HIP HOP’S SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM
K-Rino started out his career in the Mid 1980s Houston Texas right when Rap-A-Lot was getting their feet wet in the game. His lyrical gift is virtually unmatched in Hip Hop as he can hold his own with anyone, in fact I can’t think of another artist who has dropped 7 full length albums all on the same day. K has dropped so many solo albums, collaborations, and South Park Coalition projects to easily put him over the top when it comes to actual projects released. His latest project is not an album but rather a book Life Lessons & Lyrics, detailing his musical journey and is packed with stories about his life shedding light on who he is as a person.
George Floyd was part of the Screwed Up Click, what has been the reaction to his murder in Houston?
The reaction in Houston is people are pretty shook up and devastated because he was a brother that a lot of people knew and he was a brother who had a lot of respect in the city. I actually didn’t know that it was him until a friend of mine made me aware of it. I always called him Floyd, I never called him by his first name because I used to play ball with him from time to time. When I was made aware of who it was it doubled the impact for me because I had no idea that he was even up in Minnesota in the first place so I was shocked.
Over the years you have spoken about police brutality in your music
Another thing we are facing right now is a pandemic. You have spoken about this in your music, but did you ever think that the whole world would be affected by something like this?
I’m so thankful for the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad because nothing that we see , even though it stops us in our tracks because we have never lived through anything like this, but nothing that we see comes as a surprise to us because it’s already been tough for us that these types of things would occur. This Covid-19 deal unfortunately is just the beginning.
In your book Life, Lessons, & Lyrics you really open up about your personal life. You speak of your Grandma and how kind she was. What did you learn from her?
The spirit of giving was the main thing that always stood out to me. Her generosity! She was always willing to give her last.
You talk a lot about your Father LV in the book. One instance you were about to sign a deal and he felt disrespected by the guy you had the meeting with. What happened?
This label was located in Washington DC and this guy flew down here and came by himself and had no knowledge of who LV was. He was mainly talking from a business standpoint, but the way he worded it was disrespectful and arrogant. LV ain’t the type of guy that will let you slide with that. He brought it the way he knew to bring it and it had to be established immediately that you are not gonna talk to me like that. After that the guy never came back down to Houston all the communication was done with him over the phone after that. It was funny to me, I was trying to be professional and not laugh at the same time.
You talk about your Rap Battles in the book. One story in particular you battled some rappers in Baltimore at a Willie D video shoot who were disrespecting the South. What went down?
At that time there was a constant narrative that rappers in the South didn’t have any rap skills. By that time the Geto Boys already went platinum and for it to be 1992 and these guys still put that label on us, I think they were in a place in their mind of comfort because they didn’t know who I was from a hole in the wall. I challenged both of them and beat both of them. By the middle of the battle they tried to change the narrative and say it was a cypher. I would hope now that day gave them a different perspective moving forward.
You are dropping albums all the time! You’re the only artist to drop 7 albums on one day! The consistency and longevity you have is incredible!
I appreciate that! That’s the key to me! I think part of the reason why I am able to do it is because I grew up on people I looked up to as my favorite rappers and they would drop consistently and then they would just stop. You could always depend on an album every year and after about 3 or 4 albums in for whatever reason either the releases would slow down or just stop. I never wanted to do that to my fan base because they will always know that they can count on me for an album every year. You may get two, or three but you will always get one.
The Longevity of the South Park Coalition as a whole is amazing because so many of you have been dropping albums all the time for decades!
It’s a two way street because we have an obligation as the artists to keep providing good music and if we provide good music then the fans fulfill their obligation to keep supporting it. What keeps us going is we didn’t stop and say “Ok man I’m 35 now time to stop rappin.” We kept doing what we loved to do and our fan base grew with us and then younger fans latched onto the movement. It keeps you going when you get that support from new generations.
DJ Screw created his own genre and went to your school. What was he like in his earlier years?
He was a couple years under me so he was in 9th when I was in the 11th grade but we would run into each other in the hallways or maybe during lunch. He gravitated towards me because of the rap. When we would battle he would be one of the cats just checking it out. When he introduced himself to me he was in the 9th grade and was already using the name DJ Screw. I was proud of him because he created something out of nothing and built something that the world is still familiar with and gravitating to now. When me and Dope-E dropped the C.O.D. album in 1990 on the tape we thanked DJ Screw. That’s my brother we go way back!
How did you get the idea to have the Black Book on many of your album covers?
I did it on the C.O.D. cover in 1990 because I carried it everywhere I went. If I’m going somewhere I got that Black Book with me and it just made sense since that is what I was known for. By the time I got to my first solo, my second solo and all the way down it just became something I chose to do. When you see this book, my folder fulla lyrics, that’s my foundation, it started it all. It keeps me grounded and lets me know where I came from.
“ I think part of the reason why I am able to do it is because I grew up on people I looked up to as my favorite rappers and they would drop consistently and then they would just stop. You could always depend on an album every year and after about 3 or 4 albums in for whatever reason either the releases would slow down or just stop. I never wanted to do that to my fan base because they will always know that they can count on me for an album every year. You may get two, or three but you will always get one. “ – K-RINO
Where can people follow you and get your book and music?
My twitter and YouTube channel is @therealkrino. You can order any CDs and my new book at
https://www.southparkcoalition.net
Story By Scott “Prez” Bejda
Photos Courtesy K-Rino