KALAN.FR FR WANTS TO MAKE THE WEST COAST GREAT AGAIN
On a high from his most recent release of his love letter to the West Coast, “Make The West Great Again“, Kalan.FrFr‘s new project features 8 songs that embody what it means to be from LA. It’s not easy to find out a lot about Kalan so we’re glad to sit down with the Compton born rapper to learn all about his journey in the music industry.
FEATURE INTERVIEW:
How did you get your start in the music industry?
The first thing that comes to mind is when I opened for Young Thug a long time ago. I use to open at The Observatory in Santa Ana back in the day. The first song that really got me buzzing I think is “Fine Ass”. Music has always been a part of my life though. My grandma use to play music all the time, my dad and mom played music all the time, so I always had an interest in it. My cousin used to rap with his homies, so I always looked up to him too.
Growing up you wanted to be an NFL player and had a football scholarship to San Diego State University but ultimately became a musician instead. Take us back to this time and talk a little about what happened to your football career.
The reason why I started making music is because I was in the streets, and it caught up with me my junior year of college. I wasn’t able to return to college the following year, so I had to stop playing football. I was forced to really focus on music to make something happen and it all took off from there. I graduated from college and was making music here and there at the same time. Once I turned in all my final school work I moved to Atlanta the next day.
From graduating and moving to Atlanta, what happened next in your life?
July 2017, I moved to Atlanta and started engineering for Yandy at her studio. I started rapping daily and adjusting to my new life. Living in Atlanta was a big culture shock for me. I never been around so many black people and it made me really happy. In LA, Compton was majority Mexicans. In Atlanta, doctors, bank tellers, barbershops, everyone was Black and that really inspired me. When I was growing up in LA I was scared to promote myself but in Atlanta I gained the confidence to put myself out there more. Not being fearful to say I’m a rapper you know?
You received your degree in Social Sciences. Do you think you’ll ever use your degree one day?
I feel like I use it now with my nonprofit organization called “Two Fr Day” which is a charity event where we feed the community with help of our sponsors like Puma, Ethika, etc. And we have a free concert, games for the kids and all the proceeds go to a few mental health organizations. It started off as a huge block party back in 2018 that my homies and I would do, and it grew from there.
Where does your stage name stem from?
Well Kalan’s my real name and when I came up with my stage name, everyone had a “Lil” in their names, so when my homies were like just be yourself, I thought about how I always say “for real for real” so when my homie said it I was like that has a little ring to it. So, I changed my Instagram name to that, and a lot of my homies did too and it’s been that ever since.
What was it like growing up in LA?
Awh man, growing up was amazing. I have the same issues as everyone else but growing up in Compton & Carson built a lot of character in me. I’ve seen so many styles of music, memories over the years and you can always tell someone is from LA no matter where we’re at.
How has California influenced your music?
I feel like I’m a staple of the West Coast. You’re going to get the ambiance and a different type of vibe. If you’ve ever seen Menace to Society I’m a cross between that and Love Jones.
I first got hip to you with your project “TwoFr 2” back in 2021 with the song “On My Mind” featuring Maeta. Take us back to this project and talk about the inspiration for this album and the overall process of creating it.
I didn’t even think that project was going to come out during the pandemic! Me and my homies were locked in the crib just working on music, but I did that song with Maeta in the studio. The project was finally starting to come together soon as the world started opening back up. That album is like a classic to me. It’s a mixture of hustle music and my favorite songs at the time.
You’ve been consistently putting out music for the past 8 years. What have you learned as an artist over the years that has always stuck with you?
I’m learning every day. If you can’t be a sponge, you won’t make it far. I’ve become extremely humble and determined. The music industry will give you mixed emotions with how up and down things can be. One thing I’ve gained from this experience is patience and the will to keep going. Patience and hustle will get you so far in life.
Let’s talk about your new EP, “Make The West Great Again”, that features 8 songs with collabs with YG & Ty Dolla $ign and a few other artists. Tell us about the process of creating this EP and which song is your favorite on it.
Right now, it’s “Can’t Get In (Jealous)“, that’s a summer anthem right there. We be going crazy to that song every time I hear it in the club. It makes me wanna dance so that’s what I’m listening to the most. I feel like the light isn’t getting shined on everything we have going on over here. The convo is West Coast music is dead and I’m like we have some of the biggest artists in the world so it’s up to us to start claiming it again.
Talk to us about when you got signed to Roc Nation and what you’ve learned since being with the label.
So much, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without them at all. I have a great team and having someone from the label that will always answer your call is a good feeling.
You’ve worked with many artists, but do you have a dream collaboration?
Not anymore because it’s so many different layers to working with other artists. The industry is weird, so I like to work with who wants to and is willing to work with me.
Are you working on a new album? From what you can share with us, what can we expect from it?
Yeah, I should be done pretty soon. It’s been 2 years since my last album. It’s going to sound a lot more like me sonically. I’ll be a lot more vulnerable and take everything I’ve learned and put it into a new project.
What are some of your favorite things to do when you’re home in Cali?
I be hooping even though I suck at basketball, I like to ride dirt bikes and just making music.
What’s next for Kalan.FrFr for the rest of 2024?
I just performed at the BET Awards Pre-Show and that was a good time. I have a performance August 17th at the Hollywood Palladium with a few friends and this year’s TwoFr Day will be the next day, August 18th at Compton College.
TEAM CREDITS:
Feature Editor: Taylor Winter Wilson (@taylorwinter)
Photographer: Mike Miller (@mikemillerphoto)
Car: Andre Vartanian (@andre_vartanian)
