King Kane is a London based Rapper, Singer, and Songwriter who blends thought-provoking lyrics with stylistic dynamic flows and catchy hooks. Since releasing his debut album in 2018 'The Colour Black' he has gained over 60,000 streams on Spotify alone and continues to interrupt the boundaries of music in London.
King Kane has recently released his upbeat new song "Wait A Minute". "Wait A Minute" features a hooky synth that acts as the instrumental backbone of the song, explosive but clean drum rhythms, and a bouncy vocal that delivers a tight consistent flow. The verses of "Wait A Minute" have attitude and punch. The feeling that perfectly keeps up with King Kane's intricate lyrics and wordplay. The drums have an ear-catching way of transforming in the different sections and leading subtle transitions that keep a space for the vocal to breathe. The instrumental of "Wait A Minute" is supporting the vocal perfectly, together there is an almost minimalistic quality that keeps the energy and bounciness of the lyrics in play. "Wait A Minute" is a feel-good record that you will be able to put on at any time and be able to connect with.
Listen to "Wait A Minute" by King Kane, here.
Welcome to BuzzMusic King Kane! Your latest release "Wait A Minute" is a bop! What was the songwriting and production process like for it?
Thank you for having me! That’s very kind of you, ‘Wait A Minute’ is a song that seemed like a fun and easy idea but took a lot of hard work to execute and get to a place where I can say that I’m proud of the final result.
The songwriting process was one of those where as soon as I heard the beat it instantly spoke to me. I started vocalizing the melody of the chorus and every couple of bars ended with “wait a minute” then “hold up Kane just wait a minute” and the rest of the words slowly fell into place. It was just one of those, I built the flow and added the words on top, using my voice an instrument. Unlike other songs, I just knew instantly how I was going to write it.
The production process, on the other hand, was different from my regular production process. Normally I get into the studio with my bro Mike, who produces, engineers, mixes, and masters all my music. Mike and I are like Drake and 40, or Logic and 6ix, the only difference being he doesn’t have a number in his producer name. Usually, either I have a rough idea going already, he has a beat or we just create from scratch together. This was one of the very few times I had a beat from somebody else that was pretty much already produced, so we laid the vocals down one day at the studio and Mike went away to work on it as he usually does. When he came back with the final master he only changed and added some subtle elements, but they made a significant difference. That’s why I trust him with all my work, he knows just what to add, take away or change and knows exactly what I’m looking for in terms of feeling, texture or even how I want my vocals to sit in the mix.
You have a very intricate flow in this record, what had inspired the rhythm in your lyrics? Did you ever have other versions of this song?
Again - thank you, that’s very kind. No, I didn’t have any other version of the song. When I approach writing, especially verses, I try to think about how many different flows I can come up with even before I start writing. So as I’m writing, I get to about 4 - 6 lines in and I think about what the next flow is going to be to keep people on the edge of their seat and engaged. However, throughout this process, I still try to remain as lyric-orientated as I can, so that the flow and the lyrics are both attended to. As I’m finding flows I’m also finding phrases and seeing what fits and what doesn’t, sometimes I’ll try tens of different phrases and trash them to find the best one because I want to make sure that what I’m saying is as interesting as the flow. Then when I finally find that one phrase, it will inspire another one and so on.
Your sound has a familiar but fresh feeling to it, what are your influences for your music? What about your influences makes them an influence?
My influences are always things that are different in character. That’s why I liked trap music before it was popular when no one was really listening to Future. At the time it was really underground but it brought in this ‘new wave’ of music that has been melody-orientated, with the way people like Young Thug have been able to find new cadences and ways to express words and use the voice like an instrument that is completely unprecedented. At the same time, I have always been inspired by people like Kendrick and Cole and how they deliver their lyrics and use wordplay. I’ve come across so many people that have amazing bars for days that you’d read on a piece of paper and think - that would kill Kendrick, but the delivery was dead. So then you realize that what makes people like Kendrick a Pulitzer prize winner is not just what he says but how he delivers it. That’s what makes these influences an influence of mine, it’s how they create their own character with the words they write and the way they deliver them. Future might go in the booth and hum the melody and figure out how to make a song catchy, while Kendrick or Jay Z are sitting there thinking about what they’re going to say and figuring out inside their head how they can make it more and more complicated. They’ll do that until they can say something in a way that you would never have thought of. So I would have to say that what influences my music is the combination of both melodic flows and thought-provoking lyricism.
Uniqueness, as well, is what makes people influential - that the difference between them and others for me. Kendrick is headlining a bunch of festivals this year when his last album (DAMN.) dropped in 2017, and he still hasn’t announced any new releases. Wouldn’t it be insane if he headlines everywhere but doesn’t even drop an album, he just wanted to go out and tour? That’s what makes them so influential, they’re able to do those things because they are who they are and they don’t stray from that. People like that inspired me to be different, to be what I want. There is no Kendrick album that’s the same. They might all fit under the umbrella of ‘rap’, but ’To Pimp’ had actual jazz bands tracked in for some songs while ‘DAMN.’ is a journey through contemporary trap-inspired production to old-school soul sample chopping.
We love the tone of your voice in this one, what was the recording process like for it? Were there any challenges faced?
It was tiring. I really thought it was going to be an easy song to get done but Mike is a perfectionist and somehow I forgot that. Just when you think you’ve got the perfect take, he’ll be like - “let’s go again, we’re almost there”. So there was a lot of recording work put into nailing that playful/silly voice tone in the verses, and then a lot put into layering specific impact moments in the song to get that energy across. To the point where I was almost regretting all the intricate things I put in the song and was looking for any excuses to get out of the booth because I was tired of doing the same verse over and over again, but in the end, it was all worth it. Beyond recording, Mike worked his producer magic and put in technical work to elevate the song to the level it is at now, that we would need a whole separate Genius tutorial to explain.
The vocal tone itself, if I remember correctly, was inspired by Young Thug and maybe Future. Remember that Future line in ‘King’s Dead’ - “La di da di da, slob on me knob” - that won a Grammy award for best rap performance? When I was writing this song I was reminded of my vocal coach who always slays me whenever I’m out of key even for a second and thought to myself that I don’t need to fit in any box or be confined to a vocal range I can or cannot hit, you know? When everyone I look up to is no longer confined to that. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if it sounds dope and whether it is authentically you. All of my influences tell me to do what I want to do and what sounds cool to me, not because it sounds cool to anyone else. I actually didn’t think the tone of my voice in this song would be cool to anyone else but I liked it so much that I wasn’t going to change it.
Thank you so much for having me on BuzzMusic! I can’t wait to come back to you guys with more music very soon.