Finnish-Nigerian rapper Noah Kin is just 21 years young, yet has already released three albums. By now he has been an opening act for Wiz Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar and Earl Sweatshirt and, in addition, has had an awesome performance alongside Oakland’s finest, The Coup. Noah’s style reminds me of Childish Gambino. He doesn’t get all fired up like Travi$ Scott, but he’s pretty hot with his words. He locks your attention without doing some nonsense riding-a- horse-with-ski-glasses-on type of thing. I mean, Noah is awesome.
Noah Kin will make his debut at Tartu Music Week this Friday – don’t miss out!
We had a talk with Noah last weekend about rap, his favourite live performance and his thoughts about Estonia. Enjoy!
When did you start making rap music?
I thought about the things that made me different from the people that I listen to, for example Kanye West, and it was that I did not write any rap. So I wrote my first song at the age of 12 and I have been doing so ever since.
Why did you decide to rap in English and not in Finnish?
At the time I did not feel that Finnish was the language to rap in and later I started to feel more comfortable rapping in English, so I stuck with it.
What is important to you as an artist?
That people in the studio or at live performances genuinely want to be there and enjoy themselves. I hope that they experience the art and won’t throw any hate.
What is the key for being good at something?
Being very interested in learning things on your own. I never had anyone teach me how to do things. It is as pure as it can be. It’s all me and it has made me better. I didn’t learn a certain way. I expressed myself from day one within the process of learning.
You’ve travelled a lot lately. How’s the crowd for example in London or Copenhagen different from the Finnish one?
It is more enjoyable outside home. In Finland they already know the name and also have perceptions towards hip-hop. Finnish people don’t want to hear new kind of music, because they want to see artists they already know and listen to songs they’ve already heard. When you go to London, people are more curious. There’s a more welcoming atmosphere and people show interest towards the music.
Which live performance that you’ve given so far has been the best one?
I think the one at last year’s Flow Festival. I played super early, like 4 p.m., and I thought nobody would show up, but when I came up on stage the tent was fully packed. The experience was super nice!
What kind of music do you listen to the most at this point?
Not a lot of rap actually. I have my favourites like Kanye, Drake and some smaller artists, for example Goldlink. At the moment I listen to more experimental and rock music.
You’re performing at Tartu Music Week. How do you like Estonia so far?
It’s a nice place. I have been in Tallinn around five times. My first time was in a place called Sinilind two years ago and lately I’ve been doing DOPE HKI things in Club Studio. In Estonia, as well as other places except Helsinki, people show more interest towards my music. I always like to bring something new to the audience.
Author: Anton Hmelnitski