Keemo

Meet Rising South Florida and Miami Rapper

As Broward County has been holding the crown for rap and hip hop music in South Florida, Miami-Dade County’s Keemo has plans to change the momentum and shift the spotlight back towards Miami in South Florida’s rap scene. Just getting his feet off the ground, Keemo has been on a steady rise, growing by the day, while bringing something completely different to the table.

Relief for a generation of imitators and artists that jump on the next wave, Keemo makes sure his music stands out and most importantly stands the test of time.  In an interview with the up and coming Florida artist, Keemo talks about everything, from his upbringing in Miami, to his start in rap, to breaking down his top songs, to explaining South Florida’s culture and differences of Miami and Broward County.

keemo

Meet and Get To Know Keemo

Kulture Vulturez: So, you grew up in Miami?

Keemo: Yeah. Miami, Florida. Andover. Andover was my neighborhood.

Kulture Vulturez: Breakdown, how was it like growing up in Miami for you?

Keemo: You know, it’s the same everywhere. During that time, early 2000s, it was cool. Teenage parties, playing ball with your dawgs at the park and getting into stuff. Trying to figure it out, getting in trouble, doing what we weren’t supposed to do, you know, things like that. Hanging with the guys, messing with girls. Trying to figure out how to make some paper.

Kulture Vulturez: During your time growing up, were you around music or did you have any aspirations to be involved in music?

Keemo: I was around music, but a huge part of it was on my mom. When she used to pick me up from school when I was a kid she’d be playing all different types of music. That made me tune in with more sort of music I hadn’t discovered yet. Listening to Beyonce and Jay-Z albums and stuff like that. Then me, back in our time it was 106 and Park and MTV. Those things kind of motivated. Just knowing all of Lil Wayne mixtape series, every lyric, that is the type of stuff that inspired me, but a lot of it come from Lil Wayne.

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Keemo – Boujee ( Official Video )

Kulture Vulturez: Back then, were you listening to any artist from Florida’s rap scene?

Keemo: I mean, the Florida music scene, it wasn’t really big. Like the music that was mostly coming from here was local music. A lot of dance music and stuff like that. We didn’t have that many rappers that people listen to growing up personally. As far as Florida, I was listening to Iceberg, Rick Ross, and that was pretty much it. It wasn’t that many people down here that you were listening to at those times.

Kulture Vulturez: Seriously, when did you begin to pursue and become inspire to make music on your own?

Keemo: Seriously, probably after I graduated high school. I had went to college, I only did like one semester, I’m not even gonna hold you, I did one semester. You’re coming up and your parents telling you they want you to do this and do that, and you trying to make your parents proud. But that is not what you’re passionate about, right? Around that time, I was like, I am not feeling this. I want to do this (music), this is what I feel like I’m good at. I was doing it in middle school and high school.

I was always the one that everybody will turn to when they wanted to hear somebody freestyle. Those type of things led me into taking music serious. I really took it serious around, I would say 2017 and 2018, when I fully took it serious. But the years from 2014 to 2016, I was dabbling and trying to learn the flow, trying to get better. I was doing freestyles on Twitter. I got a little buzz from that and that made me keep going.

Kulture Vulturez: Were you ever nervous or had any reserves from being in college and then wanting to do something else?

Keemo: I wasn’t really nervous because I’m an optimistic soul. I just feel like you put your all into something it’s gonna make sense. It ain’t nothing really called a bad decision. You got to make the most out of what decision you make. It’s going to be bad based on how you you move. So, I wasn’t really nervous.

Kulture Vulturez: What has kept you motivated with ups and downs, and highs and lows in music?

Keemo: What keeps me motivated is just seeing progress. The little progress, things like this, me having an interview, you calling me, telling me I heard your music and its fire, you know that keeps me motivated. The idea of what what can happen if I keep on the right path, you know, actually accomplish this goal. Just seeing my people with their situations, their struggles, what they go through. The fact that I get better at it every time, that’s what keep me motivated.

Things keep happening, making more videos, being able to make more music, just seeing that grow. Instagram is like a diary, so when I go back there and I see I had two likes at this time, now I got this much likes. I didn’t even want to be on Instagram, but now I’m popping out every day. Those things keep me motivated because I know that as long as you stay consistent, you’re going to see progress.

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Keemo – Poor High Class (Official Video)

Kulture Vulturez: Growing up in Florida, do you feel any pressure to fit the mold of being a Florida rapper or you have no problem with being your own individual?

Keemo: It’s pressure to fit in, because it’s a hard crowd. I know a lot of people say it’s tough crowds everywhere, but just being down here is very tough. Everybody down here think they celebrities. Everybody believe they’re celebrity, everybody already feel they all that in the bag of chips. So, they’re looking at you, and you got to really prove yourself down here. We were just having this conversation, me and my man, we’ve been having these conversations frequently. It is a big pressure to fit in because a lot of people down here be like, “You got to rap more about violence, rap more about killings, rap more about that real shit.”

They don’t really gravitate towards me doing what I do, even though it’s not like I’m making pop music or nothing like that. Sometimes it don’t resonate, but it’s still real music. Sometimes you do feel that peer pressure to fit in, doing the lifestyle rapping, flaunting the jewelry, talking about the bitches, the cars, and the hoes, you know how it goes. But I say I just remain true to me, man, because I know there’s people out here that rock how I rock, they are going to feel me regardless.

Kulture Vulturez: Your biggest song is “Poor High Class.” Breakdown how that song came about?

Keemo: One of my dudes down here sent me a beat, and I was sitting on a pack for a minute. I couldn’t really get no inspiration. And then, you know, that poor high class line really came from Future when he was like, “We some poor high class n***** made to be rich.” So, it just stuck with me. It just felt like that’s what I needed to talk about. I need to talk about my upbringing, stuff my mama went through, stuff my dad went through because a lot of people always had a different outlook on my life.

Basically, they were thinking this n**** came up this way. He had a silver spoon or his life was easy. So, that was more so just like a personal song. For me, that was a venting song. I never really released that song to [get the reaction of], “Oh my God, this is hard a song.” It was more so me just spittin’.

Kulture Vulturez: Do you have a favorite song of yours, anything that stands out to you?

Keemo: Oh, not really. Because I’m always making another one. I really try to not make a favorite song because then I get stuck on that and then I’m over there trying to make all the songs sound like that. So, you know, I have songs that I mess with too.

Kulture Vulturez: Breakdown your recent release, the “Dirty K” freestyle?

Keemo: Basically, I just woke up one day. I was chilling. I just felt like, you know, my daily routine is if I ain’t going to the studio, if I ain’t doing nothing music related, then I try to write music, freestyle, or do something. Put in some type of work. One of my dawgs, I had hit him up and we were talking about that song. He was like, “I have been listening to this song 24/7.”

Every time I hear that, telling me it’s hard, I just listened to the beat and said let me see what I could do on this. That’s how that song came about. It was really quick. I wrote it in like 5 to 7 minutes. I wrote that freestyle, went to the studio, laid it down, sent it off, got it mixed and master. Decided to shoot a little visual so they could actually see me drop it.

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Keemo – “Dirty K Freestyle”

Kulture Vulturez: With you continuing to build your catalog, what are you looking forward to accomplishing?

Keemo: I just want to show them how much versatility I got inside of me. My next move, I’m gonna release another single. I actually released a single on Wednesday, you know, to continue the Wild Wednesday series. I did a cover to the song I Hate You. I did a cover, you know, my freestyle, my own twist on it. The next coming week, I should be releasing the single named “Pussy Money Weed.” Then in the month of October, I’m going to release a three song EP. Then, you know, drop, drop a little more content until I can drop my first project that I want to release to everybody titled Departure.

Kulture Vulturez: Do you have any aspirations outside of music or you’re just full fledged focus on your career as an artist?

Keemo: Well, right now we kind of dabbling in the rental business in Florida. We got a rental business. Me, my big brother, my main man, and a family friend. We right down here. We put out cars, the luxury rental car service.

Kulture Vulturez: So, what’s next for you as an artist? I know you just said you have some songs and new music coming out.

Keemo: I’m trying to get in these people face, man. Trying to get on these shows. Trying to get on these interviews. Trying to get on these Funk Master Flex, Hot 97, L.A. Leakers, and all these platform. Trying to let them know because, you know, I feel like if you really watch them, watch as history tells you don’t really see that many people coming out of Miami that really do this. It’s been a while. The last person, when everybody says Miami, the last person you can say is the City Girls. That’s it. You ain’t got no dude or no face that you can put on Miami.

Now, Broward is another thing. You know, that’s Kodak Black. That’s the FCG Heems. That’s the Lil Pumps or whatever. But as far as Miami, I’m trying to be the person that fills that void. Build that bridge for everybody else who’s coming up and feel like, yo, they different. They make an abstract type of music. They make more soul, neo soul type of music. They can feel more comfortable like that. Keemo paved the way because he did it his way. Down here, were reputable for Trina, Trick Daddy, Uncle Luke, and all that. I don’t feel like Miami done anything since those times really and truly. I just want to be the one to bridge that gap.

Kulture Vulturez: How do you feel Miami kind of lost its way? Its like Broward and Kodak, did all them take the shine away?

Keemo: We’ve been trying to figure that out, but I don’t really even know. I couldn’t really put my finger on what’s the issue. I just feel like it should be more of a mecca, like Atlanta and the other Down South places, like Alabama. I feel like it should be a mecca, but I don’t know what we are missing, but I’m hoping what we’re missing is me.

Kulture Vulturez: Is there a difference between Miami and Broward County? I always looked at it like South Florida is one big city, but I know it’s not.

Keemo: Do not say that down here, they don’t play. You can’t tell a Broward County dude he from Miami, or tell a Miami dude he from Broward County, since we was kids, though. At the same time, we all carry the same similarities. South Florida is just a beautiful place, man. It’s just beautiful. It’s different.

If you come here, a lot of people are going to tell you [South Florida] is its own state. Like it ain’t even part of the country, it’s a different place. Everybody’s different, everybody’s focus is different. If you’re from Miami, we ain’t really into that gang culture. Everybody’s just trying to get a buck, get a dollar. Everybody just wants to stand on business and be real to their self. Stand on their own, be real on their own.

Kulture Vulturez: That is about it for me or anything else you would like to share?

Keemo: We coming, just be ready. Be ready to hear more of Keemo, see more of Keemo, and get used being a Keemo fan.

Keemo

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