We recently connected with Kiundrea Washington and have shared our conversation below.
Kiundrea, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?
The kindest thing anyone has ever done for me would be my best friend and mentor ,Brett Westfall ,taking me on tour with him. Brett Westfall is a father, Artist, visionary, and close collaborator with Comme DES Garçons for over 17 years.
He called me out of the blue and asked me to go on tour to wrap up his art exhibition ”Signs of Life” in collaboration with his daughter, Moon Westfall, and These Days Gallery (ran by Jodi & Stephen Zigglar). I had already helped with the LA installation at Dover Street Market and performed for the first showing. I suppose you could say I was there from the beginning. It ended up in the CDG trading museum in Japan, Andover Street market New York.
I was looking for gigs and didn’t like some of the promoters that were hitting me up . I didn’t have much money and I was super appreciative of Brett for being so gracious enough to ask me to come along. It’s not often a music producer gets asked to work with someone with such higher rank in the fashion an art community, let alone be allowed to install and help curate the event sonically .
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Well my artist name is K-Wash (Kiundrea Washington abbreviated), and I was born in Nashville, Tennessee. You may know it as music city. We moved when I was nine and travel to Dallas Texas where I lived for 10+ years as a music producer and student of the industry. I got into the industry professionally in 2014 when I was at MediaTech Institute of Dallas. I was in music school , releasing tracks online via SoundCloud , and being involved in local Texas Music scene. I attended beat battles and collaborated with many great and talented artist in Dallas ,Austin ,as well as building relationships internationally. I was headlining shows & already selling out venues with 1800+ people. Word got around and I ended up having the same management as OVO for a time and was helping them out on the road when they came to tour through Texas from my home. Along with other acts and just making sure they got anything that they needed while they were in my city. I was about 20-23 years-old then.
I accomplished all of these things and still achieving and striving, simply because I love making music, being creative, and I put all of my being into it. Music production is not like being a singer or a performer, (even though I do perform) creatively you’re always trying to break new ground and come up with a new ideas sonically. You also have to make sure that you’re doing that with your business as well because at the end of the day this still is a business no matter how talented you are, you must be patient, passionate, and on the just for opportunities. I love what I do and I make sure to always immerse myself in the experience I’m creating and ensure it will make you go “what was that?” That approach is what sets me apart from all the others . Not only do I have the fashion community backing me from LA to Japan, I also have some of the coolest friends and creative associates that make it all possible because they see that I have a genuine love for all forms of art. This genuine love and passion for beauty has got me far and that’s what makes me proud. At the end of the day I chose to be myself and follow my dreams . My music, fashion, art, and skateboarding reflects that as well.
The Westfall’s, Tani of (Creative Director of Verdy’s Zapanese Club ) , Shirley Kurata, and Charlie Staunton of Virgil Normal are few who see my vision as well and fully support anything I do.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
I feel that it’s still early to jump on the NFT wave. I see his potential, though I wonder how it’s going to impact the creative industry and what does that mean for our market overall is Artist? And how will it be able to reach kids in neighborhoods where NFTs aren’t even discussed ? A lot of these kids have no idea how block chain works, let alone draw stick figure these days. When I was tutoring in Dallas before I moved to LA, I would always charge the kids to do something creative and a little of artistic to see where their imagination takes them. A lot of them got a heavy amounts of anxiety, began crying, or asked someone to do it for them. It’s a real right now. Our babies and you guidance out here on a lot of things. I’m good on NFTs right now.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
One way people can help artist and creatives, is simply just support. I don’t just mean finances, sometimes your creative homies need you to just show up and be involved. If you really want to share some love, don’t give us an NFT, even though that’s still a kind gesture, being there to show love, and giving us a real dollars is a good start. Also make sure to always check out any local talent whenever you get the chance and encourage them to keep going no matter what they’re doing. You never know who’s going to make it big these days!
Contact Info:
- Website: K-Wash.bandcamp.com
- Instagram: @kwashify
- Twitter: @kwashify
- Other: SoundCloud.com/k-wash Spotify.com/K-Wash
Image Credits
Images shot by/ including: K-Wash, The Westfall family, Stephen &Jodi Zigglar, Baseck, Joy Division, Mitch Modes