Kwame JAW
Oct 2013
Who are you?
Kwame JAW, aka Kwamekaze, aka Killa Kwamz.
Where do you live?
I’m a California native, but I currently reside in Arizona.
What do you do?
I create music: rhythm and poetry to be exact. That’s what rap is to me anyhow, just some dope rhythm and poetic penmanship.
When did you start?
I started taking all of this seriously around October 2012. That was when I released my first 5 song demo tape, so roughly a year ago.
How was your first show/performance?
It was great, despite the normal expectations of it being horrible. I even have a video on YouTube of the performance. It was at a bar in Fullerton, California, called The Tropics Lounge. I was pretty intoxicated to deal with my nervousness… [laughs]
What would you like to gain from your work?
I would like to be in a better position to help other people. I feel like I can help people on a larger scale through my art and actions with better resources and, of course, the time it takes for things to come to fruition. I also want to travel the world. I have to, as a matter of fact. I have to go to Africa.
What would you like your audience to gain from your work?
I want them to understand that you can be yourself and get extraordinarily far in life. Never try to follow someone else’s path or be something you’re not in order to get ahead. If you don’t keep it real; it’ll catch up to you. Because all I’m ever being in my music is myself, and it’s working for me.
Who or what are your biggest influences?
My influences range from international activist and ex-Black Panther Party Honorary Prime Minister, Stokely Carmichael, to revolutionary guerrilla leader Ernesto “Che” Guevara. But if we’re talking music, I’m influenced a lot by Animosity, an older technical deathcore band out of the Bay Area. I grew up listening to a lot of Metallica, Eminem and 2Pac, so I guess you could say that influences me, too. I’m also a big fan of the production work of Grimes. And Marvin Gaye was a fucking genius! My influences are endless, really. I’m influenced by everything in one way or another.
What keeps you up at night?
My job does… [laughs] I work the graveyard shift, so I sleep in the daytime, which has its ups and downs like everything else.
What’s next?
Well, I’m working on a lot of projects right now, trying to perfect everything, and take it to the next level with my music and life in general. I’m looking to release music videos for “REBUKE” and “Numb (To the Death of Me)” before 2013’s over. Next year, I’m going to be releasing an EP as well as another mixtape, so I’m going to be plenty busy and productive for sure.
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