Today we’d like to introduce you to King Troopa.
King, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I got my start in 2002 with my childhood friends making songs at Rob House Studios in the Camp Robinson/Levy area of North Little Rock. Our songs gained recognition amongst our peers throughout middle school, allowing myself to branch off. I made my solo debut in 2006 with “Mario’s World the Mixtape”, generating enough success to launch it as a series starting with Volume I in 2007 and Volume II in 2008. The series would continue for five mixtapes, ending with “The Last Mario’s World” in 2014. Aside from the “Mario’s World the Mixtape” series, I released a group album, “Tripl3 Thr3at: The Definition of Lyricism”, with my partners Ant Dog and Rob Thugga I met through Myspace in 2008. This showcased my talent to new regions (Texas and Ohio). As a result, I was able to generate a 1.9million total song plays before the decline of Myspace.
The music was really a blessing because it kept me in the house and less street active, away from trouble. I was able to focus on my academics throughout high school, sharpen my technical writing, and expand my mind. I graduated high school in 2010 with a 4.333 GPA, class rank #25 of 630, the only black male honors student, and a full-ride engineering scholarship at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Since the college of engineering was a rigorous curriculum, I had to focus on my responsibilities. I still made music but not at the same annual rate as in high school. I created Volume IV in 2011 and “The Last Mario’s World” in 2014, but I would once again gain recognition in 2012 for “Halloween: The Night HE Came Home to Hip-Hop”. This project would fully display my storytelling capabilities, retelling John Carpenter’s “Halloween 1978” film in Hip-Hop form. My song “Halloween Night 1978” would reach the Matty P’s Radio show in front of special guest Rob Zombie on February 28, 2013.
Graduating college in 2014, I diverted from music to learn my new engineering job, totaling a four-year hiatus. I lost people’s attention, but it was a blessing in disguise because it allowed time to learn the business aspect of music (Copyright, BMI/ASCAP, Taxes, etc.), rebrand myself, and save money to fund my company. In 2017, I founded Almighty Vision and bought my own studio and camera equipment to no longer depend on anyone to create content. I released “Love, Life, Loyalty” in June 30, 2018, with a music video. The video generated 30,000 views on Facebook, but on streaming services and YouTube, I only made 17 cents after three months. I was in red but more determined. I followed up with “Anti-Social” featuring Houston’s rap legend Z-Ro in November 2019. Redirecting my focus on streaming services and YouTube rather than Facebook, I generated over a quarter-million views and a couple of grand (still in the red). I don’t plan on touching the money at all, but continuing to grow the goose egg and progress. On July 16, 2020, I partnered with Worldstar Hip-Hop to release my directorial debut “No Guidance” on their YouTube platform, generating 62,000 views the first three months. “No Guidance” is a song and silent film that sheds light on violence amongst our black youth.
My focus now is my debut album, “Almighty”. If I die or stop making music, I can honestly say my life has been fulfilled once this release. I planned on quitting in 2014 but my partner Ant Dog told me to do at least one album (no mixtape) before I give it up. This resulted in what I consider my first official project, Almighty. The constant themes throughout Almighty hit on Opportunities, Options, and Finding Yourself. All of the writing and recording since 2002, the 150 songs, 9 hours & 12mins of music leads up to this. “Love, Life, Loyalty” and “Anti-Social” will be included on this. The ten songs that will be on “Almighty” as a collective is what BEST captures the essence of King Troopa, what best represents my sound, my message, my personal journey, my growth & development, who I am, and what my company Almighty Vision represents, TIMELESSNESS. Quality sound that will live on 15-20 years from now.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, especially with no mentor to receive help or guidance from. The main struggle is consistency because of my engineering job, which I also love. If I can match the level of consistency I had in high school in this digital age, the sky is the limit. I released “Love, Life, Loyalty” in 2018, “Anti-Social” in 2019, and my short film “No Guidance” in 2020. That’s a current rate of once a year. Things have changed since a decade ago. With all this information, entertainment, and technology available for people to receive daily, it’s hard to keep people’s attention and the thought of that can feel discouraging. I do, however, believe in quality over quantity. When I drop, people know it’s something of high value and that’s exactly what you want for your brand. If I stick to my goal and release new content at the highest quality every three months in 2021, I believe this will get the ball rolling and gain momentum.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
Currently, Almighty Vision is simply music and cinematography. I’m known on the music side for my reality lyrics, covering topics such as urban street life, financial investment, political and social issues, spiritual guidance, and personal life struggles that hit close to home for people. These lyrics glide over smooth beats that are a perfect mix of laid-back/chill, groovy samples with hard basslines and kick drums, producing a fresh and distinct sound overall. Way different from the rap music you hear today. It’s original, basically a whole new subgenre of hip-hop. The cinema side takes that music and packages it into a visual presentation for the audience. I take it a step further by providing a silent film with a storyline and actual cast members, a strong Tom & Jerry and Michael Jackson’s influence (i.e. Thriller & Smooth Criminal). I love it mainly because it provides opportunities for those wanting to get into acting and film. “No Guidance” is the prototype. Reality rap combined with my silent films; Substance and timeless content at the highest level. This is my lane. I don’t see people doing this. I believe I’m creating a new category for others.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far is simply seeing my manifestations finally come to fruition. Nothing was handed to me and this was definitely no overnight success more like an 18-year journey. Falling in love with engineering, music, film, then taking myself and my academics serious in high school, going to college for engineering and staying dedicated, and gaining the financial power to invest in my passion, ultimately myself. It’s like my life’s been orchestrated perfectly. This is what the late, great Nipsey Hussle meant by it’s a marathon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/Kingtroopa
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