We recently connected with Krimzon and have shared our conversation below.
Krimzon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I have been mostly self-taught through over 15 years of writing music, recording, marketing, and performing live. Writing and making music and learning how to record came first. Then, marketing and performing came later once I was confident enough to release and perform my material. I studied all the greats from 2Pac to Kendrick Lamar. I watched how they performed in music videos, what they wore, their stage presence, and their cadence on songs.
Looking back on my early days of rapping, I wish I would have performed and learned how to interact with the crowd earlier. It has only been in the last two years where I really took the next step in performing.
To become a successful artist, every step is essential. It is hard to pick out one skill because marketing and reaching out to venues or vendors can be just as important as the art itself. For me at least, recording and mixing turned out to be the most essential because that is how I honed in on my sound.
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.
I am rapper from San Francisco who has been recording and releasing music since 2006. I rap about a wide range of topics from having fun and boasting to more conscious material like gun control, politics, and racial issues. I have performed all around San Francisco and the greater bay area. My sound is wide ranging: I have old school rap songs, songs without any hooks, and even have songs with EDM/dance “drops” on them.
I am most proud of my live performances. I specialize in going straight for 30 to 40 minutes at a time with high energy interactions with the crowd. I love when unknowing people at the back of the bar perk their head up and listen to me perform, even when they are not there at the venue for me.
I am especially proud of the most recent showcases I have set up for not only myself, but to highlight and promote other artists. I have always stated I can’t and won’t fill up a 2 or 3 hour time slot, so I love putting on other artists to perform. It is all about the community in hip-hop and with every live music event the community grows bigger and stronger. What is great is everyone involved (bartenders, the doorman, sound engineer, artists, etc.) remembers you if you put on a great show and event.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I had to unlearn the hope and wish of being an overnight success. Early on, I thought my music was better than it was. I had always hoped and wished that the traditional way of getting big, like getting signed to a major label or going viral with a music video, was going to happen. Overtime, I realized that my success was going to come from the ground up or like a grassroots movement where I start out locally spreading my music, meeting bartenders/managers, throwing my own shows, and most importantly connecting with fans right in my city.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
By far, it is connecting with fans and the local community at any live event. There is nothing better than getting off stage and people giving me high fives, accolades, wanting to connect on social media, talking about their favorite song of mine, and/or buying merch. This is literally what I live for!! You never know who is in the crowd and how they will be affected by your music. It is so awesome to see how people engage with live music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://krimzon-shop.myshopify.com/
- Instagram: @krimzonmusic
- Twitter: twitter.com/krimzonmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@krimzonmusic1967
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5QiODzCCKdkwtqSFbQ1ONO