Rapper and singer 2KBABY performed as the opening act at this year’s Fall Fest. The 22-year-old artist 2KBABY went viral with the freestyle “Old Streets” in 2019 before he signed with Warner Records in 2020, releasing his debut EP, “Pregame Rituals.” Prior to his performance at St. Lawrence, Alexandra Dent ‘25 and Jessica Tom ‘24 talked to him about his music career, as well as his life.  

To start off, we were just wondering what inspires you musically?  Do you have a main motive for what inspires you? 

Just my life, for real. Like, just, you know, pain that I’ve been through. I’ve been perfecting the rage sound for a minute just ‘cause everybody know me for pain—like, my biggest hits are about pain. I want to catch a hit and just make people feel good, you know what I mean? But, honestly, when I make music, I can’t really help but just talk pain. 

 Do you find that you express this pain mostly through your lyrics or through how you produce the music? What’s your process like? 

Both, honestly. Just in the way I produce it and, you know, my lyrics. I really don’t write as much. My attention span makes it hard to sit down outside of the studio and write, so I make all my songs when I’m there in the studio and I just go off my feelings, like my initial feeling.  

It makes it more authentic? 

 Yeah…I don’t go to the studio with like, nothing prepared or written down. I just go with the energy ready to create with an open-mind. So, yeah, I just really go ready to release whatever I’ve been holding in. 

 Who is your favorite artist or song at the moment? 

 You mean other than myself? Because, honestly, I’m just gonna say me just ‘cause I’ve been in the music industry for several years. You know, there’s artists whose music I like and shit like that, but I can’t look up to no other artists, bro, ‘cause all these shits fake as fuck. I’m the realest motherfucker in the game, honestly. I ain’t got no shame or that. I don’t give fuck about trying to, I guess, live up to other people’s expectations. 

Can you expand on that?  

Like I said, I don’t got no shame or no pride, so I admit I got to that point from trying to live up to their expectations, you what I’m saying? Then, it got to a point where I had to realize that those expectations are never going be fulfilled. I just had to start doing shit for me, for myself. And, of course for those fans that I know truly love me, they ain’t got no expectations—they just love me for me.  

 And, do you have a favorite place that you like to play for those fans?    

Uh, not really. There’s not really a particular place to say. You know, I like going everywhere where I’m welcome, where people love me. I ain’t gonna lie, I would love to go perform in Africa though. Online, I’d be having a lot of people from Africa reach out to me and tell me at my shit speaks to them, and that’s the motherland, you know, that’s where my ancestors is from. So if anything, I would love to go to Africa to perform for my people over there. 

 That’s amazing! Have you performed up here before? Like in the North Country or anywhere around here?  

No, never. 

 What do you think? First impressions? 

I mean, it remind me of Kentucky. I’m from Louisville. Outside of the city of Louisville, everything else in Kentucky looks just like this shit…it’s the same shit. I mean, I am from the city, but, at the same time, you know, I’m a country boy, too. I go out to the country during breaks and shit like that. I got family in the country, South Carolina, as well. So, the country, I’m familiar with for sure. 

 I know we are running out of time, so to end on a light note: What kitchen utensil would you be if you had to choose one? 

Probably, um, a fork.  

Any particular reason?  

Stab stuff.