When ChaseTheMoney came to K$upreme with the title idea for Caught Fire, K instantly knew it would be fire.
We caught up with K$upreme and ChaseTheMoney about their new collaborative project Caught Fire. K discussed what it was like having a one producer for an entire project and another person to bounce ideas off of. Along with the excitement of the project and its reception, K also discussed how the label, Asylum, helped in fine-tuning the project and how fans can expect even bigger records on the way. Check out the full interview below.
The Knockturnal: I wanted to catch up with you about your new ep, Caught Fire. Just had a really nice thorough interview with ChaseTheMoney, who said he brought the idea to you after the last single you dropped, and was like “you’re lit, you’re catching fire.” Tell me what was going through your mind when he came to you with this idea.
K$upreme: I was excited about it, he is one of my favorite producers, top three for sure out of the generation right now. So I was excited about it because I know it’s gonna do numbers and I just like his sound so much, so when he gave me the idea we made that intro song like that same day and we just kept building it from there.
The Knockturnal: How often have you collaborated with a producer? Do you often have producers helping direct the sound, or has it usually been the other way around?
K$upreme: Nah it’s the other way around, this my first time collabing with a producer on a whole project and a producer actually giving me ideas instead of just giving me beats to rap on.
The Knockturnal: Can you talk about the experience and the difference from having that happen this time verses the norm of you reaching out to different producers?
K$upreme: It’s definitely more of a uniform type of thing its way more in order, we both have ideas, we both know what the f*** we want, it was a whole collab tape, so every song that we did, we picked them and we put him on there, its easier for me, than for me having to do everything myself, we did everything together, the cover art, the songs, the selections of the numbers, the mixing, putting sound effects in the mixes, we did all the s*** together.
The Knockturnal: What was the label’s reaction when you brought the project to them?
K$upreme: Like damn, we don’t need to do s***, they already know what the f*** they doing. They just putting the extra flame promotion behind that s***, they ain’t giving us no ideas, that’s how I feel a lot of people f*** up, they go to a label and look at the label to do everything for them, you gotta be on the same type of timing as you was when they wanted to sign you.
The Knockturnal: So you came to them with the finish project essentially right?
K$upreme: Yea yea.
The Knockturnal: Can you talk about some of the ways the label has helped push the ep?
K$upreme: the label has helped by the press, like this, XXL, bigger platforms, play listing helped us a lot bro, me and his song, we got two songs right now going f***ing crazy they both on Most Necessary play list on Spotify “Hot Ham” and “For Real,” thats what it is, we know what the f*** we want, we got all the swag, and all the work ethic we just need the engine behind our s*** to reach new things.
The Knockturnal: What do you look for in a producer?
K$upreme: Hard beats off the rip, that’s it, just hard ass beats, if your beats fire. I don’t like producers with weak beats, some n***** be thinking they’re when they beats be weak as f***, everybody got their own different swag, nobody sounds like him, if you hard I’ll f*** wit it, its like three n***** right now that stand out to me.
The Knockturnal: Can you name those producers?
K$upreme: ChaseTheMoney, Tay Keith and Wheezy probably are like the best three right now to me. I feel like this is the most time where producers is ever like that, me and this n**** name -his name is on the shit with me as an artist. I feel like producers is piping up now, them n***** is the new rappers, them n***** is rapping and s***.
The Knockturnal: I spoke to Chase a little bit about the features and how the collaborations came about, can you talk about I guess your experience with the people featured on the tracks and the vibe.
K$upreme: Me and Yachty we been cool forever, that’s my brother, we ain’t on some rapping shit, we on some personal shit, thats my homie and Chief Keef was on my first project, we had Juice WRLD on there first but due to label issues, you know how s*** gets weird, so we had to double back two weeks before we dropped, and Sosa was wit it. I aint gonna the second one he gave, he went hard on that bitch. Shout out to Sosa, thats what happened with that, previous relationships with all these people.
The Knockturnal: We talked about the visuals that have come out so far. Do you know what the next visual is?
K$upreme: I want to shoot “Burberry Print” next. “Burberry Print” and “Caught Fire.” They asked me what I wanted to shoot, “Forreal” which is on youtube going crazy, “Caught Fire,” “Burberry Print, and “Hot Ham.”
The Knockturnal: can you talk a little bit more of the experience of working together and building out each track. I know you spoke on that a little bit about how its the first time a producer’s come to you with an idea ready to produce the entire project.
K$upreme: I think it was the second time I was in the studio with this n**** and he played this beat “Forreal” for me like the song “Forreal” and he was playing the beat for me. I was like, what the f***, I ain’t never heard no beat like this, it’s some whole other shit. The way the whole format of the beat is, I ain’t never heard no shit like this before, so I’m sitting there, I go in and I come out, I still got the video on my phone, my neck couldn’t stop moving, I was bopping my head so damn hard, turkey neck. I still got the video, I knew it right then and there we got some shit bro, we go hard together. Im just happy to see the reaction it’s getting out of people, this my biggest project so far. Im just happy.
The Knockturnal: What do you have in store? Can we expect merch or maybe a tour?
K$upreme: Merch yup, tour, more shows, visuals more visuals, Im trying to get some label work, some Jimmy Kimmel and all that type of s***, you feel me.
The Knockturnal: What would be the most lit place to see your song song synched or places? Television show? Video Game?
K$upreme: For me probably, GTA, that’s hard, that’s hard as fuck , GTA that’s two of my goals for sure, GTA and a 2k placement, I want to be a character on both of them and my music.
The Knockturnal: Obviously right now you’re pushing the ep, you have visuals dropping, but are you recording new music as well?
K$upreme: Me and this n**** tape been done for a year, this s*** old.
The Knockturnal: So you brought it to them a year ago?
K$upreme: Hell yea, I been signed since February.
The Knockturnal: So you’ve been sitting on the project, are you happy its finally out? Were you feeling impatient?
K$upreme: I feel like that’s when people -at first I was kinda like damn what the fuck my n****, but you cant think like that , I feel like music doesn’t have a time stamp on it. I knew what they were doing, they were trying to get our shit all the way correct, trying to give us the right roll out , all the right mixing, all that shit right. Because if I had rushed it, I wouldn’t have had chief keef on there, the mixes wouldn’t of been right, probably wouldn’t be sitting right here. Im cool with it, im hustler, I don’t feel me not being able to drop music right then and there, is not going to make me frantic.
The Knockturnal: It’s crazy to touch on that, because we live in a digital era where artists drop their songs instantly on sound cloud, instagram, youtube, and then when those same artists sign to a label or when they do have a backing, they see that the process slows down because other elements are added to it and that causes friction. It’s dope that you see the end goal and understand things need to move a little slowly.
K$upreme: Yea thats a fact, at first it was f***ing me up, I’m like god damn I just dropped this big ass song, y’all need to drop my s*** bro, because it was so many other people trying to sign me you feel me. I only drop one project a year.
The Knockturnal: Is this a golden rule you feel you have to stick to?
K$upreme: Yea I don’t like the whole flooding s***, I want people to be like oh I want that s*** I can just go get it. I only have three projects out, this one, Flex Muzik I and Flex Muzik II and all them s**** is from 2017 and 19. I rather really make fire music rather than a bunch of b******* every week you feel me.
The Knockturnal: I feel you, like a nicely curated project, but it does sound you been sitting on a lot of unreleased music from the past year?
K$upreme: I got some s*** now, I want to say some s*** but I really don’t, but just know that I got some s*** with some big people that I know is going to do some things, you feel me. It’s another follow up after this project, it’s like a follow up after “Gucci Cologne.”
The Knockturnal: Was it facilitated through the label?
K$upreme: Yea we going to put it out through the label, it’s going to be big, I’m excited about it.
The Knockturnal: I’m saying the link ups or collaborations on the forthcoming project, were they facilitated through the label?
K$upreme: Oh hell no, that was me, that’s why I said I don’t need s***, but marketing. Im the type of artist I don’t like to get set up with blind date rap s***, I don’t like that, feel me.
The Knockturnal: That’s what A&R’s do.
K$upreme: Yea but I don’t like that, like Sammy tried to do that for me and I’m like no, I need to know that we f*** with each other equally because I don’t want to never have the impression as an artist that this n**** is helping me. I want him to post me and s*** just as much as I’m doing, I dont want to look like no fan, ill wait till them n***** want to fuck with me, I don’t never go f*** with nobody outside of the loop. Like me and chase, he big bro, that ni**a got a song with drake, all type of s*** and I remember when I first hit this n**** up, he hit me up on some whats your budget type shit, then he double back like a week later, like oh shit Yachty was telling me about you let’s do it.
The Knockturnal: Almost wrapped up, you spoke a little bit about your future work, future goals in terms of syncs and seeing your music out there, is there anything else you want to leave fans with or speak on in regards to the EP?
K$upreme: I just want a message for everybody to go out there and have fun ,get money to my shit , turn up, have a good time, I feel like I make energy music, I make music to give people good energy, I don’t really get too deep or like story tell and stuff like that, I will later in life, but my swag right now is making people feel happy, making people feel good, so listen to m************ Caught Fire, and go feel good in the car.
The Knockturnal: What’s your favorite record off the project?
K$upreme: “Forreal”
Photo Credit: Diwang Valdez
