The Break Presents – Kay Flock
Seeing peers shine is inspiring, and can make an aspiring rapper think success is possible. While in juvenile detention in early 2020, Bronx rapper Kay Flock caught wind of fellow Boogie Down artists Lil Tjay and PnV Jay taking off. Kay felt inspired, but wasn't fully committed to music just yet. Once he was a free man in March of last year, he still wasn't really focused on music, but headed to the studio by the urging of his childhood friend B-Lovee, a rising Bronx drill rapper who is also buzzing now.
The first song Kay Flock ever dropped was "FTO" last May. The rap newcomer's distinctive voice and aggressive delivery over the instrumental for 22Gz's "Blixky Gang Freestyle" was a perfect fit for the drill movement. While Kay was just beginning to figure out how to make music, his talent was immediately recognized. He posted the song to the Triller app and Lil Tjay shared it, effectively opening the door for the young rhymer to pick up momentum around New York City and beyond.
Just a few months later, Kay dropped "Opp Spotter" with B-Lovee, and was already noticeably better at rapping. That video has 3.4 million views now, but the song that put him on the map was the release of "Brotherly Love" with B-Lovee and their close friend Dougie B this past March. All three artists shine on the track, and the video has garnered over 8 million views and nearly 3 million Spotify streams.
The success of "Brotherly Love" put the battery in Kay Flock's back, and he followed up with "PSA," "Being Honest" and the raucous "Is Ya Ready," his biggest song yet with over 9 million YouTube views and 3 million Spotify streams. All of these songs were released in the midst of Kay signing to Capitol Records this past July. He officially moved up to the big leagues.
Kay Flock just dropped his debut project, The D.O.A. Tape, in early November, and got G Herbo to jump on the remix of "Being Honest." In addition to that, he's featured on Lil Tjay's latest single, "Not In The Mood" featuring Fivio Foreign. The track climbed to No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking Kay's first time on the chart.
As all the stars continue to align for young Kay Flock, he sat down with XXL over Zoom to share a little more about himself for this week's The Break.
Age: 18
Hometown: Bronx, N.Y.
I grew up listening to: "Chief Keef, [Lil] Durk, other rappers like Biggie. My stepfather used to play a lot of Jeezy."
My style’s been compared to: "[King] Von. Niggas be saying my deep voice, I don't where they get that, Pop Smoke. My voice not that deep."
I’m going to blow up because: "Before I got the label [deal], I was doing it myself, dropping shit, and it got me here. So I know if it got me here, it's only gon' get better."
What’s your most slept-on song, and why?: "The first song I dropped, 'FTO.' That shit about to hit a mil, probably. That shit's slept-on. They should listen to that. It don't got the views that all the other ones got. It went from 300 [thousand] and the shit got almost a million views, I think they was looking."
My standout records to date have been: "'Not In The Mood' is one, 'Being Honest,' 'Is Ya Ready,' 'Brotherly Love.' I got some shit on the way, I promise you. Like three, four singles before the year end."
My standout moments to date have been: "MSG, Meek Mill. Shout-out Mill for bringing me out. And Rolling Loud. I wasn't even nervous though, I was happy more. I'm not gon' lie, I was nervous a little bit, but not to the point where I'm scared to perform. That was my first big show, but that shit felt good. I went out there, did what I had to do. They would turn up right with me."
Most people don’t know: "I'm a calm person. Everybody think I'm a mean person. I'm not a comfortable person. I don't like getting comfortable, I'll never get comfortable. The way I move, everything is different. You have to get to know me to really know I'm a calm person."
I’m going to be the next: "Hottest thing out, ever."
Follow Kay Flock on SoundCloud and Instagram.
Standouts:
Kay Flock, Dougie B and B-Lovee's "Brotherly Love"
"Is Ya Ready"
Lil Tjay's "Not In The Mood" featuring Fivio Foreign and Kay Flock
The D.O.A. Tape