Rapper Kevin Lavell admits he’s had an “on the fence” type of upbringing. He says it was either “you got it or you don’t got it.” Coming from the good and bad parts of Chicago, there were times where he was up like a lost kite. Then, there were times when he was down like the Titanic. Internally, this made him recognize both perspectives; develop a diverse outlook on life. When Kevin Lavell embarked on his rap journey, he had a list of things he knew he didn’t want to be. It was when he got suspended from school that he turned his focus on becoming a rapper. “When you get suspended, you chilling. You get to sleep all day. So, you are thinking of something like “what am I going to do next?” Going up to the school wasn’t so fun anymore. After a while, I didn’t want to go up to the school no more just to be there. I had to do something. I was like “G, I can rap. Let me just sit here and perfect this.”” For the next 12-months, Kevin Lavell spent the time exploring hip-hop music. He was finding out why fans like certain types of music versus others. This was critical for him. At that point, Kevin Lavell had no real direction. What helped him jump start his career, however, was a short Facebook clip of him rapping. One day at school, a friend videotaped him and uploaded the clip onto the social media network. Humbly, he says that video got 15 likes and maybe 4 comments. Somehow, this was the motivation he needed to keep going and putting out more music clips. Eventually, he started getting 1,000 likes. It was an Instagram post, however, that garnered him the hugest shout out. “One day I was playing on Instagram. I made a video of me beating on the wall, singing “I don’t want no thot. A thot is a b*tch that can’t get no love from me.” It ended up getting 5 million views on YouTube, 2 million on Vine. It was all over the world. People was dancing to it. Kandi Burruss, from “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” put me on her Instagram. A lot of stuff was just happening that just threw me in the mix.” Now, becoming a full-blown hip-hop artist was inevitable. Kevin Lavell took what he’d learned studying the art form and used it to cultivate his own songs. While working out of Patchwerk Studios in Atlanta, GA, by chance, he linked up with music producer Zaytoven. Zaytoven’s engineer was working on Kevin’s session. The two linked up and put down about five songs. Two of the songs landed on his Sorry 4 Nothing mixtape. J. Cole, Drake, Wale, Kanye West, and Jay Z, he says, has greatly inspired his drive and musicality. If he had a chance to collaborate with an artist of the female persuasion, he insists that Nicki Minaj would be his top choice. Outside of the hip-hop giants he’s studied, Kevin Lavell isn’t in a rush to feature various artists on his projects. His plan is to carve out his own sound and allow the masses to get to know him first. And, you got to respect that. “Muscle,” which features Young Dro, has helped propel Kevin Lavell onto more DJ sets and club spins. But, that hard-hitting track is just the tip of the iceberg for this young man. His strategy is quite different from what we’ve seen out of Chicago. With his balanced perspective, it’s going to be interesting to see how his career progress. Sorry 4 Nothing is out now! For more information on Kevin Lavell, visit www.kevinlavell.com.
