– Written by Peyton Andino –

In a video only titled “Blade,” you’re met with a figure standing against the desaturated and dreamy drop of east-end Toronto. Donned in a black sugegasa and akatsuki from cultural phenomena Naruto, your first introduction to the man only known as kgkillnightmares is a young rapper with a vision.

An up-and-coming artist with undeniable talent and a passion for his craft, he’s spent years carving out an identity for himself all while staying faceless and juggling school.

I let him into a Zoom call and was met with contrast anyone who hears his music wouldn’t expect- a humble, soft-spoken, and friendly guy wearing a mask that covered the lower half of his face. After a few minutes where we discuss anime, how school’s going, and how the interview is going to go.

“You know how everyone used to be doing freestyles back in elementary school and stuff like that? Yeah, all kinds of stuff (…) It was just me and my friends freestyling and they were like, ‘Yo, you should get into music!’ and I was like, ‘Bet!’”

“I thought about it for a while, never actually did it. Then, I remember in grade nine I was having a lot of problems with other kids, and I was alone, by myself. I needed a way to express that and build myself up so I had some sort of reputation. All my troubles inspired me to get on a mic and I fell in love with it.”

I first discovered KG when someone told me a guy from my high school was making music. I looked him up on soundcloud, back when he went by a different alias, and turned on “Slide For You,” featuring “The President,” and produced by Jean Parker. The beat bounced all over the place, and you could hear how much fun the young artist was having while rapping to the beat.

“It took years (to get energy and confidence). The first few songs I made were not good, I knew that eventually I’d come into my sound. I rapped, and it all fell into place. It’s not something you look for, it finds you.”

Finding roots in Soundcloud rap and the wave of which came around 2017, countless new artists attribute soundcloud to inspiring the start to their journey. KG is one of them, and hearing the stories of rappers before him helped him find his footing in the world.

“Drake was the first rapper I ever listened to. I was like, ‘I love this guy, maybe I could do this one day!’ Then it was Juice, and X. He’s such a cool guy, even outside his music too. He inspired me, and we have similar views, it made me think I could do it too.”

Searching his name on SoundCloud shows single covers adorned with anime girls and picture-perfect women, with some showing scattered glimpses into the elusive rapper’s life as his explorations around the GTA inspire his sound. If you ask the artist himself what makes a quintessential KG track?

“The word KG! (laughs) Nah, I try to be different. In the genre I’m in right now, no one mixes their voice the same as me. Aesthetic rap, everyone has a similar effect they put on their voice but I don’t use autotune unless I do melodic. Whenever I rap, it’s just straight.”

His use of sampling prevents him, alongside countless other artists, from uploading his music to Spotify. This won’t stop KG from working alongside varied producers to create a unique sound that’s infused with older Japanese pop ballads and seemingly endless energy. That’s something the rapper accredits to his ADHD, which he proudly discusses in his music.

“I always had problems (with ADHD), I had to take extra hours and work harder than other people. If someone writes a song or in two hours, it takes me four, five, six hours.”

“I was on the medication for a bit, but that just made things worse.”

In his titles, samples, covers, and Instagram, you can find the Japanese influence throughout his work. To KG, it’s their stories and heroics that continue to inspire him through his journey.

“I watch anime too, right? All the protagonists struggle with working hard, and I relate to it so that’s why you can hear a lot of anime in my music. You ever seen Black Clover? It’s about this guy who doesn’t have any magic in a world full of magical people. He has to work extra hard and stories like his inspire me to put my head down.”

“I just want to bring people inspiration. I can do it, you can do it, type shit. I know it sounds really corny, but that’s just how I roll.”

Although he had gotten his start using Youtube beats, kgkillnightmares has found himself collaborating with smaller producers to create some of his newer track. To him, the creative process is one to be lenient with.

“I don’t like to tell producers what to do. You know Basile?”

I did, in fact, know Basile.

“Him and Arthur do my music videos, and whenever I told them what I want, they’d go ‘Oh! you’re disrupting the creative process,” and I was like, ‘Oh shit, my bad yo!’ Now, I’ve learnt that it’s better to let producers and other artists you’re working with just do what they want to do, and you compliment what they’re doing. Be able to be flexible, that’s what I want to do.”

Some want to make it big, some want to headline in festivals or sell out stadiums.

“There’s not really an end goal right now. I’m in school, I do a bunch of other stuff. I really enjoy rapping, it’s a way for me to get my feelings out. I want to explore a lot more. One day, I want to start a label if I get big enough, since I’m going to school for marketing.”

“I feel like I can see potential in people, so if I meet the right people and I’m interested in seeing what they sound like, I want to make an investment in that.”

From his oldest albums to his newest tracks, features are scattered throughout his work. A sharp delivery and peppered references can be heard when his unique voice starts in collaborations. It’s essential to his work, but the way he locates people to work with is less coordinated.

“I try to be specific in genre. In terms of finding collaborators, I’m all over the place. I comment on normal posts about other artists, not even trying to promote myself, just talking, and sometimes people reach out and say ‘I like your music, let’s work.’ Some arists charge for features, but I’m strictly against that. When you charge for features, you’re also taking the audience of the people you work with. So yeah, I meet a lot of people online. The group I’m with now- shoutout biteki- I met them through friends too.”

When you queue up the most recent kgkillnightmares track, labelled “ART,” featuring sansy, there’s an entirely new KG. He’s fast, a sampled loop from what sounds like city pop plays as his delivery slides over the beat. It’s reminiscent of rap that used to be put over anime fight scenes, showing his knowledge of audience and completely contrasting the artist we first listened to when queuing up his first available song. He’s grown, and so has his talent and sound.

After getting to know KG, I decided to ask him what he wants to show those who listen to his work, what he’s trying to portray, and how he’s doing that. His answer surprised me.

“I don’t want to show anything about myself, you know what I’m saying? I’m not even that cool of a guy. Thing is, I know a lot of people have different struggles that I’m not aware of, and I feel like everybody could be a bit more compassionate. I remember I used to have problems, but nobody though I did ‘cause of my music. I know others have problems, and it’s not over yet. You can’t give up, it’s something new everyday, you’ve got to go get it.