Kiss Gang Truly is an up and coming rapper from the Midwest, the North District of Indianapolis, Indiana to be exact. His music is explosive and energetic which helps make him the complete artist. He is the CEO of Kiss Gang Music group (his own independent label) and Kiss Girls USA. His hustle, talent, and creativity has allowed him to pave the way for himself and others in his quest for stardom.
What inspires you to make music? Are there any specific artists that you draw from?
My music comes from my emotions. Whatever I’m going through or feeling at the time or what I’m gonna be tomorrow… Myself inspires me. What ever I got going on, I wanna put it on the track. Whatever is going on in my life, ain’t too many fancy stories. I just tell it how I live.
Are there any specific artists that have had any kind of influence on you or made you want to get into the rap game?
Yeah, I started when I was 10 with cousins, Bone Thugs people like that, Tupac, of course, C- Murder… He was pretty much my favorite rapper. Even though I dont rap like none of them, that pretty much did it for me.
You said you started when you were 10. Did you start out by writing down things in journals?
Yeah basically.
I know that you are the CEO of your own group, so what made you decide that you wanted to be your own boss instead of looking for a major label or another established group.
Really, with anything in life I think you should be your own boss, you can take it as far as you want to. If you’re under somebody, you can never take it to the top level because you’re under somebody else. For me, I was like forget it. I’m pretty much a boss type of person, so I don’t wanna be under nobody… that would be a clash right there. You know, it wouldn’t be a good thing.
I can understand that. Also, because you are your own boss and because you like to run things, What motivates you to do that? Is there any specific event that happened to you that you always remember and you’re like “I don’t want that to happen again”? Or is there something that you’re trying to achieve?
Yeah, theres been plenty of events, but the main thing is that you don’t want anybody to point a finger at. I’m not the type of person that wants to point fingers. I feel like a lot of stuff hasn’t happened and I could point a finger as to why, so now, if it’s on me I feel more comfortable pointing a finger at myself, then I’m cool with that. but with somebody else that’s a problem. But I’m not going to let myself down, so why not?
How would you describe your music?
Um, in one word really, it’s just fly. You know what I mean? It’s fly and real combined together. You know, I’ve never really seen that before. It has real stories that you can relate to and the next song just makes you feel good. It doesn’t matter what color you are, it’s not a regional type of music, it’s universal, global good music. You know? So I say it’s fly, it’s universal, it’s global, it’s real… All at the same time.
With that being said, are there any type of emotions that you are trying to evoke from people when they listen to your music? Do you want them to have fun? Do you want them to think about what they’re going through?
Everything. I’ve got something for everything. I want you to be fun, I want you to be the stylist person on Earth, I want you to get money, all of that you know. It can make you think, like “Oh okay, I felt the same way one time.” It takes you back to that moment.
When you’re making your songs and you’re thinking about being fly and you’re trying to get people to think about their lives, What are you thinking about?
Right then. Haha, 9 times out of 10 I’m probably high, so I think deeper into the meaning than other people would. The beat brings the song to me, I don’t even have to come up with this stuff. It just comes to me and I just say it.
What makes you different from the other rappers that are out right now?
For the most part, I think people are scared to be themselves. You know what I mean? They all just want to go along with what’s comfortable and acceptable, but for me, I’m all for going against the grain and staying open minded and just being creative. All this has been created from nothing. So if you create from nothing, that’s a real artist. Anyone can be a rapper. You can just say 1, 2, 3, A, B, C, and you can make it into a rap. But artists are creating something else, they trail blaze another way. So I am an artist in every aspect, all I do is create.
What kind of obstacles have you faced when you first got into this career path and how did you overcome them?
I feel like I overcome an obstacle everyday. Even if you’re at the top of the game there are still things you gotta overcome. The hardest thing is the politics of it. It’s not about talent anymore really. Talent only gets you further when you’re already in the door and makes people say “Oh that’s my favorite.” But you don’t have to be talented to know about the politics and I think thats the biggest obstacle. The politics and it’s the crooked people in the game. That’s the biggest obstacle and it’s gonna be like that until the end of time.
They say this is the hardest industry to be apart of, so do you just take it head on?
Yeah, you gotta take it head on. It’s a hustler’s game though. It’s not a talented game, it’s a hustler’s game. It’s really all about the hustle.
Out of all the songs you’ve released or maybe even songs your fans haven’t heard yet, what’s your favorite?
From my new project, my favorite one would probably be, Swangaz. It just got a feeling to it, the whole song has an emotion. And I just shot the video for it. It’s gonna be a hot record, a lot of people are going to like it.
Are there any artists that are out right now that you are looking to collab with?
Yes. The-Dream because It would be a global hit. If you get a certain artist they can take it to that one direction and if I get someone like Dream, he can take it worldwide. Because I’m that type of artist myself and if I put him on a track like that then there’s nothing you can do but win. Plus he is not someone who is on everybody’s songs. I could never do anything with someone like that. It’s over saturated.
What is one thing you are looking to accomplish in you career?Whatever I do, I want to take it to the highest point, that’s the biggest accomplishment. Whatever it is, even if it’s only one. But whatever it is, it’s got to be the top. It’s not even always about the money. It’s the music. A big accomplishment is being someone’s favorite artist and being someone that they listen to, and understand what you’re saying and make them feel better about themselves. That’s an accomplishment for me and I’m cool with that.
What do you want people to know about you and your music on a deeper level?
If they’re hearing me it’s like knowing me. I want them to know me through my music because I’m always being myself without all the extra s–t. And if they feel me, then they know me. I’m just being a spokesperson for them, for what you want to do and how you want to live. That’s why I don’t talk about all that negative stuff… killing and drugs. I’ve been around all that but I don’t want to put that out there like that. I want to start something else for people. I figure, why not tell them some positive stuff in a language they can understand?
You can listen to “Swangaz” and other songs at www.KissGangTruly.com and follow Truly on Twitter @KissGangTruly
