Kenneth Riley Jr. has always been fascinated with hip-hop. K-Riley (as people call him) has been earning street credit by the hour in the streets of Cincinnati with his lyrical skills and the occasional two-step. Popping off CDs from Diskmakers in 1995, his work has put him through five labels until he finally got to someone who walked the walk. Now he is with Aristakrat Records/Select-O-Hits and is determined to put Cincinnati on the map. "I want people to be remembering when that K–Riley dude came out, the A&Rs came to the city," K-Riley explains. "I'm not trying to be on that king sh-- because where I'm at, the government runs this sh-- and the bigger you get, the more the police don't want you in there city. I just want to be that dude that when you talk about the city you mention me."
K-Riley is looking to put his city on the map with his new single "Dat Boi Cold (Remix)" featuring Jim Jones and Gucci Mane, which is just one of the featured tracks on his debut album Incredible: The Life of Riley. "The manager of the label had me opening for Gucci and then he came to the studio did the track," K-Riley says. "The next thing I knew, I had to change my single."
Riley's fighter mentality was something he has had since his very first breath -- literally. "I was born with a heart condition," K-Riley reveals. "You have three valves to breath and I got two, so I've been fighting off gate, and that what still pushes me know." He still managed to run track and play ball, never letting anything get him down. That's the reason why he feels like he's been fighting uphill his whole life.
In 1995, he was putting out music through a disc printing company, trying to break his way into the hip-hop scene. He continued hustling until he met the owner of Aristocrat Records. "I was doing mixtapes and driving to Detroit, Columbus, Cleveland, and I guess they seen me working, what I was doing and that I wasn't going to give up. Then this cat came and asked me what it was going to take [to sign me]. I'm a street n---- and we already in the club, so I'm not trying to get sold a dream. So I said like, 'two, three hundred thousand,'" K-Riley says. "A couple weeks went by. He called and said, 'Let's sit down and talk,' and I was like, 'let's see what's popping.' Since then, I've been off to the races."
With all the so-called claims of hip-hop being "dead" and all its "studio fakers," K-Riley sees a lack of respect missing from the culture. "Right now, the average cat in the game doesn't have the love or respect for the people who came before. I don't think cats remember. I remember when you had to learn how to rap first. Now you just got to have money and to me that's bullsh--," the Cincinnati emcee explains. "My favorite rappers could rap period and I got a lot of respect for that. Certain artists still give me the chills when I hear their sh-- and that's what keeps me focused."
Respect is what he is fighting for now as he tries to tackle the music industry. As the Reds start warming up from the off-season, K-Riley is showing the world what he is about and just as those Reds continue fighting to put Cincinnati on the map, so will Riley. "For my city, it's time for us to stand up and for everybody to listen. They need to hear this city from cops killing cats without weapons and all the snitching. I feel like we are a grimy city," K-Riley states. "The Isley Brothers come from here, and James Brown and Bootsy Collins used to record here. This city has a story and I want to bring it back."
Incredible determination is what Riley is bringing to the table. You put that with production from Jazze Pha and Manny Fresh, and Cincinnati can blow like Pablo was there.
Scouting Report
K-Riley hass swagger music all the way and you can here it in the tone of his voice. His wordplay is nice and his punch-lines are sure to draw a lot of "Ohhh's." His hooks are catchy and with people like Jim Jones and Gucci Mane working with you, it's hard not to miss complemented with production from Jazze Pha, Don P from Trillville, and Manny Fresh. If the right people stay behind him and push his project, the sky is the limit for K-Riley.
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