Q&A + MP3: thePhantom*

If anyone in the local music scene has managed to contradict his own name, it’s thePhantom*. Far from inconspicuous and never known to lurk on the sidelines, thePhantom*, whose alter ego is mild-mannered UMKC Urban Studies major Kemet Coleman, has been super-active in the fray, saturating the hip-hop milieu with hella live shows (many at the newly established ScionLab) and an online presence that other rappers could and should learn from.

He first swooped onto the scene in 2007 at the tender age of 21 with the release of Release, a blitz of techno-enhanced beats and Tech N9ne-influenced hyperspeed rap that was actually his fourth album. (Yeah, dude’s roots run deep.) Earlier this year, he crafted the largely instrumental opus, Phantastic: Hummingbird Grooves For The Neo​-​Conscious Mind and gave it away free online. He’s currently prepping his next record, Destroy & Rebuild, for a December date, to be put out on his own brand-new label, Ripple Effect Records.

We caught up with thePhantom* to preview a track from the new album and talk about his future career and why Kansas City should not be like a doughnut.

The Wayward Blog: What have you been up to lately?

ThePhantom*: A lot of events. I haven’t really had the space to do many events in the past, but now that I’m hooked up with ScionLab, I’m able to do it. I’m trying to get the label together, and we’re going to release my next album, Destroy & Rebuild. It’s coming out December 22, and it’ll be the first release. I’m trying to build this label Tech N9ne style, where I have a partner and have some other artists on board. We’re trying to make it Kansas City’s Motown – we’ll have our own studio, do our own recording. It’s gonna be called Ripple Effect Records. So, on December 22, be on the look out for that.

Who’s your partner?

His name is Mike Frank. We’re basically high school friends putting stuff together. He has a business degree now. I work with him on everything from merch to booking all my shows. He does all the little bitty stuff that I don’t have time for.

How is this like Tech N9ne?

We’re not gonna approach radio at all, we’re gonna do it completely our way. We’re not gonna succumb to the payola and all that stuff. Our basic belief is if we make good music, people will like it and it’ll build a community. We’re not gonna compromise what we’re doing for radio play or televsion play. It’s completely independent: for the arts, for the music and for the people.

So tell us about this song, “City Lights.”

I’m trying to help bridge that gap between the newer generation of hip-hop artists in the scene with the older, more established ones. That’s why I included Reach in there. I feel like if we divide any more, progress will stop.

MP3:

So what about your own music – will you continue releasing your own stuff once Ripple Effect gets going?

I don’t think I’ll do much after Destroy & Rebuild. I’m looking to do more on the buisness side of things, such as producing events. I’m the type of person, who when I do stuff, I need it to be inspired by something.