Interview: Kings On Creating Four Albums In One Year, Rapping With An American Accent, His NZ Tour, & More

Breaking records and going number one for 33 weeks on the charts with his debut single is unheard of. Three years after releasing the hit single ‘Don’t Worry ‘Bout It,’ Kings is heading out on his first headline tour.

I caught up with Kings at his studio on Auckland’s North Shore to discuss American labels trying to sign him, rapping with an American accent, creating four albums in one year, his tour, and more.

HUA: Let’s start from the very beginning. Why did you decide to do music?

KINGS: Very beginning?

HUA: Yeah.

KINGS: I reckon, I started doing music for tv ads in 2010.

HUA: But why did you want to do music in the first place?

KINGS: Why? Oh man. I couldn’t hold down a job, and I just had my daughter. My parents were like “you need to get a full-time job or you can’t do music anymore. You need to focus and get nappy money.” So I took it real serious man. I studied. I went to a course which was a music course. Studied there. I met Melodownz there, actually crazy. Me and Melo go back. So we were on the same course, how to build a business, how to charge for your time, things like that. That was really the main reason. I had to take it serious for my daughter or give it up. 

HUA: You were a producer first. When did you start writing your music?

KINGS: I was always writing, even when I was producing. Even when you were doing the club scene, I was writing back then, like it wasn’t anything I was proud of. I don’t think I even dropped a single. I was continuously writing and recording with a bunch of artists. I was hit up by Tyree at one point, a bunch of people who were in the scene back then, doing production, doing beats, and bi-curiously watching them record, learning my skills from watching people.

HUA: Your producer name was Dub Fayt?

KINGS: Hahaha Nah. I tattooed it on my arm. Dub Fayt. 

HUA: Why? Haha.

KINGS: Fuck, you tell me haha. I’m a dickhead. Dub, funny man. Dub means when you record something, you dub something, 

HUA: Yeah.

KINGS: And Fayt like destiny.  So it was my fate to record. 

HUA: It kinda worked out.

KINGS: It kinda worked, it was just a bit weird. I keep it on my arm coz someone actually said: “why don’t you laser it off?” Nah! It like reminds me how stupid you can be, hahaha. 

HUA: And where you came from.

KINGS: And where you came from, yeah.

HUA: So you did that for a few years, your music was in Les Mills, right? 

KINGS: Yeah, so I was doing a bunch of ads, tv commercials.

HUA: Oh shit.

KINGS: Yeah, so I was doing a bunch of things.

HUA: That’s ok.

KINGS: Yeah, I was making money to make ends meet. 

HUA: Were you doing any other work? Just music? 

KINGS: Ah yes, so the way Les Mils works, it’s done in a like a 3-6month period. So they would do a huge summer campaign, tracks & tracks & tracks, and I was getting paid well, and then when it was down, I would have to find work. I would do short film scores, some ads, and then sometimes painting uncle’s fence. But when it was up, it was dope money. 

HUA: What inspired you to write “Don’t Worry ‘Bout It?”

KINGS: My daughter, man. We were in Whakatane. Christmas. Not much money, and had to drive to Whakatane, which is like a 4-hour drive, and gas money was tight. Like yo, we have to make it work haha, on like $100. No stops. And we didn’t have presents and shit, like not crazy presents, and I was like, this sucks. And I think I was with my dad and we were at this playground, kids running around and he was like “don’t worry about it.” That’s really what inspired it. It was going to be sweet. We will be alright. 

HUA: And then the song went platinum

KINGS: Haha yeah, and the first words were like “run free, boy run free.” It was like the kids just chilling. They don’t give a shit. I don’t think they would care if I gave them an iPhone or nothing, they were just like I don’t care, I’m chilling bro. I’ve got my family here. 

HUA: When did it drop?

KINGS: 2016, Three years ago.

HUA: So you dropped that and then…

KINGS: That was the first song I dropped properly as Kings.

HUA: And it blew up.

KINGS: It did what it did.

HUA: That’s not normal. 

KINGS: Nah, it isn’t man.

HUA: That’s like Lil Nas X shit

KINGS: Haha yeah, yeah, yo, exactly. Man I don’t know how he’s going to follow that. I was lucky with ‘6 Figures’, where it comes under pretty nicely, but yeah man, I went from literally doing what I just said, doing small jobs here & there...

HUA: To the labels coming after you…

KINGS: The labels coming after me. My live show at the time was like..I was MC’ing, like $100, $200. Maybe, to “yo, you want $5,000 to sing a song?” I was like yeah, haha.

HUA: Why not?

KINGS: Yeah, and it jolted like. When I got depressed, I wouldn’t call it that. When I put on a little weight, it came from that kinda, like literally being in the studio doing nothing, to having everyone holler at you. It’s weird. 

HUA: You see online celebrities saying they are depressed, and you have these random trolls complain that you’re a celebrity making all this money, blah blah blah, why are you depressed? 

KINGS: Yeah, depression isn’t the word

HUA: But it was depression, you put on the weight

KINGS: Yeah, yeah, 100% actually. It’s a weird pressure you don’t understand until you’re doing it. When you’re in the public for something you’ve always wanted to do, it’s pretty trippy, and it was really quick. Like you said with Lil Nas, the first song, “oh Kings is dropping a song,” most people are like “oh yeah man, exciting for you,” and then when it blew up past their songs, it’s like “Oh shit, this dude is really blowing up.”

HUA: Yeah I remember I was driving just down the road from here with The Edge on, and they were playing it. I was like “oh yeah, this is pretty good,” and then they mentioned it was you, & I was shocked.

KINGS: The dude that use to MC my club.

HUA: I didn’t realise you were on the radio & they loved you.

Why did you end up signing with Warner? You said you had Island Records after you.

KINGS: Island in America, Capitol in America. Why did I sign with Warner? The majority of deals that you get is your standard contract, and most standard contracts are 70-80% to the label off the batt. So there was no difference between Capitol and the others. It was exciting, but it was like 15 years in the contract. That’s the rest of my life in the music industry, completely to them. We didn’t know them very well. At least with Warner, they are a local team, and we could see them face to face. Warner had great people, and they still do

HUA: How is it running your own label?

KINGS: Fucken great haha. ‘6 Figures’ went platinum, some of my other singles are close to going gold. I dropped three albums. They were literally a mess of songs.

HUA: Weren’t they back to back?

KINGS: Yeah, three albums in a year. It’s never been done since The Beatles or something.

HUA: That’s crazy.

KINGS: My manager at the time asked me how many albums I want to release during my career, and I was like man, fifty. He then said The Beatles dropped three in a year, and I wanted to do the same. I actually dropped four, one was a Soundcloud album. So four lots of work, and I dropped them in a year. From that we had ‘Will Never Know’, ‘You Do’, which was a huge campaign song for a Trademe ad. I had big success with them, and the cash was rolling in on the streams. I figured that this was what I wanted to do. 

HUA: Are there any NZ artists you want to collab with?

KINGS: I love Melo, man. Melo is probably the only dude I’ve collaborated with. I fuck with Poetik though. 

HUA: He’s good.

KINGS: He’s good, but he’s really cool. Also Vayne from Sony. 

HUA: Zane Lowe recently said in an interview that he likes you.

KINGS: Yeah man.

HUA: How does that feel?

KINGS: It’s crazy, yo.

HUA: He knows who you are.

KINGS: I didn’t even know I was on his radar like that. I think the question he got asked was “Who do you listen to in NZ?” And he was like “ I like Kings, I like JessB,” So how far on his radar…

HUA: He still knows who you are, take it.

KINGS: Yeah man, oh fully. I was like yo, I tweeted him and he replied to it, and I was like, I think we’re best friends now haha.

HUA: Tall poppy syndrome in NZ…

KINGS: Fuck that shit haha...It’s so true though. I hate that shit. 

HUA: I think it’s just people angry they aren’t doing anything with their life.

KINGS: I think it’s inward, yeah, like I really think...There’s something really annoying about it. If you were dealt the same hand or similar to somebody, and to see them do well...

HUA: You should be happy for them.

KINGS: But it’s kinda annoying, you know, I can understand how it could be annoying.

HUA: Do you get much hate?

KINGS: I personally don’t. I’ve had comments though. There’s this one dude who comments on all my posts like “He’s a fuckin gang member,” and I’m like, who are you? What did I do to you? I’ve never had anyone come up and say anything. I’m pretty cool with that shit thought. I’ve got kids, I’ve got a tough skin. I’ll play a song for my kids, ask them what they think, and they will say it sucks. So when someone else says it sucks, I’ll be like, I already know, my kids told me haha. There’s another side to it. If there’s a good enough reason like “that kick wasn’t mixed properly”, I’ll listen to it. But yea, tall poppy syndrome is fucking crazy. 

HUA: What’s something they don’t tell you about the music industry?

KINGS: There’s a lot of money in the industry. A lot of people don’t see it or know about it. People think you need to go overseas to break into the market. You need to understand your business. If you’re an artist and you sing for a living, find out how to monetise your voice. Me, I’m not the greatest singer. I can write, I can produce, so I utilize those things.

HUA: What are your thoughts on Kiwi rappers with USA accents?

KINGS: I’m one. I don’t even know.

HUA: I don’t see anything wrong with it.

KINGS: I’ve been hit up a couple of times. “He doesn’t even sound like he’s from NZ,” and it’s like I feel NZ is one of the only places where they would tear you down. Even Australian artists, they prop them up all the way to the big stage. I just rap how I rap. I’m influenced by American rappers. 

HUA: Who are you listening to at the moment? 

KINGS: I’ll show you...Lloyd, Diplo, Skrillex, A1 Hip-Hop, coz your boy is on there.

HUA: Sorry about you.

KINGS: YG. I’m a huge fan of XXXtentation.

HUA: You’re heading out on tour, your first headline tour, why has it taken this long?

KINGS: I was so new to the game. Management was like, maybe not yet. The only thing I can think is that maybe my live show wasn’t ready. To be here now and to be independent, it couldn’t have been a better time. 

HUA: What can fans expect?

KINGS: This is the first time I’ve taken control of all aspects. It will be the first time people will see what I want them to see. It’s going to be a cool show, man. It’s the best show I’ve done.

HUA: You’ve been on festival line-ups, right?

KINGS: Tones, I’ve performed for 50,000 people. But the cool thing about this tour is the size of the venues. It will be more intimate. I’m excited to perform for people who want to see me, and not there to see the festival. That’s really what I’m excited for, to perform to my fans. 

HUA: Do you have any pre-show routines?

KINGS: Vodka

HUA: So Vodka is apart of your rider?

KINGS: Yeah, Henny is actually on my rider. I’ll do a swig of Henny or like a Vodka. The only reason it’s Henny is from my hip-hop days.

HUA: True that. Well, thanks for your time, and good luck with the tour. 

Catch Kings live across New Zealand this August. Purchase your tickets from HERE.