What’s good, can you start off to just tell some of our other readers that maybe aren’t so familiar with you who you are and where you represent? Appreciate the time fam. The name is King SwaVay (pronounced SWAH-VAE) and I come from a small city in Michigan called Saginaw. First and foremost, I represent my little city proudly and would love to get it as much clout as the more notable cities in Michigan like Detroit.
Now, Saginaw Michigan is an untapped market..what’s it like internally? Is everyone trying to make a way on the music? Or are the dreams diverse? Even though we currently have some artists riding that wave and sound coming out of Detroit… I think we could compete with ANY major city in the country. To be so small, Saginaw is a very competitive city in the hip hop realm. Sometimes so competitive it’s hard to get on the same accord because everyone wants to be the FIRST one to make it out in a major way and have their own way of going about it. That can often stand in the way of creating a united musical front like Atlanta because this city has A LOT of talented people out this way – be it rappers, singers, producers, videographers, dancers, etc.
Being a new artist, there wasn’t much online attached to you, but the current single and visual ” I Need That”. Which currently is doing some decent numbers. Seems as if this one is the focus for now…Was this something that you guys wanted to do? I have a handful of singles streaming online but I definitely feel “I Need That” is probably my most notable single to date. It has that new school West Coast bounce with some added Midwest flavor. The response for it has been crazy so far and it continues to grow more and more each day every since it dropped. There’s various reactions to it on YouTube and even HaHa Davis himself was on IG bopping to it. It definitely was something we wanted to do as far as putting that out in the forefront. More recently I dropped another single called “Higher Thenna” and I believe it really shows my diversity musically because you’ll notice an immediate contrast between the two.
Let’s talk reception in the music climate of today…has there been anything like a project or a song that the reception that you got really was not what you were expecting, and has it pushed you to either want to try it again or just not want to perform it at all? I have a song with my homie ME8ighty and a down south artist by the name of Scotty ATL from Atlanta called “Re-Up”. The collaboration with Scotty was dope however, I believe it was underwhelming because lyrical skills and trap beats don’t always translate that well. But it was a great experience with brotha ATL nonetheless. I’d love to do another collaboration with him or any other southern artist as it’s not too many Midwest X South collabs out there.
What are some of your favorite moments of making music?
I’m in love with the writing process. When I first hear a beat that’s dope as hell, I grab the headphones, throw it on my Bluetooth speaker, or hop in the whip and just vibe out. I don’t wanna force anything and when I don’t… It’s usually a banger. While I’m writing I can tell off bat if it’s just going to be a dope track on a project or something to demolish the stage with. And that’s definitely my most favorite part about making music… Bringing it to the stage and taking the air out the room after I’m done. I like setting the bar so high that dudes immediately will hate the idea of going on after me!
Do you like that idea of the press buildup and the promotion, or do you like the idea of just dropping a project when you’re ready to drop it?
Honestly I can’t say that I’ve had that traditional method of rollout via press buildup, dropping the single/project, and then following up with promotion. Being indie and not having the budget of a major label or investor behind you limit your outlets on the promotional side. I’ve pretty much funded my own moves up to this point on 9 to 5 bread and you can only do so much with that. So I am mostly accustomed to dropping a project or song then pushing it through social media influence. Lately due to the annoying algorithm changes on Facebook and Instagram (limiting visibility of the posts your followers see to 10% 🤦🏾♂️) TikTok, Snapchat, and Triller has been the wave!
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Being a midwest artist and next to Cities like Chicago, what do you want the world to take from your music?
Whenever someone in the world hears my music, I really want them to hear and be like….”Yo! Where the hell is this dude from? He doesn’t sound like anybody out!” I pride myself on originality and having a unique voice and flow unlike anybody in the game. Can’t truly separate yourself from the pack sounding like everyone else.
If you could work with any producer, who would it be?
That’s a tough one because I have so many producers I fucked with growing up. From Swizz Beats to Timbaland to Just Blaze to Kanye West and the list goes on and on. Way too many other legendary producers as well as up and coming producers to name. But if I could only choose one… I’d have to rock with Timbo because dude sound it just crazy, been crazy and only gets better with time.
What’s the vision like for King SwaVay in 2020? Between Kobe passing and this whole coronavirus thing shutting the country down…. 2020 has gotten off to a rough start bro. But overall my vision for 2020 is to continue building a thriving fanbase using the AIDARA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Attention, Retention, and Advocacy) gameplan. And once I build that demand… I want to capitalize on more show opportunities in the Midwest and abroad.
What can we expect next from you? This is only the beginning for me and honestly I’m still taking the process all in. But you can definitely expect way more content – be it music, videos, shows, interviews, photoshoots, and merchandise. Building a brand in music can be challenging but I’m up for the task! #StayTuned
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