KevCoast makes music to open your heart.
Interview with Portland, ME based rapper.
My friends and I went to a local hip-hop showcase a few months ago, while I was still baristing and trying to make new friends. When I’m between social groups, I also tend to be between flavors of music, too - this is when I often reach for “lofi/chill beats to study/relax to,” playlists on streamers and youtube. That’s what drew my heat to KevCoast at first.
On top of being a super charming performer with a stellar voice, KevCoast’s music feels fantastic to listen to. Cozy and heartfelt, the tunes made me feel like I was soaring. He raps over beats gradual and groovy. My coworker and I always had his songs playing when we shared shifts at the coffee shop, and I often reach for it when I’m spending precious alone time in my room, writing or drawing, or just vibing out.
Earlier this summer, Kev dropped a new record: Hibiscus Samurai: Spaceship Music. I dropped him a line the other day to ask about what his most recent project is all about.
What's the Kev Coast origin story?
KevCoast was born in St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, raised in Carrollton Georgia, West Palm Beach and Lantana Beach, Florida, while finishing high school and college in Maine. Running track and participating in Soccer were some of the extra curricular activities while choreographing dance, long boarding & other outdoor activities became more prominent later in life.
Sonically he grew up off of Motown, in Church choirs, listening to Soul & Rhythm & Blues. Translating sorrow and pain into motivation and triumph, KevCoast’s sound has a a unique way of infiltrating the heart and translating that to the mind.
When did you start making music?
I started making music in my Sophomore year of high school. I was 15/16 years old And a good friend of mine had the idea to play some of my poetry over instrumental. It’s been a rap since then.
Where is the root of your creative process - writing? producing? the stage?
The root of my creative process comes from The Ecosystem, that’s what I call my family unit; Our people. Also from nature, listening & being still. They inspire me to heal, do better. They say it takes a village to raise a child & I say it takes a collective to heal a soul.
Vibes around the world are off - but your music really carries a good energy. Where do you draw that good energy from?
Good energy is always transferred and renewed, I get that from my people. The ecosystem. My family plays a big part in that as well as some of my fellow artists and creatives. Although, at times you do have to manifest the energy yourself. Having a stable environment where you can think and come back to reality, while at sometimes leaving it, is a good place to start.
How do you want folks to feel after they experience your music??
Open. My listeners should feel a sense of wonder, vulnerability and then finally release. I’m tapping into emotions not frequently talked about, pain unusually described and hope so deeply expressed.
Tell me a bit about Hibiscus Samurai.
Hibiscus Samurai is bathed in the Divine feminine. Opening up your third eye and exploring your inner self, being vulnerable with raw emotions and past traumas. While also liberating yourself from hurt, deceit and worldly things that no longer serve you. The project is riddled with sacred language, affirmations that you can speak out into the universe or repeat to yourself. Hibiscus Samurai: Spaceship Music was supposed to be music you could listen to in your personal ship. Whether that be a hunk of metal or your brain matter. You should be transformed. You should be free.
What are some of the feelings that you're exploring in the new record?
Vulnerability. That’s not often touched on in such a way. Laying out the things that hurt you while also expressing the things that helped you along the way. We need all the data, all the information, in order to keep going and attain some sort of accomplishment or peace in this life.
Also community, because so often we get under the disguise of doing all things alone when everything can be so much better when we have love and support.
Who are some other folks in the local scene who you'd like to shout out?
Genius Black, Suzie Assam, TinyFoot, Drell, Angelika Fahray, Shameek the God, Nik Luis, JustMilk, Kafari, Viva, Gina, Assasi, Isirap, George Foisy, Benny (bennys crib)
What do you have on the horizon?
That’s hard to say, life has been tricky for me as of late. But if I could challenge my vision and see for me … then I would say two small projects and one significant masterpiece.