Boston Culture: Is there any cultural influence in your music. How has the culture impacted you?
Kold Kwan: Hey, thanks for having me Boston Culture! I would say in terms of cultural influence outside of hip hop, I draw a lot of inspiration from anime culture. A bunch of my songs sample anime soundtracks or follow themes inspired by anime. Importantly, I think that my upbringing as an Asian-American with immigrant parents from Southern China really impacted how I approach my music. I am shaped from the struggles I had with growing up as an Asian American male and living in Quincy (where I was born and raised in 13 years of my life) and later on, an affluent mostly-white town called Winchester; I choose to approach rap the way I do can’t rap about topics that many others rap about without coming off as inauthentic to who I am. I often rap introspectively about my own struggles or whatever is going on that I’m experiencing as well. I also like to incorporate tidbits of my life from other cultures I experience; for example, my song "Guten Tag", the title is a homage and nod to my one month studying abroad in Germany back in 2018. Guten Tag means Good day in German and I say it in the hook of the song.
Boston Culture: Talk to us about when you first started making music. .
Kold Kwan: I started writing raps when I was about 14 years old. I was really into bboying the year before as a friend of mine introduced me to breakdancing. Eventually, it got me into rap music and I loved it. In 8th grade, I remember having to create some advertisement for some low quality Windows Maker video project I had to do with a partner; I wrote a jingle, which was like in rap form. I also started going to a poetry club that was there in middle school. Initially I was there for fun and just to hang with my friends; however, I started writing and really enjoying it. The positive feedback I got from the teacher who ran the club-she was also my English teacher-was great positive reinforcement for me to keep doing it. Due to discouragement, low self-confidence, and not finding a producer and/orbeats I was satisfied with working with, however, I didn't drop any songs until I was nearly 22 years old. My first official song was"Grimey", which is strongly inspired by UK Grime. I had a song I made when I was 15 back in 2011, called "This Wind", but I just wasn't willing to put myself out there and face criticism. As an Asian rapper, I originally got a lot of slack and belittlement for being an Asian trying to rap back in high school.
Boston Culture: Talk to us about “Mazoku” How did you come up with the idea?
Kold Kwan: From 2019 to 2021, I lived in Baltimore for school and work. I befriended a cashier named Bounge at a deli I frequented who happened to be a very talented singer who has been in the scene for some time. I got more into the scene and learned about a guy named Toyomansi, also known as Dylan, who was prominent in the scene and friends with Bounge and I saw they supported each other on social media. I followed Toyomansi and on his Instagram story, he was promoting an instrumental titled "Speak to Me" produced by a producer named Raven K; this instrumental, which gave off very alternative vibes, caught my eye with how spacey and atmospheric it sounded while having hard hitting percussion. I ended up reaching out to Raven K to discuss my interest in "Speak to Me" and had a Zoom talk to talk business; I ended up exploring her instrumentals and stumbled upon "Oddity", which would eventually be the beat for what is now "Mazoku". I loved the beat with its minimalistic percussion, synthesizers that alternated between dream and sky-piercing, and HEAVY bass. I ended up talking with Raven about how much I loved the beat, even more so than "Speak to Me", with how different it was from other beats I have heard before, and how it would fit my flow and my lyrical themes. It also sounded like something that would be like in anime in my opinion, so I wanted the song to also feel like an anime in my own vision with its sound, vocals, and lyrics. The instrumental, with how it sounded, implored a desire for me to dive into some heavy topics. I decided this song would be about the duality of the subconscious, my struggle and conflict with it, and having the awareness to let it exist. Basically, an anime-like inner civil war battling the subconscious. I decided to utilize distorted, deep-pitched vocal layers to convey bringing out my subconscious and anger. Raven K was 100% with the vision of the song and how it came out, I am proud to say she is now a close friend and confidant.
Boston Culture: Talk to us about your Cypher. How was the experience like ?
Kold Kwan: I have been going to events hosted by the BridgeSide Cypher since August 2021. Mad shout-outs to Ju$t Jill and Aaron King, who organize Bridgeside Cypher; they are incredibly kind, professional, and have done so much for the local hip hop scene and really bringing communities together. That particular cypher that you guys shared was from April 2022; it was the first cypher of the season after BridgeSide had their last outdoor cypher of the season on Halloween, 2022. BridgeSide talked with Hustle Killer, a collective that I am also part of, about having Hustle Killer host the first cypher of 2022 at Hustle Killer headquarters (which also hosted the GoatHouse Studio, shoutouts to them as I had "Mazoku" recorded and mix/mastered there), . I have much love for Hustle Killer and its founder/leader Nico Hustle, who gave me the opportunity to do what I consider my first rap show back in November 2021; he is another friend I really trust in the music and I view him as a guide and mentor. As someone who is a big part of both BridgeSide and Hustle Killer-I got to know Hustle Killer through people in Hustle Killer that also attend Bridgeside Events very frequently-I was very excited. There were so many people from both BridgeSide Cypher and Hustle Killer that were going to be together in the same venue that otherwise wouldn't be due to this event; in addition, a lot of rappers I know from BarsoverBars, another collective I am affiliated with, came through to this event as they were also affiliated with Hustle Killer and BridgeSide Cypher in some way as well. It felt like an Avengers collaboration from all the young local movements and collectives that were on the come up the past few years. In addition to the freestyling circles that cyphers typically comprise, BridgeSide Cypher events have a section where you can pick anywhere from 3 to 4 beats a week beforehand to rap over for an awesome video feature at the end of the cypher event. I really wanted to kill it and show how much I have grown as an MC in less than a year in the scene, which I had only started becoming a part of towards the end of the summer in 2021. When it was my turn to rap over the beat "Decapitation", which was the beat I fucked with the most, I was so nervous; I had written the video feature verse a week beforehand and spent every day heading up to the cypher practicing and memorizing the verse until I got it. When it was time to deliver the video feature verse with a big audience in the room, both behind me and behind the cameras, I showed up and bodied my verse. With the nervousness and adrenaline I was feeling, that is why I was jumping up and down with excitement at the end of the verse when I realized I killed it!
Boston Culture: Which artists or producers would you like to collaborate with in your career?
Kold Kwan: There are so many rappers and producers I would love to collaborate with, so here is a long list: Earl Sweatshirt, Denzel Curry, JPEGMAFIA, billy woods, Armand Hammer, Nas, Hit-Boy, Mike Dean, MadLib, The Alchemist, Eminem, 9th Wonder, Bohan Phoenix, Dumbfoundead, MC Jin, Flosik, 9th Wonder, Termanology, Tyler the Creator, Kanye West, Blu, Run The Jewels, Killer Mike, El-P, Estee Nack, Freddie Gibbs, a Griselda member, Flying Lotus, Michael Christmas, Statik Selectah, 7L & Esoteric, Harry Fraud, Kenny Beats, JID, Kendrick Lamar, Skepta, Little Simz, Black Thoughts, Outkast, Pharoahe Monche, Mos Def, any Wu-Tang member. There are way too many people to list haha there are plenty more.
Boston Culture: Who are your musical influences?
Kold Kwan: I got into Biggie, Nas, Tupac, Eminem, Wu-Tang Clan, and many others when I first got into hip-hop. They were very important in leading me to value lyricism and rapping ability while sounding so confident about it. I was really a big fan of Lupe Fiasco and he was my favorite for a few years; his lyricism is amazing and he dropped a great album this year as well. Kendrick then became my favorite rapper of all time when I started following his music from Section 80 to his most recent album, Mr. Morales & the Big Steppers. I am also very into independent and more alternative hip hop, and these guys really inspire me to think outside the box; this includes A Tribe Called Quest, Del the Funky Homosapien, JPEGMAFIA, the whole RhymeSayers camp, MF DOOM (RIP), Definitive Jux. Performance wise and/or when I get really aggressive with rapping; I am very inspired by people such as Denzel Curry, XXXtentacion/Ski Mask, and City Morgue; I also listened to plenty of heavy metal, nu metal, metal core, and some hardcore punk as well, so they inspire my darkness and aggression in my music and performances. I also love anime soundtracks and jazz-there is.was so many amazing jazz musicians, such as Kamasi Washington, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, and Miles Davis. And never sleep on anime OSTs. Shoutouts to soul music, such as De'Angelo and Erykah Badu. In addition, I listened to quite a bunch of EDM, like dubstep and UK garage. Shoutouts to Grime, as that is a UK genre that I listened to a lot back in 2017-2019 that inspired my first official song, Grimey, with its flow and beat. I also listened to Kpop, so shoutouts to BTS as well; before Kpop I liked the Backstreet Boys. I could go on forever with musical influences but I don't want to keep droning on about it for the reader's sake haha.
Boston Culture: Where do you see yourself in 5 years.
Kold Kwan: It is hard to say for sure where I will be in 5 years. But in 5 years, I wanted to be recognized as one of the very best new rappers to come out of this Greater Boston scene and be in music full time. Would love to go touring.
Boston Culture: What’s your greatest accomplishment in your music career? We’re eager to know
Kold Kwan: I think my greatest accomplishment in music so far is creating bridges in the scene and inspiring plus connecting other Asian Americans. An Asian American friend of mine, who found me on Instagram when my music was featured on an Asian American focused Instagram page, ended up moving to Massachusetts recently and we linked up.and became friends. He said I inspired him to get back into music again; that means so much to me. There are so few of us Asian-Americans in the local hip hop scene and I mean to continue being positive, uplifting representation. I have been networking Asian American acts together; Asian-American acts have found me through my rising presence on Instagram alongside with being on the BridgeSide instagram. and I hope to run a big AAPI show next year featuring acts from both NYC and around here. On an individual level, I felt very proud of myself when I got reached out to by HipHop EXLab to perform for an event called SINOBEATS: Chinese Hip hop at Harvard. It showed that I was being recognized for my presence and skill and that they wanted me to represent local Chinese acts; I performed with New York based rappers MC Tingbudong and Bohan Phoenix. Both are established rappers, with the former being part of the rise of the Beijing local hip hop scene, and the latter being a huge rising force in Asian hip hop in the states and crossing over with his collaborations with 88rising Acts such as Higher Brothers from China. I felt honored and accomplished with the opportunity to be one of the three acts chosen for SINOBEATS, and to share the stage with the two aforementioned rappers. But this is when the creating bridges part comes in. Ju$tJill from Bridgeside came to support me, and she ended up getting to know Markus, who was the guy from HiphopEXLab who reached out to me for SINOBEATS. HiphopEXlab had worked with Bridgeside before for a conference that came later, but once Markus really got to talk to Ju$tKill, Markus became more involved in popping out to Bridgeside events after SINOBEATS and getting HiphopEXLab and Bridgeside more involved with each other. Right now, Markus is working on a documentary that documents the local rise of Bridgeside Cypher and its scene; I recently got interviewed along with Greatness, as we were identified as prominent rappers who regularly attend the events and part of its growth. Greatness was one of the people who got me into Hustle Killer; I invited Markus to my birthday party show, which was a week after SINOBEATS. The show was at Hustle Killer HQ and Markus really got to talk with Greatness for a while; Greatness has done amazing work as a promoter, host, and rapper for so many different collectives. I am proud that I have become an active part of building connections and I have plans in the future to make a whole AAPI show with collaboration from BridgeSide folks and HiphopEXLab. I got paid to perform at MIT recently through Bridgeside, which I felt was a big accomplishment at it was my first time being paid to perform, but it doesn't mean as much to me as creating bridges and positively contributing to the Asian American hip hop scene.
Boston Culture: Since you’ve been rising in your career, is there anything dropping that we should be on the lookout for?
Kold Kwan: I am going to drop a song called "Devilman 2"" at the end of this month, a sequel to my song "Devilman". The former loosely takes on the perspective of Jin Kazama from the Tekken fighting games; he has a form called "Devil Jin" that he struggles to control due to a gene he has called the Devil Gene. I will also drop a song next year with local hip-hop veteran Aztec from Hybrid Thoughts, so stay tuned for that! I will also drop several more music videos soon and plan on recording songs for my first EP next year.
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