Rising New York rapper Kocky Ka stopped by Hip-Hop Wired to share his journey from being overlooked to landing a remix with one of his biggest inspirations.
The Brooklyn native is fully aware of the big shoes he has to fill, embracing the underdog role and proudly calling himself “the best-kept secret.”
“Before we even had that shot, sometimes I felt overlooked. Everybody is saying a name like ‘Yo, he’s fire.’ But I was like ‘Dam, do they not see what I’m doing out here?’ That motivated me to go harder.”
Ka recalled attending a party where the DJ played everyone’s music except his, a moment that lit a fire under him.
“I went to this DJ party everybody in there getting there songs played, I was like ‘dam they ain’t playing me.’ Alright bet, I used that as motivation. A couple months after that I dropped ‘Dark Nights’ that opened the doors for me. That same party the following year, and we turned it up.”
Once “Dark Nights” dropped, all eyes were on Kocky Ka. The record quickly gained traction and eventually caught the attention of Philadelphia heavyweights Meek Mill and Fridayy, who both hopped on the remix.
“Meek has been following me, that’s my favorite rapper and Fridayy came up crazy, we got the same vibe. My cousin asked me who do I hear on it [Dark Nights] I’m thinking small, I’m throwing names out there. He said, ‘Send it to Meek.’ Couple hours, he hit me back and said ‘If I get a vibe to it, I got you.’ One day I woke up, Meek in Dubai playing it.”
Outside of music, Kocky Ka is riding high off New York’s recent basketball success. When asked whether he’d like to see LeBron James suit up for the Knicks next season, the Brooklyn rapper didn’t hesitate.
“I’m not no hater, I definitely wanna see LeBron with the Knicks. I’m for winning.”
From turning disappointment into motivation to getting co-signs from some of Hip-Hop’s biggest names, Kocky Ka is proving that being the best-kept secret doesn’t last forever.
Check out the full interview below.
