After releasing a handful of singles over the last year, rising Philadelphia phenom KIR drops his new 8-track EP titled “Hometown Hero”. The project comes with the news of KIR reaching over 4 million views on his YouTube channel. Check out our exclusive interview with KIR now below!

Q: What were you up to in high-school? 
KIR: High school was more like a in the middle space for me. I was selling drugs but at the same time tryna be a athlete. Eventually trapping put me in a hard place n got me kicked outta school. 

Q: Was a career in music always the plan? 
KIR: To be honest no I was a full time basketball player in college. Music wasn’t the plan at all. I had a friend who rapped (who I managed) and I just felt like he wasn’t hungry enough. I scheduled a session for him he never showed up, so I just got in da booth to see what I could do. The rest is history. 

Q: In your opinion, what are some of the advantages or disadvantages of the music scene in Philadelphia? 
KIR: Starting with the advantages would be there’s a lot of people who you can link with in Philadelphia who are on the music scene. There’s also a lot of opportunity though people may not see it. You have to be dug in or know someone who is. The disadvantage is if you don’t have a connected manager or team member then yu have to work 30x as harder (which in the end won’t b a disadvantage in my opinion). Also the egos, everybody looks at it like they wanna b the king of the city n they don’t wanna connect with other artists until it’s to late. Being arrogant in my opinion is good at times because you have to know your worth. But majority of the artist do it in wrong situations. We have a powerhouse when it comes to rappers. If we used that the door could be open for plenty more artists. 

Q: Your EP “Hometown Hero” is doing numbers right now! Why did you title it that? 
KIR: My EP is called “Hometown Hero” because where I come from to most people it’s about strictly the trap. You gotta get your feet wet or you’re gonna drown. It ain’t no stay out the way you gotta get in the mix and get your hands dirty. I have been through it myself but I just wanted to change the narrative for all my youngins around the hood. To show them it’s definitely a way outta this you just gotta know what you want. My homie called me a neighbourhood hero one day and it stuck with me and to be honest even if people don’t say it they look at me like a motivation, no one wants to say I’m their hero lol their more comfortable saying motivation. But I don’t wanna advocate for just my hood but my whole city. Thus came the name Hometown Hero. 

Q: Your music details your rugged journey to becoming one of the city’s most accomplished new artists. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learnt to date? 
KIR: I appreciate it and the biggest lesson I’ve learned in music would be know what YOU want. What everyone else has to offer or wants for you matters sometimes because it may be beneficial BUT if it doesn’t line up with what you want for yourself and your career you can be living someone else’s dream. Live yours. Know what YOU WANT. 

Q: What inspires you the most?
KIR: What inspires me the most is wanting to break the generational curse in my circle or family with death and jail  and motivating the streets, giving people the motivation to get out when you can and do the same thing I’ve done. 

Q: What are your long-term goals? 
KIR: I already have my own label and that’s what comes first in any negotiation. My long term goal is definitely to accomplish a lot in Music but I also would love to switch my career eventually to acting and other business ventures. This is the career I want but it’s also a stepping stone.