By Ann Driscoll
Associate Editor
Hip hop group KR & the Future, fronted by Berklee alumnus Kevin “KR” Dorsey, have been electrifying audiences since they formed in 2008. They’ve built a strong following with performances at the Paradise Rock Club and the Middle East among others. KR is a multifaceted artist with distinct rhythmic flow and strong lyrical delivery. KR’s band the Future consists of six musicians: Berklee students Chad Selph (keyboard), Josh Connelly (guitar), Omitchell Henry (keyboard), Joe Conner (percussion), Coran Henley (drums), and Kyle Miles (bass). KR, Joe Conner, and Chad Selph talked about the band and their plans for the future.
Ann Driscoll: What is the rap scene like in Boston?
Joe Conner: Ever since I was a freshman, the hip hop scene in Boston has a very bad reputation.
AD: Where do you perform a lot?
KR: Anywhere with a stage.
JC: We’ve piggybacked on venues that do a lot of different genres of music. Paradise, Middle East, and All Asia. As far as a venue goes that is known for having breakout hip hop groups, we haven’t really come in contact or found one that has that reputation.
AD: Do you see yourself sticking around Boston?
KR: Boston is our starting point, but we want to expand into other areas that support hip hop and that have the hip hop culture that we can join in.
AD: How has your Berklee education affected your music?
JC: I think the thing we pride ourselves on that can distinguish us from other hip hop acts is that we are a lot more musical. You will hear that in different aspects of our sound. We incorporated John Coltrane’s ‘The Countdown’ in one of our songs. You don’t get a lot of emcees where you can go to a hip hop show and hear samples of John Coltrane. You may also hear orchestrations that are along the lines of classical but are fused into our own sound.
Chad Selph: We’re thinking about adding a horn section. Adding a whole orchestra. [laughs] Just kidding.
KR: From my standpoint, as far as what I do, I don’t think my education has really affected my music. Berklee doesn’t do too much for hip hop. We have a couple of ensembles. It’s a new thing they’re starting to do. There could be a lot more hip hop songwriting classes, for example, on flow play and punch-line play.
AD: When did you start writing songs?
KR: I started writing songs when I was seven. I started pursuing rapping in 6th grade, in middle school.
AD: What inspires you lyrically?
KR: I know every artist probably says this, but life. Each person goes through different experiences. I grew up in the city, I didn’t grow up in the worst parts of the neighborhood, but I grew up a few blocks from the worst. Then I lived in the suburbs. The things I’ve seen: inner-city violence, drugs, partying, having fun. There’s a lot of areas that I haven’t touched, but there’s not an area I won’t touch. My songs are what I’ve experienced put into a metaphor, weaving the words that describe the emotions and create a web.
AD: Who are your favorite rappers and influences?
KR: My favorite all-around rapper is Jay Z. He’s trying to incorporate pop music into hip hop. He’s led the way for artists like Lil’ Wayne and Drake to have pop crossover appeal. Biggie, Run DMC, Tupac. I try to study rappers that have been big, that have blown up as well as the rappers that are just really good in my view. Kanye is another example of a hip hop artist who caters to the hip hop faithful but also appeals to the average person.
AD: Do you draw from poetry?
KR: I read Maya Angelou, and I try to incorporate other styles of writing. I listen to country music, rock music, pop music. Something from the newspaper. Something I heard through the grapevine. That’s what rap’s all about: digesting everything in the world and spitting it back out in lyric form.
AD: Tell me about the songs that you’re playing at the concert.
KR: My roommate Jimmy Gonzalez made the beat for ‘Homicide’ in the Fall of 2008. I came over, I heard the beat, and I wrote something completely different. I took the song in a different direction. I came from the lyrical sense that I was gonna kill someone. We never finished the song. We came back to the song a year later. I listened to it, and this was during the time when I was trying to expand and do more pop-friendly music and not just hardcore rap. I’m gonna keep the title and we’ll make it about a girl and a guy situation and write it from each perspective. We’ll take it from hurting that person so much that it feels like a homicide. We recorded it and it ended up being one of my best songs. The beat was very good. The best beat that Jimmy has given me. No matter if you’re from the hood, the suburbs, if your dad is rich, everyone loves that song.
‘Music or Love’ features Kevin Ross, one of the artists I respect most at Berklee. The producers came to me with a song that had Kevin Ross’s voice. I came in and knocked the verses out. Kevin came back and refitted the verse because I brought a different energy to the track. It was more laid-back, and now it has more edge on it.
AD: You’re not playing ‘Figure It Out’ at the show, but it’s on Dorm Sessions. Tell me about it.
KR: ‘Figure It Out’ goes into the pop side and the club side. It’s kind of a cross between techno, house, electronic, and hip hop. I’ve done a couple of songs where I’m trying to make club music, where I can go to a house club or a techno club and hear my song, without it being a remix. The lyrics are basically, ‘Don’t be concerned with whatever’s going on now, we can figure it out. Just worry about me.’ The third verse is a synopsis, the conclusion.
AD: How do you work together as a team?
KR: You can’t do anything by yourself. All the things that go into trying to build up your career. We’re all working towards the same goal. I go to work. I go to school, trying to squeak studio time on top of that. So by having a team, we all put it together. Joe is the manager. Chad is the musical director, and has the musical acumen and tells the musicians exactly what should be played. They take their jobs seriously.
CS: One thing is that we all have a relationship outside of music. Everyone in the band–we’re all the closest friends. If we never played a single song in the next five years, we are gonna be the best of friends anyway. You need that close relationship. We all respect each other. We never go through a lot of drama, or any breakups or any major fall-outs because we all have this major respect for each other.
