Kenny Flowers Interview

Photos and interview by @jaxonbuzzell

modrNation: Where are you originally from?

Kenny: Southside of Chicago, Illinois. 

modrNation: How did growing up there influence you to start making music?

Kenny: Growing up in Chicago I was mainly influenced by a lot of the music my grandma used to listen to. She would listen to anything from country to soul to R&B, and that led to me wanting to start singing at talent shows and from there I wanted to start rapping. That’s also when Chance The Rapper started coming up and he became a huge influence on me, Chance, Vic Mensa, the Save Money Gang and everyone else coming up really inspired me. Initially I was playing basketball, but once I got cut from the team that’s when I started heavily listening to Acid Rap and that gave me a whole different perspective on music.

modrNation: You gained some traction with your 2019 project Joat, how would you say your sound has evolved since then?

Kenny: My sound has definitely evolved a lot. I’m experimenting a lot right now, trying a lot of new things with instrumentals and even lyricism. I’m trying to be as vulnerable as possible. In 2019 I don’t think I was as vulnerable as I could be and a lot of the music I recently put out and that I'm looking forward to putting out are pretty vulnerable and open.

modrNation: What is your biggest source of inspiration?

Kenny: Chicago. It took moving here to realize that the best inspiration was from the city itself. The weather, the people, the geographics, the location, I like writing about the experiences that I’ve had in life, that’s where most of my inspiration comes from, the experiences that I’ve had and most of the experiences I’ve had are in Chicago. 

modrNation: You came up during a pretty pivotal time in Chicago music, who were some of the artists that influenced you the most?

Kenny: Chance the Rapper of course, Vic Mensa, Smino, Saba, Pivot Gang, the whole Save Money Gang, but also people that I’m connected with like Matt Muse, Solo the Dweeb, Ace Davinci. Ace did a lot for Chicago and he had open mics every Wednesday, a lot of people blew up off of that, and he even blew up off of that. I looked up to those people a lot. 

modrNation: With new musicians popping up every day what would you say is the importance of breaking the common perceptions of what a Chicago rapper should look or sound like and forming your own identity?

Kenny: Taking a break from listening to other artists, sometimes for me I end up comparing myself when I listen to other artists and I even end up accidentally sounding like them sometimes. The best way to sound like yourself is to take a break from listening to other artists, not just local but even mainstream. 

modrNation: You taught yourself piano?

Kenny: Yeah I taught myself the piano. I’m still musically illiterate and I play the wrong way but I can play by ear and I every once in a while teach myself a new song.

modrNation: Do you play over a lot of your beats?

Kenny: Yeah a lot of my beats I either play the piano or sample the keys and play it that way.

modrNation: You recently dropped your latest track Late Night, what was the inspiration behind that one?

Kenny: The inspiration behind that had a lot to do with a situation I was going through when I was back in Chicago. Back when I was really stressed, the only thing I needed during that time was to be with a specific person, somebody very dear and special to me, I needed to be with her. I realized it was something that turned out to be a very important coping mechanism to me which can be both healthy and unhealthy. 

modrNation: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Kenny: Five years from now, stadium status. Real talk, stadium status. During this short time we’re on this earth it’s important to dream. At my age it’s becoming cringy to have big dreams, but I still feel like it’s very important. It's very important for your momentum and mental health as long as you don’t become attached to it, so stadium status, that’s where we’re at in five years.