Tacoma, WA Rapper King Leez talks Life In Tacoma & His Latest Album "Stay Valuable" (Full Interview)
Tacoma, WA Rapper King Leez talks Life In Tacoma & His Latest Album "Stay Valuable" (Full Interview)
Either you sink or swim in Tacoma it’s a ruff city. -King Leez
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King Leez: Honored to be featured thanks for having me, I just recently moved to San Diego from Tacoma so I’ve been connecting with the hottest videographers, artists, photographers & engineers, just trying to stay working.
Mistah Wilson: For our audience reading this, could you give us a quick background on yourself?
King Leez: Grew up in a single-parent home with my mother and two siblings. I’m the youngest of three, my mother was a working woman and did a good job to provide for us. I’m a single father myself so I have a newfound respect for her. Our neighborhood was a rough one so you learn at a young age that you either adapt or it will be extremely hard for you, got into a lot of trouble as a kid while trying to find my way but I turned it into art now here I am.
Mistah Wilson: First & foremost, tell us about life growing up in Tacoma, WA for you...
King Leez: Either you sink or swim in Tacoma it’s a ruff city. It’s such a small area so if you develop beef or issues with individuals you’re going to run into them without question so that’s kind of how we operated being from a certain area we had to stand our ground and gain respect from the city.
Mistah Wilson: You are hands down one of tha illest we've heard from Tacoma, and that's a BIG statement.. How did growing up in tha Tac impact tha artist you are today?
King Leez: Appreciate the love! Not that much light has gotten shined on my city so I go into everything having a chip on my shoulder and wanting to be that light, knowing that I have to be extremely talented to be noticed being from where I’m from so to answer your question it made me hungry AF.
Mistah Wilson: For those outside of tha PNW, how different would you say tha Tacoma sound is compared to that of Seattle?
King Leez: In all honesty does the NW as a whole have a sound that we claim or is it all west coast or new wave? The artists that have actually blown up from Seattle did really well but nobody sounds like them (Macklemore) (Mix-a-lot). To have a set sound for a city I feel like it starts with a producer, nobody I know was tracking down Ryan Lewis after Macklemore blew. Tacoma is small and gritty so I will say the sound will have more pain and struggle in it.
Mistah Wilson: Everything you've dropped is absolute heat 🔥 and we appreciate that because it's become a rarity in today's music world. Who are some artists, musicians, or figures that inspire your creative process?
King Leez: Again thanks for the love it’s appreciated. This might sound cliché but I studied all the greats PAC, Nas, Biggie, Jay Z, Ice Cube, Too Short, E40, and the list goes on. All the greats.
Mistah Wilson: Tacoma has been known to be compared to Compton because it can be a dangerous place to live and grow up. What are some misconceptions about Tacoma that you feel should be cleared up?
King Leez: Tacoma just has a bad rep period but I love my city, I was in the club talking to a girl one night who was extremely interested in me until I told her where II was from haha, so i would say this if you met someone from Tacoma and they did something wrong to you it doesn’t speak for the rest of us there are good & bad people everywhere. “I could hear my out-of-town homies now” “yea but mostly in Tacoma” haha.
Mistah Wilson: Tell us about your album "Stay Valuable". I was tuned in as soon as track1 came on. What makes this album special in my opinion is that there are no album fillers, something you're gonna find in most artists' albums. What message did you want to send with this album and how was tha experience creating it?
King Leez: It was dope putting that together because I took my time on it, working with Antwon putting live instruments on tracks like choose me, shooting videos with Jake Hill and Corey Frey getting different looks, just tappin into a different side of my artistry it was definitely an experience and it got great feedback. The message is me, I always give you my life and experiences if you relate that’s even better if you’re intrigued by my story after you listened I have a purpose.
Mistah Wilson: Where can people find and follow you online?
King Leez: @1kingleez on all sites
Mistah Wilson: Yo, King Leez! It's been awesome! Thanks for sliding thru for this exclusive interview with ThaWilsonBlock Magazine! We look forward to supporting and following your career. Peace!
King Leez: Either you sink or swim in Tacoma it’s a ruff city. It’s such a small area so if you develop beef or issues with individuals you’re going to run into them without question so that’s kind of how we operated being from a certain area we had to stand our ground and gain respect from the city.
Mistah Wilson: You are hands down one of tha illest we've heard from Tacoma, and that's a BIG statement.. How did growing up in tha Tac impact tha artist you are today?
King Leez: Appreciate the love! Not that much light has gotten shined on my city so I go into everything having a chip on my shoulder and wanting to be that light, knowing that I have to be extremely talented to be noticed being from where I’m from so to answer your question it made me hungry AF.
"Tacoma just has a bad rep period but I love my city" -King Leez
King Leez: In all honesty does the NW as a whole have a sound that we claim or is it all west coast or new wave? The artists that have actually blown up from Seattle did really well but nobody sounds like them (Macklemore) (Mix-a-lot). To have a set sound for a city I feel like it starts with a producer, nobody I know was tracking down Ryan Lewis after Macklemore blew. Tacoma is small and gritty so I will say the sound will have more pain and struggle in it.
Mistah Wilson: Everything you've dropped is absolute heat 🔥 and we appreciate that because it's become a rarity in today's music world. Who are some artists, musicians, or figures that inspire your creative process?
King Leez: Again thanks for the love it’s appreciated. This might sound cliché but I studied all the greats PAC, Nas, Biggie, Jay Z, Ice Cube, Too Short, E40, and the list goes on. All the greats.
Mistah Wilson: Tacoma has been known to be compared to Compton because it can be a dangerous place to live and grow up. What are some misconceptions about Tacoma that you feel should be cleared up?
King Leez: Tacoma just has a bad rep period but I love my city, I was in the club talking to a girl one night who was extremely interested in me until I told her where II was from haha, so i would say this if you met someone from Tacoma and they did something wrong to you it doesn’t speak for the rest of us there are good & bad people everywhere. “I could hear my out-of-town homies now” “yea but mostly in Tacoma” haha.
Mistah Wilson: Tell us about your album "Stay Valuable". I was tuned in as soon as track1 came on. What makes this album special in my opinion is that there are no album fillers, something you're gonna find in most artists' albums. What message did you want to send with this album and how was tha experience creating it?
King Leez: It was dope putting that together because I took my time on it, working with Antwon putting live instruments on tracks like choose me, shooting videos with Jake Hill and Corey Frey getting different looks, just tappin into a different side of my artistry it was definitely an experience and it got great feedback. The message is me, I always give you my life and experiences if you relate that’s even better if you’re intrigued by my story after you listened I have a purpose.
Mistah Wilson: Where can people find and follow you online?
King Leez: @1kingleez on all sites
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