We were lucky to catch up with Khy Yen recently and have shared our conversation below.
Khy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I’m happy about being an artist because I get to express myself. Music is an outlet, most artists say it’s therapy and it really is. Growing up I always used to write in my journal or randomly pick up a pen and write a poem, now I just add a beat.
Khy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m Khy Yen, most people just call me Khy, you can too! I got into the music industry by my friend JR who is an executive producer one day asking me if I’ve ever thought about making music. He told me I had the look for it which was funny to me at the time because I didn’t know rappers had a “look”. The thing that I think truly sets me apart from others is me being 100% truthful in my music. I tell my life story in my music and things that I go through. I had to tell myself that you’re not always going to be in the mood to make a club banger, sometimes you have to express how much you miss your ex or a friend, because that’s the mood your in at the time. And that’s okay. It is my reality that I want people to relate to, not a facade. I’m most proud of doing everything I said I would, which is consistently putting out new music and going to the studio as often as possible. I’m always telling my friends I’m proud of them, I make sure to tell myself that I’m proud of me too.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I remember one time I was performing with a few other artists in lower Manhattan, The whole audience paid attention to all the male rappers that were performing. I think I was the only female rapper that performed that night. When it was my time to perform, most of the audience walked out and went to go smoke outside.. I performed for 3 people that night. I’m alway grateful that I didn’t get discouraged that night. You have to have thick skin in this industry or things like that will get to you. I’ll always remember this experience like it was yesterday even though it was a year ago. It’s a reminder that everyone is not going to like you or your music, and that’s fine. Nothing should ever stop you from following your passion.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
People knowing the words to my music or singing along to my songs is something that will probably excite me forever. I write all of my music and I never rush, I’ll sit with a song for weeks if I feel like I can improve it. I can write a song in an hour but why rush when it can probably be ten times better if you sit on it for a few days. So it means more to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khyyenn?igsh=ejN2cTdzNzFqZ2Jh&utm_source=qr
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Yj1j0pIm72rgVtecegoaT?si=DxahenNGSRSuZ5in7q5UjQ
