We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kent Danger a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kent , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

2022 was THE year of risk for me. Some might think it’s because I moved to LA from North Carolina, but that was the easy part in my mind. The real risk was in overhauling everything I had done musically up until that point- restarting from scratch and rebuilding everything fresh.

My original artist name “jopippins” was a period represented by my earliest work. I left a 5-6 year old footprint behind. I really just wanted to more clearly communicate who I am and my vision for the world by becoming Kent Danger. Its an effort to combine music, film, technology and my other passions in a way that feels like it represents my adult life accurately. The inception was depicted in summer 2021 when my friends and I had a giant picnic while filming my “otw” video in Raleigh.

I was terrified to leave my deal, my old projects, and jopippins behind as a whole, but if I hadn’t taken that leap I wouldn’t be halfway where I am now. We’re constantly in a state of change, and releasing art is just capturing a snapshot of yourself at a point in time. I’m proud to say I captured, documented and cemented that time in my life perfectly. I can leave it behind knowing one day it will be my alibi against the “industry plant” allegations lol.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

You may think you’re new to me, but we’ve met a thousand times. Kent Danger is not a person, Kent Danger is an idea. That moment when you almost give up, but instead decide to push through is KD. That moment when you look back and realize you’ve grown from an anthill into Mount Kilimanjaro is KD. That moment when you realize risking embarrassment is better than living in the shadows, that’s KD.

KD asks: what if we embraced fear in pursuit of a better future?

To me, art is a feedback loop. What you watch, listen to, eat, the way you exercise, who you hang out with- they’re all interconnected and inform what you create. I can’t make music if I’m not doing things I love like traveling, hanging with my friends, or playing sports- that’s when I get a lot of thinking done. I make music for the world around me, the people who inspire me to do these things. They’re always trying to better themselves, always on the go.

So when you ask “who is KD?”- the answer is everyone. The person who is currently Kent Danger is really named Jordan Pippins- a 26 year old North Carolinian with way too many allergies. If KD is Batman, Jordan is Bruce Wayne. But we aren’t buying tickets to go see “Bruce Wayne”, we buy them to see “Batman”. This is a physical, mental, and spiritual job. Meaning one day my experience will take me beyond the ability to completely uphold this idea, and when that time comes I will pass along the title to someone more suitable. Then I’ll start releasing art again under my first stage name- jopippins.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

There’s something driving my creative journey. I don’t know if I can call it a goal or mission though. It’s more like a spirit- an energy, a feeling or whatever you want to call it. Its the feeling of peace when I’m performing or filming. Its the feeling of sadness when I haven’t recorded music in days. I hope other artists know what I mean by this.

I started making music in elementary school so I’ve always been intertwined with this spirit. It comprises my personality. I tried to suppress it once when I was young and I’ll never make that mistake again. I buried my creative identity underneath my ability to play sports for years.

Once I found a way to be myself completely, I started creating communities instead of trying to find them. In high school, I was in a collective called “Wildscape” that was composed of musicians and filmmakers- every day after school we would just record songs and shoot videos (getting kicked out of everywhere in Charlotte) because that’s what was fun to us. To this day they’re still my best friends.

It happened again when I got to North Carolina State University and started the band DOTWAV Media. Everyone brings their style and influence like a musical potluck and we just see what happens. I think the mission was accomplished considering we dropped three albums and did two tours during college. Again, to this day still my best friends.

By this point in my life, I’m well acquainted with the spirit. In 2023, I took a trip to Ghana with my family to learn our history and it became visceral. I knew I had to take it up a notch. When I returned to America the only focus was letting this creative spirit speak for itself. I have to contribute wherever I am needed because my story isn’t the only one. I don’t mind being the first to step forward so others may feel safe to do so as well. That’s what inspired KD+, it’s a new life, new spirit. It’s not me vs. the world, its me + the world.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Collaboration is like a gift that keeps on giving. Not only do you get to sharpen your skills and learn something every time you work with someone, but you also get closer as friends too? It’s always been my philosophy. It’s what lead to the creation of Wildscape and DOTWAV Media/ C4RP00L. We push each other to get better. When I moved to LA it really exploded. There are so many interesting people creating master works every day and I’m just glad to get to experience them in real time.

I can’t wait for you all to see what’s in store with Arleena, Jilliana, C4RP00L, and many more this year. I’m at the point where solely calling myself a “producer” feels accurate. All the other labels are cool, but just feel like fluff at this point. All we’re ever doing is weaving multiple talents, varying interests, and personal stories into a unique blend we then project into the world, hoping someone will hear us. I just want to help people amplify the signal.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kentdangerr/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kentdangerr?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@C4RP00L
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kentdanger

Image Credits
Renzo Starr