Interview: kahlee + d.o.f. + dunn deal promotions

San Diego-based, Gardena, California-bred rapper Kahlee presents the Eyekon Fotography-directed music video for the remix of “Baring My Soul”, a song from his new album Blessed featuring Sabac Red of Non-Phixion, Uptown Swuite, CookBook (LA Symphony), Awdbawl and I.Sheik (Revolution of the Mind). The remix comes courtesy of Digital Martyrs, the Bay Area production team behind Kahlee’s forthcoming remix album Blessed: Remixed By Digital Martyrs. Kahlee’s other releases include Man Of Many Hats, The Seedand Here I Am. Kahlee’s performed alongside Snoop Dogg, Cypress Hill, Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, Murs, Dilated Peoples and Immortal Technique. His music has appeared on The Wake Up Show, DJ Premier’s Live From Headqcourterz show, the Showtime series All Access – Mayweather V. Maidana 2, and will appear in The Challenger. “I guess I made this song to let people know that they’re not the only ones going through problems with there family or loved ones,” Kahlee says. “I think suicide is more common than most think. I remember always feeling like no one understood what I was going through. I feel like knowing you’re not the only one is sometimes enough to push you towards a less negative direction.”Click here for a video fo “Kahlee” speaking on the project..

What inspired you to do a remix album?

From the beginning I knew I wanted the album remixed. I wanted the songs to have different styles, not just from the original project, but from each song. Some tracks have more than one remix.

How did you hook up with Digital Martyrs?

I hooked up with Digital Martyrs through my uso, Uptown Swuite. We have a group called The Seed and we're also in a crew called The Fresh State. He was working a lot with Digital Martyrs and I ended up jumping on a couple tracks with them. When it came to the remix album, I wanted them to do it, because they have such a diverse mix of styles. 

How has your music appearing in TV shows and movies really helped your career?

Aside from a little money in my pockets, I've made some solid connects and met some dope people who were willing to school me to the licensing business a bit. But the promo is also great. Any awareness of my brand is a plus. Which is why it's so important to promote whatever product I'm involved in. Presentation is key, so if I have a few songs in a movie, commercial or TV show, I'm gonna def promote it through word of mouth and with IG videos, tweets, etc.

What are some of the stereotypes you run into as a Latino rapper? What’s your perspective on them?

It's been a while since I've felt or noticed any of the stereotypes. When I started rhyming they called it "Chicano rap" which in my eyes (and many others) translated to "cholo rap" a lot of the time. The latino emcees I was into were like 2Mex, Chino XL, Beatnuts or of course Cypress Hill and Psycho Realm. I'm sure the Chicano Rap scene is still popping, but the Latino presence in the Southern Cali Hip-Hop scene is pretty strong from a lyrical standpoint nowadays which is pretty fresh. I've always been more into "bars than cars" when it came to Hip-Hop. 

Where do you see yourself in ten years?

Ten years from now, musically, I will have accomplished many of my goals as well as a few acting roles and directing some films. Proof of Life Radio will be a staple in the worldwide Hip-Hop community as well as PlatformCollection.com for holding down a network of artist-ran businesses, being one the largest conglomerates of audio and visual programming direct to your TV screen, as well as a premier web destination for who's hot and next to break as far as Hip-Hop and entertainment in general... amongst other things.