KP Illest talks music distribution, ‘Kill Your Television 4’
KP ILLEST is one of those rare creatives who are immensely talented in their craft and highly focused on the business aspect.
Since the beginning of his long career, the hip-hop artist has done more than rapping, with the early formation of his own record label Illest Entertainment in 2019. There, he records and produces tracks for young upcoming artists, mixes and masters as a sound engineer and has had a hand in pushing some of the hottest acts to the forefront.
With his next project on the horizon, the fourth mixtape from his popular ‘Kill Your Television’ series, he hopes to make even more moves with music international distribution giant TuneCore, not just for himself but also for the industry at large.
Besides, he says, it is a great opportunity for local artists to earn real and serious cash for their efforts, so he will be working with the company to grow Namibian music.
“TuneCore gives you, as an artist,
100% of the sales and that’s the most important thing for me,” he said, comparing the profit-sharing system to others that often take a cut off the sales. He added that he hoped to expand his brand and business to one that connects other musicians to money-making opportunities such as these.
‘Kill Your Television 4’ is expected out on 3 September.
The project features the likes of KP Illest’s mentor King Tee Dee, fellow rapper Skrypt, a vocalist from Botswana, HanC, and Nigerian superstar Ice Prince.
“I did a song in Otjiherero as an ode to my roots and I also rapped in Swahili. Being half Kenyan, it’s something that I’ve never really done because I’ve always thought that people here don’t really speak the language, but I decided to do it anyway for my own family here,” he says.
‘Kill Your Television 4’ will be distributed by TuneCore and its reception will be used as a blueprint for the company to tailor its services to the country. KP is excited about this as he says it will create major opportunities for local acts, such as making it easier for them to be added to global playlists on sites like Apple Music and Spotify and reaching a wider audience.
* Anne Hambuda is a poet, writer and social commentator from Windhoek, Namibia. Follow her online for more.
