Manny King John
GRUNGECAKE recently spoke to the ‘Continental sound pioneer’ King Perryy. The singer is currently and boldly experimenting with his ‘continental sound’ as he tries to establish himself as a worthy candidate in the upper echelon of African music; while consciously making it clear he isn’t an artist “to be boxed within a particular music genre”.
King Perryy is setting his sights on global dominance and the ‘Yawa’ singer is working towards being mentioned in the same bracket as world-beaters like Muhammad Ali, Fela, and Bob Marley. He also has a thing for Dutch fashion, and w**d.
Over a Zoom call, King Perryy talks to GRUNGECAKE while driving on the ever-busy streets of Lagos; a state which is referred to as the commercial, entertainment and industrial hub of his native country, Nigeria. In our chat with the singer, who doesn’t “want to be boxed within a particular music genre”, he talked about how he created his debut album, ‘Citizen of the World’, cities he’d like to visit, his future aspirations, and lots more. Get familiar with King Perryy.
GRUNGECAKE: We’ll like to get into your album, ‘Citizen of the World’, we’d like to know where you’ve traveled to so far and where you plan on traveling to?
King Perryy: The first thing with this album is, ‘Citizen of the World’ is not just a project, it’s an identity. This is me saying I should do certain things with the craft and bring different people from different parts of the world together. We have the likes of Muhammad Ali, Fela Kuti, and Bob Marley, people who did things that the world listened to at certain times and now our legends likes of Wizkid, and Burna Boy. So this is me with my craft trying to bring different people of the world together because there are no boundaries with this.
GRUNGECAKE: So, where do you want to go specifically?
King Perryy: I want to go to Morocco, Tokyo, some places in Rwanda, and Amsterdam. I’d like to go to a lot of places.
GRUNGECAKE: So you named Morocco, Tokyo, and, Amsterdam, why these places? Are there specific artists you’d like to collaborate with from these places?
King Perryy: I know I have great fans in Amsterdam, I like beer and I’d like to smoke their weed. Also, the upstreet fashion there is going crazy, and I’d like to start my own thing with the whole continental stuff. So yeah, I’d like to make contacts with people outside the music. I want to go to Tokyo too because of the fashion and make music with them. So basically, that’s what my brand is about, going places, lifestyle and continental music is all about connecting with people from other parts of the world and collaborating with acts from other parts of the world, and make number one records in those countries.
GRUNGECAKE: So, do you consider yourself a new artist?
King Perryy: Every day, I’m brand new. That’s why I say to myself, so, every day I’m brand new whenever I make new music (laughs). I’m forever upcoming (laughs).
GRUNGECAKE: How long did it take you to create your ‘Citizen of the World’ album, and do you think by the time it was released it was everything you wanted it to be?
King Perryy: Yeah, I’ve been working on it for three years, and trust me I’ve been through all the emotions. Basically, the album changed the my life, the way I see things, the way I see life. It made me change the way I see my environment; now I see ‘world problems’. My religion right now is love, so I just want to make money, music, and feed my family.
GRUNGECAKE: So, I feel like you are trying to not be boxed within a particular music genre (Afrobeats), am I right?
King Perryy: Yes, I still make Afrobeats, but I still Reggae, so I make the continental sound, which is my sound. It’s like me saying you can’t box me, like I’m not of a particular place. I’m of the world.
GRUNGECAKE: So, the first song I heard from you was a Drill song ‘You Know The Fvcking Vibe’ with PsychoYP, are we going to hear more of such sound from you in the future?
King Perryy: I knew I could go hard on a Hip-Hop beat and I love Pop Smoke a lot [may his soul rest in peace]. After the whole ‘End SARS’, I needed a different energy. That day I was on my Instagram Live and I was speaking to my fans and I said I wanted to jump on drill music and people don’t really know I was that good on it. So, that was like the first thing I did [You Know The Fvcking Vibe] and after people were on my Instagram live saying, “Hey, put YP on that.” You know I’m dropping an EP on that just five songs. Five amazing Drill records.
GRUNGECAKE: Wow, is the EP coming this year or next year?
King Perryy: One thing about me is I work with the Universe. So, there’s no set time for now.
GRUNGECAKE: Are you still with Dem Mama Records?
King Perryy: Yes, I am. I and Timaya are family. We are mostly together.
GRUNGECAKE: Are there any American artists you’d like to work with?
King Perryy: I know I want to work with Justin Bieber. We would create a mad record. I also like Jorja Smith from the United Kingdom. Also, I’d like to work Chronixx.
GRUNGECAKE: So, you spell your name with two ‘y’s’. Why’s that?
King Perryy: I feel like the name with the double ‘y’ makes me stand out.
GRUNGECAKE: Should we be expecting more videos from the album?
King Perryy: Yeah, there’s a documentary coming from the album. There are music videos coming from the album as well. There’s also a merch coming out as well. It’s going to be on Amazon.
GRUNGECAKE: Is there anything you’d like to clear the air about or anything people should know about you?
King Perryy: Ermm, so, a lot of people don’t know that I talk. That’s another side of me. That’s another side of me, I think.
