Interview with officialkoriroze
1. What city are you from/ Where are you based now?
I was born and raised in Luton, UK. I am now based in the southwest of England.
2. What is your real name? What is your Stage Name? How did you get your artist name?
My artist name is my regular name ‘Kori Roze’.
3. At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in your field?
I feel like music and acting have always been a part of who I am, It's how I express my
emotions. There was a point in my life I was going through a rough period doing things
I am not proud of. I remember I just broke down! I really had to sit myself down and think: what do I really want out of life? From that day I started taking things seriously. I was humbled by failure, so now I'm fearless because I've been at the bottom.
4. Has your upbringing played a role in shaping who you are and defining you today? If so, how?
Most definitely, where I grew up is considered one of the toughest places to live in the UK!
So you can imagine the challenges. Growing up in that sort of environment definitely showed me that I have to be thankful for the finer things in life.
I really started from the bottom... My upbringing is the reason I’m always pushing forward, I really started from the bottom and I say this because there were hard times where cereal and water was a mixture I’d have to put down in my stomach. I started work in a little jamaican shop at 12 years old to help pay
for gas in my house so i could have a warm shower. I know people that went through
worse than me, but I would not change a thing because it made me the man I am today. It motivated me to work harder and hussle for every opportunity life hands me.
5. How would you describe yourself to readers who may not be familiar with you?
This is a hard question you know! I mean apart from being a Rapper and
Actor out of the UK, I am the type of person - what you see is what you get.
I don't glamorise my life to be something it is not, I'm just a young black man trying to make a difference with the gifts god has blessed me with.
6. What ultimately inspired you to dedicate yourself to your career?
Faith! I needed to be faithful that my gift god has blessed me with has
a purpose. I used to only make music for myself since music is my therapy and
it’s how I can express my emotions, It’s how I overcome my trauma. But then I
began to realise that people were really connecting with my music,
it was touching them and helping them. I remember performing at a black
history month showcase and I looked out at the crowd and in the
second row there was a girl crying! After the show she came up to me
and said that she could picture everything I was saying in her mind
and that she could relate to what I was saying. This took me by surprise because
I never thought words could affect someone in that way. From that day on I thought
to myself I can really use my voice to help people overcome their traumas by listening
to mine.
7. What’s one reason you are passionate about your focus and what inspires you?
In my hometown there's not much inspiration, you don't really see anyone driving nice
cars, wearing expensive clothing and the ones that do, most of the time are drug dealers (by
the way im not cussing them either- I was one!) When you grow up in a place like Luton you feel there is no way out, nobody is doing anything different so things like drug dealing become second nature. I want to inspire people that come from the same background, to show them that it doesn't matter where you are from or how little you have, with focus and belief you can achieve great things. There is so much unseen talent that gets overshadowed because the media would rather focus on the negativity. This is what inspire me to
make a difference.
8. Do you have any hobbies outside of your career? What do you do to stay creative?
For sure apart from acting and music, meditation for me is a great way to relax from my hectic life, for example, I just started a candle business because I am so passionate about wellbeing. I also love sports, boxing, basketball, (76ers fan) and football. I know over in the states you call it Soccer. For me even though music is my career now I still find myself
writing as a hobby even though I'm a rapper, I love writing R&B music.
9. Who are some of your main musical influences?
We could be here all day! I have to say Nas is one of them, the
the way he tells a story for me is unmatched in the game. Big Sean-
his flow and delivery is just mad, for me he is the most underrated rapper
in the game! Chris Brown and Wretch 32 have also had a massive impact on my
music for sure. I think it’s important, as a UK rapper to also mention that I take inspiration from artists that have paved the way, thats why I have mentioned Wretch 32 as well as skepta and Chip.
10. What are some of your career goals for the future?
I have many goals that I look forward to working towards, I want to be
known as one of the most successful names to come out of Luton. That’s important
to me because there is nothing like home support, however another goal of
mine is to really bridge the gap between the UK and the US as I don't feel like
there has been a UK rap artist to go to the US and really stand out as a liracis.
I intend to change that. I mean awards and world tours is great but if i'm honest,
my real aspiration is to inspire people, whatever comes with that is a pleasing bonus.
11. Tell us about the project or something that you are promoting. What is it about Also, what is the name of the last thing you released?
At the moment I am literally always in the studio, people say this all the time
but honestly my manager will tell you if I could have a bed in there I would. There is
something coming but I can't say too much yet. The last track I released was last year
‘Alone’ features Chelsey who is an amazing singer from the UK.
This track was something a bit new for my taste, like I said i'm more of a concourse
rapper, but this track is more to the melodic side of music. The story is about a
toxic relationship that has run it’s time.
12. What has the response been to the last thing you promoted?
You know what, when I dropped this track I wasn't sure what to expect because
as I said it was out of my comfort zone but the response was crazy. It was used
on a huge playlist called BBC radio in the UK, also a few radio stations
in the US as well. This was crazy because most of my listeners come from the US
so I was happy that it blew over there as well. It's funny because I dropped that track in October and I still have at least 10 people a week ask me if i'm going to drop another
track like ‘Alone’.
13. What are some things you’ve done in the past that you are most proud of and why?
Performing in Amsterdam and everything about traveling there was quite a good achievement for me. Also, being played on BBC radio! I’m proud of it because it was my first radio play and I always think that’s something to celebrate. However, I want to keep my head focused on my goals! It’s all good to start achieving these goals but I have a lot of bigger things in mind which I humbly look forward to. Keeping my head in the game! Away from music, my biggest achievement has to be getting a place of my own after sleeping on the streets, going from sofa to sofa for many years, it’s nice to have a place I can call my own.
14. What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming things we should be on the lookout for? Include some dates if you have them.
If I'm honest, at the moment I'm working on music for next year. I
have all the music ready for this year to go but I can’t say too much yet however
let's just say by late spring you will have new music to enjoy.
15. What message do you hope people take away from what you do?
Don't let your surroundings determine your mindset, I am not perfect,
there are still things I’m working on and there are a lot of areas I need to grow in,
but with everything I have been through in my life I need to allow myself time.
So I just want to say to anyone reading this, allow yourself time to grow, stay
focused and if you put the work in, no matter where you come from you can achieve
great things.
16. Where can we follow you on social media?
instagram.com/officialkoriroze
Instagram: officialkoriroze
twitter: Kori roze
snapchat: cjhughes111