"That song is one of the most eloquent, soul-searching, truthful tracks released in the past couple of years," says 1Xtra's DJ Semtex, who has supported the duo on his show and blog. In August, shortly after Thomas was sentenced, the pair released the disturbingly evocative My Story, which describes the shooting in stark detail. "I knew I had to find something to distract me and the only thing I knew that wasn't negative was music." "The music rescued me really," Konan reflects. #Young kingz krept and konan zip trialThough he refused to give a testimony, it emerged during the trial that Thomas was jealous that Konan had been dating his ex-girlfriend. Last month, Christopher Thomas was found guilty of Ned's murder and sentenced to a minimum of 35 years in jail. "I spent 18 months looking over my shoulder, not knowing who had done it or why," says Konan. Despite efforts to revive him, he died at the scene. Konan's stepfather, Carlton Ned, attempted to protect his wife and stepson from the bullets but was shot in the chest. "When they blow up and become bigger than me, I'll be in the crowd clapping them, knowing that I was there from early on."įour months earlier, on 1 July 2011, masked gunmen burst into the Thornton Heath home of Konan's mother, Donna Michael, and shot her in the leg. "I knew they wouldn't embarrass me," he says from Ibiza, where he is headlining Ibiza Rocks. Skepta says he took Krept and Konan on tour because he could tell they were both hardworking and talented. "Skepta dropped us in front of people who didn't know who we were and told us to entertain them." "The first show in Glasgow was our first ever," Konan grins. "That tour taught us so much about the power of being independent and making the music that you want to make, rather than music you think you should make," says Krept. They also set up their own clothing line, Play Dirty, and in October were invited to join Skepta on his UK tour. Undeterred, they released another cover, Drake's The Motto. I basically ticked all of the boxes that said we owned the copyright, not having a clue that it would be an issue," admits Krept. The video received an incredible 5m views in five days, before pressure from Jay Z's legal team forced them to take it down. However, a 2011 YouTube cover of Jay Z and Kanye West's Otis really raised their profile. Their first mixtape, 2010's Tsunami, was relatively well received with 2,000 sold and an estimated 60,000 illegal downloads. The pair, who met as teenagers, began rapping in 2009. "It's because the music is real and that's how it should be." "It feels like people are buying it for the music," Konan agrees. #Young kingz krept and konan zip PcYoung Kingz might not be the most PC listen, but its lack of irreverent EDM (or indeed any cynical bandwagon jumping) speaks volumes to their small-but-dedicated fanbase. It's been about word of mouth." But more powerful than pop star endorsements is the actual music. We've also had a lot of Twitter support from artists like Wretch 32, Tinie Tempah and Professor Green, who has nearly two million followers. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook is what's sold this mixtape. "We dominate online," says Konan, proudly listing YouTube views in the millions. "Labels rinse two or three singles and by the time the album comes out months later, everyone has moved on to the next thing." Second, they are their own marketing machine. "We knew we'd lose a sense of suspense otherwise," says Krept. Even now, there are no snippets on iTunes, and they made only two videos. So just how did two little-known MCs galvanise teenage music fans, a group now renowned for their reluctance to buy records?įirst, they restricted what could be heard ahead of release. The Rizzles ultimately overtook them, reaching No 3, but Young Kingz still spanked US urban acts John Legend and Big Sean. As Krept says: "Six weeks lead up, no radio, no TV, no press just two net videos." Indeed, the only significant media coverage for Young Kingz came from spot plays on 1Xtra, Choice and KISS, and websites such as SBTV, RWD and GRM Daily. You won't see their banner on the iTunes main page or hear them on Radio 1. Unlike Rizzle Kicks, whose campaign included pop-up stores around the country with the artists manning the till, south Londoners Krept and Konan had barely done any promo. They looked online at iTunes they were No1 on the hip-hop charts and No 10 overall, several spaces ahead of another, slightly more famous rap duo:, Rizzle Kicks. Three days later, the pair received notification from their distributors, Absolute, that the album was at No 8 in the midweeks. "It was our first proper release for three years, so we just wanted people to like it," adds Konan. "A top 50 would have been good," says Krept. When Casyo "Krept" Johnson and Karl "Konan" Wilson released their mixtape Young Kingz 10 days ago, they had high expectations.
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