felt society had turned on me and/or us and just was in a super dark space. I honestly didn’t know how to get out of the funk i was in. After 3 days went by something in me said “Kyle, you know how to deal with your problems. Do it for yourself, do it for Paris” That’s my little girl and I can’t break down or be weak because she has to see no matter what we have to be strong so I jumped in the studio at my house and recorded every song. My wife and daughter left to go to Texas for about a week and I completed the entire project while they were gone.

What are you looking forward to for 2017? Anything you going to be doing differently compared to past years?

Definitely! I’ll be making music! Like i said I stopped the past few years so to be back doing it again feels an amazing. I have so much I want to share with the world. I’m looking forward to people hearing my music, my journey, and helping people deal with whatever shit they’re going through.

Any pressuring situations before you decided to push your album? Did everything work out according to plan?

The only pressure I had been that this album was very vulnerable and different form anything I made in the past. A small piece of me was like, damn anyone who followed me back in the day will be completely thrown off with this sound and content. That didn’t stop me at all though, I knew it was honest and it is who i am so it was coming out. My thoughts were they’re either going to love it or ill never make anything like this again haha. Once i was done and was happy with everything For the Culture represented my new thought was if you love it great, if you don’t I didn’t make it for you. The only other thing id say is the job i had at the time, all my friends felt this album would get me fired haha.

Any new projects coming out!?

Yes, I plan to start working on a mixtape within the next couple months. I’m also helping produce my brother Town and his new project. Freddy High, Samuel David, and myself are working on a project together as well and I think well go by Black Kingz. I also would like to drop one more solo album before the end of the year.

Rappers nowadays think by throwing up a few videos up on social media and pushing quick projects, they can blow up overnight! Give us your view on how over saturated the market is right now with so many MC’s/Producers but not to many quality music.

Yeah. I think that the art has changed quite a bit but its necessary change. I think the internet has changed perception and some have had relatively quick success and those one or two people you hear about blowing up there’s 1 million who didn’t. And sometimes even with those one or two put in mad work that we don’t get to see, that’s what my song “Highlights” talks about. I do think that there’s a place for those who can throw up whatever they want and they should, that way it balances us all out.

How often do you perform LIVE? Any shows lined up in the near future?

Just getting back into music, not much. I did a show in downtown Wichita at Clutch Studio with my boys for Final Friday in March. I’d love to do more because I feel my music is personal and needs to be taken in from me delivering it personally. Feed back my boy Mik gave me after watching my live show, he liked the project but seeing me live perform it live made him FEEL the project and that to me is big.

Where do you see yourself in 5yrs time?

In 5 years, my thoughts is that I’d be a successful indie artist. My desire isn’t to be rich, I just want a level of success that allows me to provide for my family and create additional opportunities for myself and for others.
God Speed!

Here it is! Our most popular question! What is your definition of “underground hip hop”?

Now!? I think there are levels to underground hip hop… I feel back in the day it was easy to classify it has like some Neo soul type sound but now it’s probably anything not major. Anyone taking it on an indie route I believe can fall int his category and I love that. I love what you guys are doing. Again I’m 30 so i was making music was the goal was 100% try to get on the radio, try to get a record deal, try to get on. Now, with where underground hip hop is, indie hip hop,and the culture in general is you can do you, be who you are, and just try to please those who feel how you feel.

Where can people find you on the web? Drop all the vital links.

First my website, that connects you to me in every way. SomeGuyNamedKyle.com. In addition to that I am on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, FAcebook @KyleICT (Some Guy Named Kyle)

Lastly, and shout out?

I’d just like to shoutout my wife,my daughter, and my friends y’all know who you are.