Rapper with a difference

KP Illest has established himself as one of Namibia's most brilliant and resounding hip-hop artists.

He has previously walked away with an award from the Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMA) and is also signed to The Dogg's music label Mshasho Productions.

The rapper recently dropped his debut album titled Price of Ambition which he says is an ode to his music abilities.

The artist says ever since the album dropped the response from his fans regarding his new project has been overwhelming.

“The response has been electric. So far I've received nothing but positive responses. People really understand that I took real time with this one to perfect the art and every song so far on the album has been received well by the fans,” shared KP Illest.

He added that he sold out all 200 actual physical copies of his new album and is looking towards digital platforms to sell his album now.

“I printed 200 copies of the album and they are all sold out.

“I wanted to sell physical copies first before selling digitally,” he said.

He said he has been showered with support from many people in the past few months and says as an artist he is excited about his place in the industry.

“There is a perception that in Namibia we do not get a lot of support from many people but once you go through the right avenues, the people will support you regardless,” said KP Illest.

For his new album he said he had to take a different route and says he had to challenge himself as an artist to come up with a quality album.

“Halfway through the production process of the album I had to change the whole entire creative direction and flipped it completely.

The album turned into something that I hardly expected it would be,” he said.

KP Illest who is well-known for being a very conscious and lyrical rapper, says he had to create a balance between being commercially viable and conscious.

He says he had to break away from the norms and expectations that people put on rappers and how they should be, and had to let the music decide how he would express himself on his album.

“Conscious rap does not necessarily mean social awareness but it can be about topics that have substance and that people can relate to. I just wanted to be socially relatable on this album,” he shared.

The rapper says he is fortunate to be mentored by The Dogg and says the musician has helped him build his brand and has given him advice on how to work within the music album.

“The Dogg understands the way music is supposed to be constructed and he lets me have my freedom as an artist.

His mentors me on how I can navigate the industry and pushes you in the right directions,” he said.

The rapper says that the playing field in the hip-hop industry is up for takes and shares that people are reacting positively to the music that rappers are releasing.

“Anyone can make it in the hip-hop industry right now.

DJs are playing our songs. NGA-I is one rapper that I predicted can make big in the industry and today a lot of people have a lot of respect for him,” he said.

For KP Illest, the state of hip-hop in the country is in a good place and says artists need to improve on the quality of work they produce and that they have to invest in their craft to make a meaningful impact.

“We need the balance of consistency and persistence in every hip hop artist.

As rappers need to invest in ourselves and exploit all opportunities we have.

The infighting and issues we have also need to stop and as hip-hop artists we need to make a bigger statement,” said KP Illest.

He says the next move for him is to spread his wings and work with other artists in Africa and the rest of the world.

“The next step now is to do international collaborations. So far I've identified Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria as one of the places I can penetrate and I believe that I can represent the country on international level,” said KP illest.

Shona Ngava