On Friday, April 3 New Jersey’s own Kay M beat out R.A.P. Phenomenal in the finale of BET’s Freestyle Friday on “106 & Park.”
For months now, the show has pitted emcees against each other in weekly battles. Several weeks ago the top four Freestyle Friday contestants battled each other leaving Kay M and R.A.P. Phenomenal as the top two.
“It doesn’t feel any different,”Kay M explained to HipHopDX of his win. “It’s great though because this is the first time ‘106 [And Park’], BET did anything like this…this is a great look for the underground because it’s something that we do, we do often.”
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Kay M has come along way since his first appearance on the show months ago.
“They pulled me out the crowd…They just wanted to showcase the talent and just get everybody ready for Freestyle Friday, but after I had won they just felt like they just didn’t have enough talent,”Kay M told HipHopDX. “So they kinda [restricted] Freestyle Friday for the moment. They revamped it.”
Judged by DJ Premier, Lloyd Banks [click to read], and Talib Kweli [click to read] the finale battle consisted of three rounds and a surprise fourth round.
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“When they called the fourth round I didn’t see it coming…They definitely didn’t tell us that. It was a little different, but like I said, I live for this,” Kay M explained.
With an interest in music since the age of four, Kay M has already accomplished a great deal musically. He’s had the opportunity to open for 50 Cent, he’s performed at the Rocksteady Anniversary several times, and along with his label-mate and brother Ill Answer, Kay M has performed at open mics and showcases across the Tri-State area including End Of The Weak and the Faces In The Crowd showcase.
“I’m kinda trained to do stuff like that,” said Kay M. “From doing a lot of showcases and open mic’s. Cause truthfully I’m an artist. I decided to go the battle route only because at the time showcases didn’t feel like showcases. I felt like I knew what I wanted to do was gonna be very big, but I needed a [space] to do it at and 106 was that opportunity.”
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As part of the $200,000 prize package Kay M will receive beats from producers including Ron Browz, Diesel, Bangladesh, and Chucky Thompson. Kay M’s upcoming album may also include production by David Banner [click to read].
Kay M’s album is expected to be released some time this August. He also has plans on touring in Europe (France, Germany, Ireland, the UK) and Uganda later this year. For more information on the upcoming album and tour dates visit www.itskaym.com.
