Words by

York Underwood

Name: GKR

Band: GKR

Hometown: Reykjavík

Genre: Rap/Hip-Hop

Pre-Season:
“A lot of people want to make music but never do it. I was making rhymes and listening to beats, but I didn’t know how to make a song. I reached out to NEEDHELP, an artist I really looked up to, and I asked him, ‘Can I record a song with you?’ I didn’t know him, he just said, ‘Okay, I usually charge, but everyone deserves to get one song for free.’ I didn’t release the song, but it was okay. I kept making music and bought my own microphone. It was last February, with my single, ‘Ballin’,’ that people started to really notice me.”

Awards & Achievements:
First Icelandic Rapper To Start His Career In Poland—Rapping In Iceland “I played my first gig in March at Prikið—actually, my first gig was in December in Poland, in front of a bunch of students in a culture centre. I shot my video for ‘Hello’ in Poland. After Prikið, though, I started opening for people, and the ball really started rolling. I knew I had to keep focused. I was finishing school, but then I needed to be on track with my music career.

“After Prikið, I needed to know: Am I going to be good? I practiced so much. As a rapper, I’m very skilled. I practice and practice. I jump while I rap until I’m exhausted. Performing has really increased my confidence, not just socially, but with rapping too. My voice has really started to develop. It’s getting stronger, and my raps are very clean and hard-hitting. I’m really satisfied with that.”

His Music:
“I want to connect with people. I want to connect with people who have the same problems I have. I know what it’s like not to have anyone to relate to. I didn’t relate to anyone musically until I heard Kid Cudi when I was sixteen or seventeen. It gave me the confidence to be who I am. My music is who I am and people keep liking it more and more. This makes me feel like I’m being accepted for who I am. Confidence is the number one thing music has given me. It’s a friend I can trust. When no one is there for you, music is.”

Influences:
“When I was in the 8th grade, I downloaded this ‘classic hip hop tracks’ bundle online. It had all these classic rappers. I was listening to Wu Tang and Kanye West. Then I heard Kid Cudi. He’s like my big brother.”

Plans For The Future:
“I hope when people come to see me, they’ll realize that nothing really matters. I want people to escape their problems. I want to make people feel like they are in another world. I don’t want people to feel aware of themselves. I want them to just be who they are inside. If I’m on stage, and there’s a bunch of people there to see me, I don’t want to have to say, ‘Dance’ to get everyone dancing. I don’t want them to need that acceptance from me on the mic. I want them to feel that when they come in. That’s what I want. I want people to be whoever they want to be.”

Romantic Entanglements:
“My first kiss was at NASA. It was a bad kiss, but it’s a great memory.”