Today we’d like to introduce you to Kris LaMarr.
Hi Kris, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My journey into the creative world started when I was a child, I was often alone in my room because my mom worked a lot. It gave me a lot of time and space to create my own worlds, and I wanted to find outlets to express them. But if we’re being honest, I didn’t even start out with music haha, I was more so indulging in drawing, painting, dancing and poetry prior and I even attended a performing arts academy for it at one point. As I grew older my passion for writing began to outweigh my passion for my other talents so I started to focus in on that more. I didn’t really get into recording music until like high school when I met my homie Jasper and he helped me put out my first song “B.I.G. Dreams” After that I just kept experimenting with different sounds and styles throughout the years. I didn’t really find my bag until I put out this song called “Hoopty” and “I Got Drive ” and I got a good amount of feedback from my supporters. But wanting to expand on that style I took some time to myself to cultivate my craft. Things didn’t really pop off for me until like late 2019 when I got picked up on tour by another artist named Mike Fate, after that, I got signed with an artist management label called “Top Shelf Or Die” and started working on my debut album “AutoBops” throughout 2020 that I released in November 2021 on all platforms. As of late I’ve been working on a western based E.P that I plan to release this summer.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Definitely not a smooth road being a musician, and being a rapper at that fasho makes it difficult, from initially dealing with judgments from loved ones, mental health declines, and fallouts with loved ones as I began to prioritize music more. It’s really hard pursuing music sometimes when you don’t have the people who inspired you in your circle anymore ya know? But a majority of the adversities dealt with on my journey revolved around my confidence in my talents as an artist. Not having a lot of help initially I started learning to do a lot on my own such as making my own recording studio, and learning how to create my own music videos, from the directing to the editing. But in all honesty, just investing this much into music without ever really knowing if it’ll be worth it or not always lingers in the back of my head. I feel like we as artist often dig so deep within ourselves to produce these pieces of art to a world that consumes faster than it can process, and having to give something as meaningful as my music to a world like that, can genuinely be scary at times.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think what people should know about my work is how meticulous and detailed I am with what I make, and I believe that meticulous nature is what separates me from others, like I really take time to world build sonically. In the studio I’m basically an executive engineer and I often get into it with my engineers about the most miniscule things regarding textures, blends, or timing, im sort of a perfectionist. Although that part of me can definitely be a bit to handle at times working with me often creates a learning environment where both parties can benefit. Another important thing is my lyrical content, on the surface it mainly consists of cars and being on the road but I take these themes and give them much more depth by correlating it all to the different aspects of life that I and a lot of others deal with. Life is one big journey where you can’t see what’s up ahead of you on the road and the only clear view you can get is out your rearview. My intentions are to take my listeners and put them in the perspective of the passenger seat riding with me through every mile, route, twist, turn, drift, crash, and breakdown; discovering things about ourselves we didn’t realize prior along the way. I take a lot of time to create that feeling of being on the road through the sounds, textures, alternative styles, and wordplay that I utilize in music.
Outside of music, I’ve recently merged my way into the fashion industry as a model and fashion stylist last year with much success after having a portrait I modeled in make it into several art galleries across the country including Detroit’s own Scarab Club. Since then I’ve modeled for several local clothing lines and cannabis brands. As far as fashion styling I’ve styled over 20 models in my time so far, and had my looks in a few fashion shows. Developing such a love for clothing I decided to cultivate my own small business of my own as a vintage retailer in the city called Kristos Kloset.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I’m really big on philosophy and spirituality and I often listen to Allen Watts, Terrence McKenna, and plenty of audio books regarding emotional intelligence, stoicism, existentialism and mindset to help change my perspectives while moving about through the world. Also, this book called the “Celestine Prophecy” that I was told about while on I was tour. But the first book to ever have an impact on me was “The Song of Salomon ” a good friend of mine suggested it, and really set the tone for me moving forward. “If you wanna fly, you got to give up shit the that weighs you down”.
Contact Info:
- Email: kris.lamarr@gmail.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/krislamarr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1krislaMarr/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/1krislamarr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/EscapismMusicGroup
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/fYzLG
- Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/krislamarr/autobops-kartunes-of-self-love–loathe
Image Credits
Perellvision
