Black Music Matters: On the Horn with Kabwasa
To celebrate Black Music Month, KXSC’s Elle Davidson sat down with five Black artists at USC to talk about their musical journeys and what being Black in music means to them. Recent graduate Kabwasa chats about organizing the USC Black Lives Matter March and how he can change the world through music. Inspired by Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, and Smino, Kabwasa has been making music since he can remember. Check out his new single “Black Movement” and more of his music on our Black Music Matters Spotify playlist. Our interview is below:
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Elle Davidson: How was organizing the march on June 6 at USC? I was there and it was amazing to be a part of.
Kabwasa: Well, thank you for coming and for supporting. I really wanted to go and attend a march, and had some other friends around USC that wanted to as well, but we weren’t able to get to Downtown LA. We were afraid to face the rubber bullets and tear gas, which was understandable to me. Everyone deserves a chance to have their voice heard and to march and speak and express their frustrations, so I decided to make a Facebook event. I invited a few of my friends, and they invited a few of their friends. Eventually, BSA heard about it, and offered their help. They helped connect me to a bunch of people, to the point that DPS Chief Thomas reached out and offered his assistance in making sure the march went well. He ended up coming out of uniform and marched with us. At the end of the march he was speaking directly with Black USC students about how to make DPS better and hold themselves accountable. It turned out to be a really progressive event.
ED: How would you describe your musical style?
K: I’d say my style is RnB, Hip-Hop fusion. Like, Neo-Soul, Hip-Hop fusion. I try to make my music upbeat and something for people to feel their energy go up [to].
ED: What are you working toward?
K: Long term, I want to be able to continue to make music and reach as many ears as I can to make changes in the world. I’m on the right path now, and have a lot of things I have to grow and work on, but eventually I want to make a living from my music.
ED: You mentioned wanting to change the world, so how has your experience at a predominantly white institution influenced that, or your journey as an artist?
K: It definitely shows that there’s a lot of work to do. With the fact that it is predominantly white, that 6% Black population is pretty close knit. All the connections I’ve made in music have been with other creative Black Trojans, and that close knit family experience with Black creatives has allowed me to collaborate with so many artists, it’s been one of the most progressive parts of my music experience.
ED: Why is amplifying Black voices important at USC?
K: Amplifying Black voices in general is one of the most important things that you can do because Black voices, Black art, Black culture, Black creativity is the key to the culture. Black culture is American culture, it is world culture, and the more we amplify Black voices and credit Black creatives for the things that they make and do, we will see development and change in culture in a positive way.
ED: Do you have any advice for other Black musicians at USC?
K: One thing that I always say that I struggled with for a while is that you have to take yourself as seriously as the artists that you look up to. Instead of saying you want to be a Hip Hop artist or a singer, you have to say that you are. When people ask, you have to say that you’re a rapper or a singer. The more you take yourself seriously eventually the universe will manifest that for you.
ED: Is there another USC artist that you admire?
K: I admire so many artists, but one I definitely look up to is Ayoni. She is an amazing artist. She is one that definitely inspires me to make good music and keep creating.
-- Elle Davidson, Director of Publications
Our Black Music Matters Spotify playlist is linked here.