Artists that chart their own course will always make a mark with us. There will always be haters out there but choosing to rise above and not bother with all that shows a true level of professionalism. Our recent discovery Kaptain Krook lives up to this mantra. We had a chance to catch up with him lately to talk about his new mixtape Pirate Pimpin and see what he is all about. Enjoy the exclusive interview here:
So how did the name Kaptain Krook come about?
Kaptain Krook came about through my ultimate love/obsession with pirates! It is actually a play on the name Captain James Hook, but McDonalds owned and copyrighted the original Captian Crook as the evil pirate of fish filet so I ended up using K’s which were inspired by my southern California background of graffiti (crews usually name themselves as Krews) and through one of my biggest inspirations in music the Kottonmouth Kings. I actually have been notified recently by two different people that there is something going on in my name that I am trying to resolve and that is that there are three K’s which I find to be completely ironic but I don’t want that to come back and bite me in the ass one day. My intention for Kaptain Krook was the abbreviation of KK and I even thought about changing it to Kaptain Krooc but I am not a crip and do not like to fake the funk. Going forward I will still be rapping under the name Kaptain Krook, but will refer to myself as Krook to avoid any and all hatred/backlash…. In my own opinion though I’d say im destroying the connotation of three K’s being a bad thing by associating it with rap and hip/hop which is a mainly black industry…. Take that one hatred… I’m all about loving life and destroying hatred…. Negativity and ignorance are unacceptable in today’s time.
You do all the writing yourself, that is rare today, what inspires your writing?
Yes, I do in fact write all of my own lyrics because I feel that if I am not the one creating these thoughts or statements why am I the one saying them? I am no one’s puppet! As far as inspiration behind the writing…. I ran in to a huge mess of trouble in my youth and ended up fighting a life sentence case over what had started as a high school fist fight…. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to write about my experiences growing up as a hoodlum, not to glorify, but to reach out to the ones who are still young enough to turn their life around. I want people to hear my music and respect what I’m saying and what I’ve done, but I also want them to see where that life leads and where it will take you… I actually hope to deliver more positivity than just partying and gloating through my music. One thing I will stand behind to the end and will push through my music more than anything is that you don’t rape, you don’t hit women, and you don’t snitch…. Enough said.
What artists have been the biggest influence on you?
The biggest artists who have influenced me hands down are the Kottonmouth Kings. I grew up in orange county during the “Bro” generation so I grew up on the Subnoize label. I also really love Kid Rock, Eminem, Bone Thugs N Harmony, and Insane Clown Posse if you would believe it.
There is definitely a theme in your music, What’s up with you and pirates?
Well… my whole life I’ve been obsessed and fascinated with the idea of piratism, piracy, whatever you want to call it. There is a certain freedom attached to being a pirate that allows you to set your own course and destiny in a vast unknown world that is the sea…. Pirates weren’t anything like the boozehungry bums they are portrayed to be… They were mainly sailors in the royal fleets that were laid off due to lack of conflict or war and eventually ended up turning on the same nations that trained them only to realize they were never meant to be ruled be kings or queens. I actually used to run around dressed as a pirate everywhere I went as a kid, and when I started getting in trouble in my youth I literally became a pirate. I’m kind of infamous in my hometown but that’s another story.
You have been up and down the California coast. How has the local hip hop scene taken to your
sound?
I am actually still in my first year of music! I literally started rapping and recording in May or June of last year, but I have already moved up rather quickly through the ranks, even achieving the #1 spot for local artists on reverb nation. At first, people laughed at me and told me I was wasting my time (friends and girlfriend included), but then people saw beyond the pirate theme and actually heard what I was saying. Amazingly more and more producers and artists have been contacting me for collabs or have been sending me free beats. I have been told that I am the first pirate rapper in history… I’m going to continue going strong day after day and I will continue to rap about being a modern day pirate until somebody stops me.
What does the future hold for Kaptain Krook?
Well for one, I am focusing on doing videos for all of my songs but that doesn’t mean I have stopped recording. I currently work multiple jobs and own a company on top of the music so I’m always moving in 100 directions. I am just waiting for the day that Kid Rock or Yelawolf call me up too do a song… I’d also love to do some work with Riff Raff… He’s amazing in my mind and I show him complete love because he straight up doesn’t care what anyone thinks and is successful as a result…. Anyone who is a hater or chooses to bash other people for doing what they want to do is just insecure. I’m about to do some songs with some pretty big name people and that was strictly from them hearing my music so if all goes according to plan the future will be Kaptain Krook.
Keep up with the Kaptain at:
https://soundcloud.com/kaptain-krook
https://www.facebook.com/KaptainKrookOfficial
https://instagram.com/kaptain.krook/
