Boston based artist KM.T expresses and expels his truth to his music. As a producer and songwriter he has positioned himself as an established versatile artist coming out of the state. KM.T created an experimental sound by fusing his take aways from a variety of genres from Hip Hop to RnB with a mix of rock and many others as his releases continue. His latest video, "Honestly" was recently released and has already gotten over 20,000 views on YouTube. We were able to catch up with him and ask a few questions about his ambitions, early advice, goals and much more.
Boston Culture: Talk to us about Honestly. How'd you get the idea?
KM.T: My newest visual that I released was my music video to my latest single release "Honestly". I got the idea to make the visual just a one scene visual just me in the camera, because the song has a very honest and intimate sound/lyrics. In my mind it was clear that the best way to convey and deliver this message was to just be me and the camera without being distracted by the backgrounds. But the animation and effects kept the ball rolling.
Boston Culture: Was there ever a studio session when you thought. "Yo this is crazy" ?
KM.T: I make all my music in my bedroom lol, so i'm locked in all day especially now that we're in a pandemic the creativity is pushing! I have to say making the beat for "Honestly" was my "this is crazy" moment because at first it was just a pad with the chords i put down. Once I put the drums to the chorus and that formula is really different rhythmically the rest of the song became more fluent to me.
Boston Culture : What made you want to create your first song ?
KM.T:I've been producing music since 2016 strictly just as a producer. It wasn't until 2018 that I released my first song "Pain" on all platforms that it sealed the deal for me to continue my artistry. At the time I was going through a serious depression so I tried getting on the mic and recording myself and since I produce, I was comfortable working with myself and the writing became therapeutic to me. Being able to not bottle up all the Pain and feeling like i couldn't express myself in a way that was clear to what i was feeling at the time made songwriting worth it, and even more so to continue. When I released the song I was 20 years old at the time, so it felt right to do, because at the age i've been living for 20 years and you kind of have a mini "mid life crisis" of what am i doing with my life so it resonated to create my own sound. Boston Culture : What was the best advice you got early in your career?
KM.T: Trust the Process, and also pay your dues. I think a lot of people truly overlook that and my testament to that is because I produced a lot of music for free, and sometimes still do. Not because i didn't know my worth or let people take advantage of my hard work but because nobody knew what I was capable of. I built a catalog of music that I produced and in a year's time I produced 4 Ep's and 28 singles with different artists. I learned a lot through trial and error and of course yes like all people getting money is nice, but you can't fully establish value to yourself if you don't have a catalog/portfolio to prove it. I trusted my process that in time money would come and each song I produced each album and EP I put out for other people I perfected my craft. I built relationships with people and people knew who I was, recognized my work ethic and my brand.
Boston Culture : What do you dislike about the art world/music industry?
KM.T: I dislike how money hungry people become and totally neglect the "art" portion of what they are creating. Like before I spent years and still relatively do stuff for free and work with people who I believe in. Music industry and the art world just want money to be handed and don't really care who it is that gets posted or care about the individual story unless it's got a dollar sign attached to it. I understand it but to a certain extent people could truly be where they wanted to be if there were more people just genuinely helping people. Establish a bond with the RIGHT persons and money will come. Collaboration and partnering is the key to success. Boston Culture: Did the pandemic affect any plans you had?
KM.T: To a certain extent it did, but I always was preparing and building for my projects. I'm blessed and fortunate enough that I traveled and shot my music videos, and took pictures with my photographers who believe in me and my work and that despite the pandemic saw the common goal of still working through it. They captured my moments, edited, and we all still were able to benefit by coming out with consistent content. We still have content on the way that's in the vault, so I definitely give thanks to them! Boston Culture : Who are your biggest influences?
KM.T: Some of my biggest influences range from Drake, TyDolla $ign, 6lack, Relient K, Hoobastank, J Cole, Kendrick Lamar. I listen to all types of music whether it be hip hop/ rap, RnB, Rock, Country. There are certain lessons you can earn from all genres of music, and what you get from rock is different from hip hop, and different from country. Boston Culture : What do you think of the music scene in the city?
KM.T: I like the music scene in Boston. we live in our own little worlds and when you discover ones that you like it amazing hearing their music. I'm definitely looking forward to working with Phenom V, Tony Royal, J Cinatra, Kamar, and many others. Boston Culture : Tell us about your 2020/2021 goals.
KM.T: I spent all 2020 working on music, working through depression and a lot of heartfelt music, photos, and visuals came from that. 2021 is all about releasing it into the atmosphere.
Boston Culture : What inspires you to wake up everyday and stay focused, hungry and humble on your goals.
KM.T: What inspires me are my dreams to success. My mom is my biggest influence as well, she's been there through it all, supported me mentally and financially to help me get equipment when my stuff would crash or break. Since I have been producing, recording, mixing and mastering everything in my bedroom from all hours of the day, fortunately she loves and supports my music but I definately do blast it a lot so I definitely am appreciated and honored to have a loving mother like her. Boston Culture : How do you seek out opportunities?
KM.T: Best thing to do honestly, is buy a white board. Sounds real basic, but there truly is something special about seeing everything and connecting the dots and then that shows you how to move in this world. I am working on an Ep, and I personally want to get it noticed, so i think of ways to market it. Like for example I shot a music video, so now i understand i have a physical piece of content that i can now share instead of just having a link to a song. So now you can watch me and listen to me. Then if i reach out to blogs such as Boston Culture, Now not only am i partnering and bringing attention to me as an artist and getting new eyes, but I get an opportunity to invest and network with another brand and we both get to uplift each other. So now even with new eyes looking at me it brings attention to Boston Culture as well. Personally i always try to navigate and see the world is how can i bring value to other people and not just myself and it's gotten me this far and worked so might as well always to continue to move and build relationships like that. Plus now that means I have someone i can message to help me bring awareness to my music and that gives blogs content to continue posting and gain traction to become bigger and bigger! Boston Culture : When was the last time you were in the studio?
KM.T: Since my studio is my bedroom, I'm always there lol, But i am currently working on my EP entitled "93". The Ep theme and vibe is based off of me driving down Boston's main highway 93 and rapping/singing of where i'm personally at in life in my story telling. Boston Culture : Who's your favorite producer and artist? Mainstream and local.
KM.T: My favorite producers is a split between Noah "40" and HitMaka in terms of mainstream producers, and artists maybe between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. For Local producers i definitely have to say my bro Tony Royal, and artist it's between J Cinatra and Phenom V. Boston Culture : What brands should sponsor your?
KM.T: In terms of Brands right now, currently I would love to be sponsored by Purple, i absolutely love their jeans. Especially for my jean size finding a nice pair that not only looks good but feels good and is quality is extremely hard, damn near impossible. So definitely shout out to them. Other than that one in particular, as long as it makes sense and doesn't feel forced, i'm down and willing to collaborate with any other brands whether it be clothing, media coverage, product endorsing etc.
Boston Culture :Anything else we missed you want to tell your fans?
KM.T: I just released the music video to my single "Honestly" on Youtube, and it would mean a lot to me if you could check it out, subscribe and shared! More in stored so definitely follow for more content @heiskm.t on Instagram
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