Today we’d like to introduce you to Kao Ra Zen.
Kao, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was a Winter baby from the projects. I was always drawing, writing, and dreaming. Playin’ my mom’s vinyl, and there were still even 8-track tapes around. A lotta hours were spent reading comic books, Stephen King novels, listening to FM radio, or rappin’ to the instrumentals on the B-side of ’45 records.
A lotta musically inclined folks in my family. Mom was a singer, grandmother slapped the bass. It was just always around. I had the red Michael Jackson jacket from the “Beat It” video and I would perform in talent shows. I would rap wit’ my schoolmates in the lunchroom, makin’ beats on the table with our hands. Being known as a dope rapper was of paramount importance throughout grade school. I was the skinny weird kid who could rap.
Writing was a way to express myself and rappin’ was a way to speak my mind, talk some shit, tell my story, and to help me understand the world and all of the happenings in it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have certainly been challenges, for that is what composes a life. When I was a lot younger, it was definitely a challenge try’na figure out who I actually was and how to actually be that person. Livin’ in the poverty-stricken, gang-ridden projects wasn’t the easiest road for a sensitive poet, but I really appreciate the opportunity to experience the world from that perspective. Those kinds of circumstances toughen you up in a lotta ways. But my challenges are mine as every person has theirs.
Maintaining creative outlets while also being a seemingly responsible adult is also a helluva challenge, but I have reached a sorta balance between the disparate areas of my life, and have been able to work, perform, take classes, plan events, and get the necessary zen time in.
Sometimes, the challenge is stepping out of your comfort zone to develop as a poet, a performer, a painter, and a person.
xxxspiritmental muzik – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I have been writing, composing, performing, and recording songs for various projects as well as my upcoming solo album. I released my first official digital single online last year. The song is called “Live Forever / The Lifestream” from my own label ‘xxxspiritmental muzik’ and is available on all of the major online music stores and streaming services. Check it out if you are into boom bap and underground Hip-Hop. Much of what I do musically I guess you could call alternative rap, but subject matter and styles vary, though quite a bit of my content is socially and politically charged. I have had the good fortune of having my friend and fellow poet Carl Colvin accompany me on oboe for many of my recent shows. I also have been working on a lot of new songs with producer Professor K, who has joined me for many performances with his keyboard and sampler.
Over the years, I have been a part of Hip Hop crews like the Nacrobats, founded by Pugs Atomz. I formed a group called Krucible Kulture with some of my good friends and we recorded quite a bit of material.
This Summer I will be going back to El Salvador with the Pilgrim Lutheran Church and School on their annual mission trip there. I will be a part of the solar panel team, led by my friend Scott Russell.
I had poetry published in a collection called ‘Not My President – The Anthology of Dissent’ by Thoughtcrime Press. This book featured work from writers and illustrators, both amateur and professional, and part of the goal of the publisher was to mail a copy to the president as well as every member of Congress. I had a poem included in the ‘Illinois’s Best Emerging Poets’ collection by Z Publishing and was also one of a few contributors to be selected for their upcoming ‘America’s Best Emerging Poets’ anthology. Eventually, I plan to release a collection of my own writings.
I was fortunate to have been awarded a Presidential Merit Scholarship and will be starting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago this upcoming Fall in pursuit of my BFA. I am excited to get in there and take some interesting classes and allowing the experience of being in that school help me develop further as a writer, a musician, a performer, a painter, and an activist.
I have an event coming up towards the end of the year called ‘Hippy Holy Daze’. This will be my 3rd year in a row hosting this event and it will be an all ages, all-inclusive event featuring some of my favorite local music acts as well as visual art, installations and such. My friend Ritchie Coad took my ideas and designed a dope logo for t-shirts and I want ‘Hippy Holy Daze’ to become more of a brand. I love how people come together to help make it happen and it showcases different kinds of dope visual art and raw kick ass acts of different musical genres all rockin’ the same stage. But in a chill enough environment that your Pastor pal and his daughter can attend.
Over the last few years, I have been a part of the International Art Group (IAG), founded by German painter and performance artist Marianna Buchwald. With IAG, I have been involved in many art exhibitions, performance showcases, film screenings, workshops, and residencies in Chicago and Germany. I appreciate the opportunity to present my own work as well as present the work of others. Our annual ‘Culture Bridge’ art show at the DANK Haus usually includes the work of around 50 local and international artists. Through IAG, I have met artists of many styles and disciplines.
Until recently, I had been dancing with a Middle Eastern dance troupe at Alhambra Palace, and that experience helped me develop as a performance artist. Learning choreography, wearing different outfits, and attending regular rehearsals, and having to improvise in a live music setting was something that I greatly benefitted from. Hanging out with belly dancers have only made me a better all-around performer!
I have also done some modeling and acting, and I am just usually open to trying different things. I am involved in many things, but all of the threads seem to be coming together as I continue to figure out my artistic identity.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success is using your will to mold a fulfilling life for yourself. Of course, that means something different for different people. As far as my creative pursuits are concerned, success will mean continuing to capitalize on the opportunity to express myself in various forms to share my heart and my worldview. Being in a position of being acknowledged as a rapper with something to say worth hearing by others is an example of success. Leaving words and images behind that can live on when I am gone will mean that I have been successful.
Getting poetry published, having paintings exhibited, having people ponder on something that I said in a song, are all examples of success to me.
I have been involved in various projects including hosting free art workshops in neighborhoods like Englewood and Rogers Park, to installing solar panels for homes in El Salvador. Being able to be a part of something that helps to enrichen someone’s day or perhaps improve someone’s circumstance in life is definitely fulfilling for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaorazen.bandcamp.com
- Phone: 312-256-5742
- Email: kao_ra_zen@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kaorazen
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaorazenartandlife
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/kaorazen
Image Credit:
Michael Marinelli, Javier Enriques, Warren Perlstein, Cory Byers
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