KALIBA
HOLLYWOOD, FL
R
aised in Florida all his life, Kaliba is proud to be part of the vast rise of southern artists. With his unique style and marketable look, he hopes to be the next to blow from the Sunshine state. He even has a few label deals on the table. What are you working on right now? Right now, we’re still letting the Take 1 mixtape circulate. We’re working on our new singles for the new year. We’re also shopping around with a few labels. Which singles do you think you’ll release? Really, that’s undecided. We have a good idea of what they’re going to be, but it’s undecided right now. Did you have any songs in the past that did well? One is called “Don’t Be Scared” and another one is called “Screwed Up.” Was it a chopped and screwed song? Nah, it was like a Southern anthem talking about how the South is taking over and the growth we’ve developed in the hip-hop game and how we made room for ourselves to be noticed. How has the growth of the South helped you as an artist? It’s definitely helped me as an artist ‘cause when I first started rapping, the South wasn’t really that hot yet. I wasn’t ashamed to be who I was but I was trying to be what the industry wanted at that time, which is basically a Northern sound. Once the South started blowing up, it gave me more of an opportunity to lay back and be myself and make my own kind of music instead of having to adjust to what the industry was based on. How long have you been rapping? I started rapping about three or four years ago. Who makes your beats? My production team is called Thunda Tracks. They’re from the same neighborhood I’m from but we never knew each other. We just met right before the mixtape came out in August. We’ve been working together ever since. Their style is very versatile; they do everything – Southern beats, chick songs, whatever. There’s two of them – Mav and Thee. Have you worked with any other artists? On the mixtape I have a song with Jadakiss.
That’s the only collaboration so far. What have you been doing to promote yourself? We’ve been doing a lot of shows on South Beach at most of the clubs. We did DJ Khaled’s birthday party. I’ve performed at a lot of clubs like Metropolis, Evolution; I did a show with Juvenile, Boosie and Webbie. I did a show with them on Thanksgiving. We’ve just been doing a lot of shows to promote and putting up flyers and doing the ground work. Are you using the internet for promotions? Oh yeah, we have the Myspace page too. The official page is www.myspace.com/thundatracks. Who are some of your influences? My idol is Nas but my other influences include Outkast, Ludacris and Lil Wayne. Are you looking for a deal or do you want to make it as an independent artist? We’re trying to go major. We have a couple of major labels looking at us right now that we’re talking to. We should definitely do something major by the end of February with the way things are going. Do you think you have what it takes to blow? For one, I’m young; I’m only 20. I’m the most the versatile person you’re gonna meet. I listen to a lot of music, whether it’s from signed or unsigned artists, and I notice that everybody is on the same page as each other. Everybody seems to want to fit in with the times. They have one basic style. With me, I could do everything and I’ve done everything. That’s just who I am. I think that’s going to give me the edge when I get in. What has been your biggest accomplishment? I think the DJ Khaled [birthday] party was the highlight of my career. Every celebrity was in there, as far as the music industry goes. A lot of big people were there, a lot of people I’ve looked up to all my life. They actually got a chance to see me perform and after the show a lot of people approached me and told me I was hot. What’s next for you? Right now we’re working on the album and a second mixtape will possibly be coming by the end of February. It all depends on how things go with these labels we’re talking to. Words: Ms. Rivercity Photo: Reggie Saylor OZONE
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