Meet the new hot drop from Los Angeles based artist, King B!
“Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” is the intro of his new album, released as a short-film, with the storyline becoming more and more clear as he continues to release. King B says he originally wrote all the visuals to be released as a complete visual album, but later he and the team decided it was best to split all the visuals up to “build up the storyline & suspense”.
“This will be me headed into my angelic form, it’s a deeper meaning of my spirit and how much I feel secure with using water and prayer,” he says. “I really tell my story and build my own world when I create music, expect nothing but real creativity, real emotion, real soul, you never know what you are going to get with me, I’m versatile and create without any limits.”
Apart from that, King B is working on “being lifted up, happy, exciting and fun new sounds”. Just this month, he released his new music video for “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg”, a song from his debut project Heartbreak Hotel. You can watch the video here:
The video is directed by King B himself, and if you’ve seen his previous work “When They Need You”, you’ve already noticed them being connected. That’s right, the video for “Disrespect” is a follow-up on the story of his rise and the deal with the Devil we saw in the first video. Both videos are visually pleasing and really aesthetic. They’re dark but full of style and depth. They show the rapper finding himself in various Los Angeles hotels – a cool reference to the album name, Heartbreak Hotel. King B directs all his music videos by himself, and lists work from the 1960’s as most of his inspiration! .
“I’m very inspired by a lot of iconic film-makers, shows, videos and more as far back as from the 1960s,” he says. “My meanings behind my visuals are far more than what people see. I have a lot of things from films, Netflix + TV series, & shows, I want to produce/direct, and other things in mind I want to do. I love writing & film with the same passion as music.” The overall vibes and the style of King B didn’t leave me indifferent, and I promise you, they won’t leave you too!
You can listen to Heartbreak Hotel here:
King B is a 21-year-old (yeah, you’ve read this correctly) rapper, singer, and songwriter. He grew up in St.Louis, Missouri; in a small neighborhood called Pine-lawn. He says that his roots of music started back in church, where he was a performer.
“My great-grandma was the pastor and the neighborhood, community, people from all over would fly and watch us praise dance and sing at our family’s church,” he says.
“My grandmother played all styles of music,” says King B. “It started from gospel, which then grew into R&B” he says. He lists Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, R.Kelly and Prince.
“She would have me learn and sing these songs as her voicemail on her phone for people to hear me sing”.
He also added that his brother influenced his music taste a lot, introducing him to artists like Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Kid Cudi.
“That’s how I got my versatility from being around so many different sounds,” King B says. “Music came natural, I knew since I first heard music, it was for me”
He also says that moving from St. Louis to California has changed him a lot.
“St.Louis is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, so most of the people there want to hear what we see everyday, our reality,” says King B. “When I came to California, I started going through a lot of changes not having anyone to tell me what or what not to do, really creating from my soul.”
He says that he left his apartment and decided to stay in hotels, which inspired the idea for Heartbreak Hotel.
“There’s something about the vibe in older hotels in California that filled my soul of creation,” he says. “I was also going through a crazy on and off relationship at the time, so I kind of mixed the heartbreak with the reality of my living situation and everything I was going through.”
In terms of his upcoming releases, King B has said:
“I really tell my story and build my own world when I create music, expect nothing but real creativity, real emotion, real soul, you never know what you are going to get with me, I’m versatile and create without any limits.”
He says he’s aiming to meet the new year in his biggest light form possible. And if 2020 was the debut of what’s to come, this next year will be him “showing-off”
“I’m looking forward to showing everyone what I am capable of,” he says. “I’ve been doing music for quite some time and I believe I’ve influenced a lot of things without knowledge.”
He says he has always created his music from his soul, and he doesn’t really like a lot of things he’s seeing in the industry right now.
“I’m ready to bring real music back again,” he says. “I’m very humbled and have been humbled for quite some time now. I know it’s time for the world to see I am one of the greatest creators this planet will ever see, and I will say it now. I owe it to God, and the ones who walked before us; because, to be a teacher, I have to be a good student. I have plans on blessing the world, and giving back in so many ways”.
King B says it’s important to remember to speak your path into existence and to believe in yourself.
“You are creating the vision for them to see!” he says.
“I want everyone to love and I am tired of the INJUSTICE and the CRIME against our black communities, the hatred between our people,” says King B. “I want us all to come together. I think it’s possible through love and music. I will play a huge part on and of off the scene to keep us all together until my days are up, through my versatility and through what I create, because we will all enjoy it together.”