WE HEART | Introducing the lyrical killa, K.Flay
K. Flay is in her mom’s basement, which is seemingly one of her preferred places to create music. “I have a show in San Francisco tomorrow so I’m making weird drum samples”. She’s referring to Phono del Sol, a music and food festival, in her former home base of San Francisco. Before the clever moniker, she was mid-western native Kristine Flaherty. Now, she’s solo musician/producer/rapper, K. Flay, championed for her honest dialogue and clever lyricism about life in the twenty-something era.
K. Flay, now calls Brooklyn home. Well, soon, the road will be her new home once setting off on tour, but for now she is transient. “All of my stuff is in Yonkers…. in a little storage room.” The upside being… “I tend to make better music, or be a better person in general, when I’m out of sorts.” The massive 25-city North American tour supporting Swedish DJ duo, and former XO cover stars, Icona Pop; begins August 12th in Asheville, NC. This tour will also be in support of her upcoming EP, ‘What If It Is’ (out August 6th). The theme of which is about her feelings on being an outsider, an idea clearly heard in tracks such as Hail Mary and The Cops. “I think there’s different ways, for myself, that I can feel separate from things,” she says, “ feeling separated from people you care about, that you don’t get to see very much…. about feeling a little bit outside of the industry in general and the world of music.” Nonetheless, K. Flay seems to have found her way from the outside, in. She’s gained immense popularity over the past year with her previous EP, ‘West Ghost’’ and her music videos, which have racked up over 200,000 hits on YouTube. She takes this opportune moment to challenge herself musically, taking a slightly different approach. “I think this EP is kind of the first step in introducing some electronic elements that I’ve been experimenting with. It’s all about creating a musical conversation.” And like every conversation, it’s all about progression, an idea she’s running with. “From a production stand-point, I really want to continue to improve.” she says. Along with an increased electronic element, comes increased production, which she says she’ll have plenty of time to improve during her free time while on tour.
“I never set out to do really anything in particular. It’s just kind of like ‘Oh yeah, this is cool’.” K. Flay lives in between genres, namely hip-hop, electronic, and indie. She adds, This laid-back approach to music has proven an effective method for this rapper. I asked K. Flay how she feels the hard-hitting electro fans of Icona Pop will receive her music. “I think we have some similar elements of electronica, (but) more than anything, there’s just girls on stage doing cool things.” Today, with more and more people embracing a wide array of genres, K. Flay is sure to win over a whole new sect of fans during this all-girl this tour. “I’m really excited to get back on the road.” she says. “My favorite part of this whole job is being on the road, going to different cities, and causing trouble.” Looking to cause some trouble in your city? Catch K. Flay, as she opens for Icona Pop, this summer. She is not one to be missed.
K.Flay’s EP, What If It Is, is out August 6.
WORDS | Jordan Bailey