Catch up with South Carolina-based rapper and vocalist Keith' More-Fire and listen to his latest single, "Sugar", off his forthcoming sophomore EP, Six 20.
What got you interested in music?
Keith' More-Fire: My whole family was really into music, honestly. My uncle and my dad had this little band back in New York and, from there, I just picked up the traits that they had; like, my dad used to rap and my uncle used to do beats and stuff and then my other uncle used to do piano and junk and stuff like that, so it all just came together.
Do you remember the first song you wrote that you were happy with?
The first song that I wrote, gosh, that's a long time ago. I'm not gonna lie [laughs], I don't think I can remember the very first song because I write so many, but the first one I was happy with, it was this old song that I wrote called "One To Me". I released it in 2010 and, oh my gosh, it was, it was so horrible. I am so glad that nobody can listen to that no more.
Which musicians have you been influenced by?
Nowadays, it's these new artists. Definitely J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar, they're really bringing the old school back into it, like the love for the actual music back into music; some people just do music just to do music or rhyme with something just to rhyme with it and they do it for money instead of the actual passion behind it, so I'd say them two. And, older artists, like Bow Wow is one of my biggest inspirations because he was a kid and then he grew up into the music and he definitely put down a lot of roots. I know a lot of people did not have faith in kids when it came to music, but he was one of the people that actually laid down the groundwork for that.
How would you describe your own sound?
I don't know. I think my style is pretty different. It's really different than other people in the genre of hip-hop because not a lot of people in hip-hop include other things like jazz elements or pop elements; not a lot of people can incorporate and incorporate it good, so I'd say I'm really different from those. I like saying that I can definitely compare myself to Wiz Khalifa, because he always likes to switch it up and he always puts other elements in everything else and he incorporates it into his music and has his own unique style and own unique sound.
What were your inspirations behind your single and the video for "Sugar"?
Andre 3000's "Hey Ya". That's like number 1. "Hey Ya", that song was a masterpiece; I loved it from start to finish and the music video just brought so much funk and so much fun, it inspired me to make a fun-filled music video for "Sugar". In reality, what we did, nothing was actually rehearsed and we all basically freestyled it. We just got a bunch of people together and we were like, you do that, you do that - the only people that did have something laid down was the dancers, their choreography and stuff like that - and we all just freestyled it. It was really fun too.
Could you tell us more about your Six 20 EP?
It's really different from my last EP and my last album and everything about this, it's like I've matured. You have "Sugar" which is definitely one of the evolving songs that I've done, I've never done nothing like it and I really added a lot of other elements into it which made it so different and the next single coming out is going to prove, even more, that I have evolved into something way different than what I was with my other music. I think people will like it though.
Is there a track off this record that you're most excited for your fans to hear?
Oh, yes, of course. The next single actually. I don't know if I should say the name... Nah, I'm not going to say the name yet. It is coming out really, really soon, along with the music video for it. I know that, if people love "Sugar" for what it is, this next single is really going to hit it on the head; it really goes hand in hand. I like the way that I planned this one, because people are going to really see where it's going to go, so this next single is going to be a big surprise for everybody.
What do you hope your listeners and fans are able to take away from your music?
I have a lot of life lessons in it. If not life lessons, I have a lot of wisdom and knowledge to teach people and the fact that I have the voice and the talent to put it into music to where people can hear it, I'm really glad that I can do that and I'm going to do that 110% because a lot of people, they have that talent or they have that voice and they don't use it. I know a lot of public speakers that really speak about the wrong thing so, with my talent and my voice, I'm going to do it for good.
Is there anything you want to add?
Just to let everybody know that a tour is coming soon and I definitely am going to love meeting everybody that listens to Six 20 and "Sugar" and the next single. Honestly, all my fans, I can't wait to meet them.
