Interview: R.kitect
Emerging CHH artist R.kitect has just released his new album 'Relax, I’ve Done This Before'. Louder Than The Music chatted with this exciting Florida emcee to find out more about his music and inspiration.
For those who haven't heard of you before, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in making music?
I started writing music at 11. I wasn't sure what I was doing or how to do it. I heard hiphop/rap on the radio and fell in love. I took it serious in my teens and would freestyle in HS and in my early 20s began recording. I had no idea I would be doing this professionally years later. A very long story short - It became very fruitless and I felt stagnant after being burned by the industry a few times along with empty promises I gave it up. I enlisted in the military where I pretended that I had never even been a rapper or knew anything about music. I ascended in my career as a Non Commissioned officer in the Army but still felt empty. I re dedicated my life to Christ after a very hard wilderness season. R.kitect was reborn. God said write again I'll do the rest. Here I am.
Tell us about your new album 'Relax, I've Done This Before' and what the inspiration behind it was?
I went through a very hard time after a divorce and a very hard few years as a Drill Sergeant in the Army. Although I knew God and believed in my purpose and calling I was far from him. Once I surrendered to his will entirely, my life changed. I started writing again to soothe a lot of pain and really as therapy. I was just "journaling"...so I thought. I accidentally wrote Jonah Fish. Yes, accidentally. Against my will I told God I don't do this anymore. I'm a soldier now please I don't wanna do this again. He said keep writing.
I wanted to tell the world once they heard me to Relax, I've Done This before... but really it was God telling ME - RELAX, I'VE DONE THIS BEFORE!
My favorite song and most personal is Objects in Mirror. I wrote this song as a single when I was deployed to the Black Sea Region. It launched the idea of a personal and transparent album.
What message would you like people to take from your music?
My music is a sound of inspiration and victory. It's also a real look at the struggle of a man. A Christian. And an artist. How do I mesh these. I don't know but God knows. My entire comeback message is Hebrews Chapter 11. Have faith in God's timing and promises without the thought of seeing the result. He does the work you don't see. Be faithful.
Who are your influences?
Early influences were artists during the golden age of hip hop in the 90s. Gritty, east coast rappers who used simple beats and samples with clever words. Nas, Wu Tang, Lauren Hill etc. As I evolved as an artist my tastes and palette evolved into a sound that allows me to cross over into their world and tap into their audience while still being very much true to the Godly man that I am.
If you could work with any other artist in the world, who would it be and why?
I'm a competitor. I want to test myself against the best. I take pride in wordplay and complex rhyme schemes. Datin was one I wanted to test myself again while building a relationship with him. Others include underground names which most may not know but are formidable with their lyrical skill. In the CHH world, probably Sevin, Bizzle, Monster Tarver but many on the secular side. I want to bridge the gap from our music to their mainstream audience. I'm obsessed with that idea. It has to be God because I wouldn't have come up with that.
How would you define success in your career as an artist?
Success is being old one day and looking back at the music I made and being proud. I could not say that about my music when I left the first time. Success is also leaving a legacy and influencing change in our Christian hiphop culture. Sitting back and watching the extensions of your influence to reach people who need help, inspiration, or simply giving them the courage to chase and accept their call. Knowing I can have a hand in that is both terrifying and fulfilling
What is your favorite album of all time?
Well people don't make too many albums these days that are great in my opinion. We live in a one minute and thirty second reel or tik tok world. Everything is a single or a snippet. But a few that were huge influences were Nas, It Was Written or Joell Ortiz, The Brick: Bodega Chronicles
You're stuck on an island, it's hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your phone. What track is it?
Objects in Mirror of course. It's a reminder I can rise from the ashes.
What does the next year hold for you?
Another EP at the end of 2024 and many more features and singles outside of the norm and outside of the CHH space. There are lost people. I want to be a light in the dark. Not a light in the light.
