The whole, “music is my only language” thing can ring through as gimmicky, but talking to Kee Nola, you get the feeling it’s not empty corporate storytelling. Quiet, collected and humble, the 22-year-old’s day-to-day self is much more subdued than the expressive crooner that’s racked up millions of Spotify streams on his way to becoming an emerging star.
A master of moody melody, the multi-instrumentalist channels his emotions through punk-inflected tracks that make you think of Juice WRLD without the freestyling streak. But he’s just as open in his music, the only space he says he feels comfortable communicating through. “I could be thinking something in my head, but something totally different would come out of my mouth,” he tells Okayplayer. “When I go to record music though, it just comes out naturally.”
Speaking to Okayplayer for the latest edition of Pursuit of Happiness, Kee speaks on using music as a means of communication, avoiding negativity, advice from his mother and more.
Kee Nola: To get away from negativity, I turn my phone off and create. Besides talking to my mom, that’s the only thing that gets my mind off of negative s**t. Anytime I get anxious or feel like I’m not certain about something, I call my mom and she helps me with it. Two days ago, I was nervous before I went on for my show and I called my mama and she gave me some advice. I was good the rest of the night. When I talk to her, I feel like I don’t have to worry about anything anymore. The anxiety just fades away.
I really have a hard time with getting out what I really want to say. It’s hard for me to communicate with somebody. I could be thinking something in my head, but something totally different would come out of my mouth. When I go to record music though, it just comes out naturally. But when I’m trying to explain something to someone, it feels like I have to force it.
When I first started making music, it was because I really couldn’t relate to other artists on the level that I wanted to relate to them. So I made my own songs to give myself therapy and it helped with certain things that I say that I wouldn’t tell to anybody else. It helps to just say it. And that’s why I make music. The first time I got emotional recording a song was called “So Do I.” I was like, ‘Damn, I am really trying to help people.’ But in the same space, I’m trying to help myself, too.
I want fans to know that I’m doing this shit for them and you don’t ever have to feel like what you’re feeling is not normal because a lot of people, including myself, have been in your shoes. I’ve been hopeless before. I know how that feels. I just want to be the voice for people who feel like that.
