Local Artist Review: Kei
by Jasmine Bryant -
As the Best New Artist of 2022 at the Boston Music Awards, Dorchester rapper “kei” has proven to be an emerging prominent figure in hip hop in the Boston area. Although she maintains her self and image as being a “rapper,” the styles she explores seem quite diverse, particularly because of the “out-of-the-box” approach she takes to making music and expressing herself. Her sound is defined as “rage-filled,” “chaotic,” and “aggressive,” but the topics she raps about vary – from personal, more heartfelt things, to angrier, more aggressive things.
Apart from her talent for rapping, kei remains true to her roots and beliefs, both through her music and in the way she speaks about herself in interviews, public appearances, etc. She doesn’t shy away from the topic of being black woman, either, constantly mentioning the stereotypes and stigmas she feels she’s sometimes pressured to adhere to as one (which, she’s expressed numerous times she has no interest in doing). “As a young Black woman,” she says, “there’s this stigma behind what a woman in general in music should sound like or do. Her flow, her sound, and just how she expresses herself visually, all is inspirational to me and kind of kick started my perspective on how to be out of the box.”
Being “outside of the box” is certainly something she sticks to, seen through her loud sound, wild visual style, bold album covers and concepts (i.e. her newest album “CHILD’S PLAY” being based around her love for horror), etc. She raps in a straightforward, profanity-filled, aggressive manner to get her points across clearly, but her voice also has a certain softness to it that resonates more with the emotional side of her music, particularly with the lyrics / motivations behind what she’s rapping about.
The rapper has been quite open about her personal life, too, which shows a lot in her music and lyrics. Of her family, she recalls, “I’ve watched my family struggle. I’ve watched my parents, you know, pay bills, check to check. And I’ve watched them sacrifice so much and not really do things for themselves.” She noted that her dad eventually stopped making music, for example, and seeing that angered kei, motivating her to continue strong with her dream – no matter the sacrifice – in order to break this “generational curse.”
Her song “wake up” has lyrics like “I remember growing up in households that were broke,” where she continues this narrative about how she chased her dreams and worked her way up out of the poverty she was in. It, like many of her other songs, showcases sensitive feelings about her personal life despite the song sonically being very contrasting (packed with aggression and profanity). This contrast in her work is powerful, though, and it’s clear that audiences think the same evinced by her recent award.
It’s exciting to see how kei has taken the Boston hip hop scene by storm as of late, and it’s certainly exciting to see the new things she’ll do to continue to do in the future as she continues going “out of the box,” as she puts it, broadening borders for black female rappers even further. Her authenticity and ability to keep her audience guessing with what she releases next is a captivating quality for an artist, as is the passion in her sound, and I wish her all the best with her career.