Young Kay

Who is Young Kay, Hyphan or Broken Knowledge?

Your favorite rappers favorite rapper.....Nah...Maybe!! Well, a complicated kid for starters. Yeah, I sometimes believe kuti I have the whole multiple personality thing going on. Like all those names I use have different personalities, if you pay them that much mind. Quiet, shy, rather listen than talk...at least I think so. Crazy when I need to be!! But yeah that’s jus me man....complicated in the simplest way possible.

How does it feel to be voted one of Malawi’s finest lyricist?

It’s nice...no lie...I remember when I just started, a couple of people that are Malawian "famous" were talking behind my back like esh is this kid really serious!! There are a couple of people who i say kuti koma maniwa ali bo. So to be put above some of those is cool man...i think my sistaz n my brotha love that more kuti they say they related to young kay and it means a lil something...but whatever!!

Knowing the controversy that followed the vote is “Get it straight” a response to it?

Yeah, somehow in some way...I think people just generally love to talk about other people with a motive of boosting up their own ego or whatever and me being a quiet dude i usually let all that slip but sometimes zimatopesa. When you just starting umafunika kuti upange prove kuti you can hold your own after that people start to listen to what you have to say n i think i did that. I know there are more people listening than those that are bad mouthing the boy....it’s all love though!

Do think that Malawi has the potential of having its own “West and East side”
American situation “Tchuka ndiwe”?

What you mean L's and BT?? I dont know bout that....Malawi is too small to have such divisions. Besides we need to have people working together coz there are too many "I’m better than so and so" situations going on. If people think they better than the next man, stop talking and do a song. Prove kuti as much as the next man is getting respect for their word game; you deserve to be right there with them. What a lot of us are lacking is the follow up after that...yeah you nice...so what. We have worked hard for the skill to be where we are and now i think its time to make the skills work for us.

"The Call” what role do you think hip hop has on social problems when most hip hop artists perceived players?

Well it could maybe play a bigger role if people (rappers) got serious and made music that everyone will be able to listen to instead of nyimbo zokuti anthu akamwa amangoti koma "ma yo matama".... we could get there but there are a few things we doing thinking kuti its pushing this hip hop thing forward when its actually moving us back. I think radio stations are a problem. Every Tom, Dick and Harry can have their track played on radio as long as they know a couple of Deejay’s regardless whether the song is nice or not. Again those are steps backwards. They need to filter that stuff. If i have a track that’s not nice i dont want people to play that coz in the end we dont really know who is listening. We rappers do need to carry ourselves in a more respectful manner like for real for real. They say self respect permeates every aspect of your life. People don’t respect people who dont respect themselves. Osangopanga nyimbo however, just talking about whatever just because mwayi waku studio wapezeka....

Why did you choose to use Chichewa and English on Exhale?

Pali zinthu zina zimavuta kuzilongosola mu chizungu chokha chokha. It’s just something I’m comfortable with... plus, if done right, it sounds nice

On an emotional tip, Exhale had loving on it; do consider yourself a Gangsta Romeo?

Gangsta??? Not me!! Romeo, I’m not that either but every body needs love... i just happen to have a lot of it sometimes that i gotta share it. Let me know if you need some too!!

Exhale blew up on the Malawi hip hop market; can we hope to see you at some international awards?

With enough support I guess. If it happens it happens basi. I’m not in a hurry for that though. Being well established where you come from is really important... I need people to leave here and talk about young kay to them out there. Koma paja Malawi is not like that, we embrace things from out the country most of which we dont understand... go figure! Koma yeah... one step at a time i guess.

On Dezert Eagle and Yung starting their own Rocafella Records?

We already are that!! Ha ha!!!

We hear there is a new album coming “1st Impressions” what’s the inspiration behind it?

Well from the exhale which was my first ever project i kinda found out what my strong and weak points are so this next album is basically me show casing what I’m good at and most importantly what i feel. I’m inspired by new sounds...so i had to work with a couple of new people. Producers i have never hooked up with before and a couple of fresh voices that you might or might not know....its one hell of an album if i say so myself!

Any fresh collaborations heads should be waiting on?

The usual rush records familia. Plus a couple of other people i have respect for in "the game" but if we didn’t do a track limodzi it dont mean i dont respect you but i can only do so many tracks! Next time around if there's one.

If aspiring hip hop heads aren’t at Rush Records what are they missing?

I have no idea what these other people are up to nde i can’t say we doing something they not. i have a couple of people coming to me talkin bout they wanna join Rush but they dont even know what exactly that is. We still working on building ourselves up so we just happy to be recognized!