While Keith Ape was rapidly coming up in the US markets, I personally setup an interview/photoshoot with him. I brought my friend, Ben Chi, to translate in Korean, thus allowing Keith to be more relaxed and open. What ensued remains Keith Ape’s most intimate and telling interview to date and I learned a lot about Korea and their music scene in the process. I did both writing and photography for the story that was featured on HYPETRAK and HYPEBEAST. Enjoy an excerpt below:
Keith Ape Interview
Keith Ape: I think the difference between myself and other Korean rappers or entertainers is that a lot of times the Korean entertainers are kind of produced by a company. The company chooses their image, their wardrobe, their hairstyle, etc. These artists are artificially made, but I am my own person. I think it’s working because I’m able to represent myself the way I want to. I have the freedom to do what I want to do because I’m not controlled by something that’s not me. I also feel like a large part of my success comes from the fact that I genuinely love the culture of hip-hop. I’m not here to exploit the culture, I really love the US, I love the music and the people here and I just want to be a part of it. I’m not here motivated by profits, I’m here because I love the music and I love the culture.
