First Look: KOTA The Friend
The 25 years young Brooklyn native, KOTA The Friend, makes his first appearance on our pages today. With three solid projects, a collection of singles, videos, and more, the independent rapper has been on our radar for a minute. He will be playing at Reggies in Chicago on August 23rd.
KOTA manifests the classic New York style into a California paradise. Palm trees and sandy beaches contrast the depression and real life problems that can be faced when coming to age in New York. Check out our full interview below:
rubyhornet: For any of our readers not familiar, who is KOTA The Friend?
KOTA The Friend: KOTA The Friend is an artist in the purest sense of the word. I believe that while art can be monetized, it will outlive any industry. It will always be important. I’m a musician. I’m a classically trained trumpet player and I taught myself guitar, bass, and keyboard. I’ve been writing poetry since I could remember which made the transition to rapping seamless. I’m a self taught pro - cinematographer and video editor. I’ve shot hundreds of music videos for artists from New York City to California to Japan. I love creating and I create as much as I can.
rubyhornet: You were born and raised in New York, but you mention California a lot. What do these places mean to you?
KOTA The Friend: For a long time New York has represented some dark times in my life that I wanted to escape from. Out here on the East Coast we were constantly talking about getting out of the city and moving to LA where the sun is always shining and the palm trees tower over highways. My first 2 projects were mainly about escaping to find something new and better, so that’s why I reference California a lot.
New York is home, it’s where things get real for me. I’ve recently started to express my feelings towards my hometown and I plan on telling the stories of me and my friends in my new music + the album.
rubyhornet: What’s your definition of a friend?
KOTA The Friend: A friend is someone that you can depend on. A friend is someone that you can bring the worst news to and they can make you feel like its going to be okay. A friend will love you for the person you are and doesn’t judge you for being imperfect.
rubyhornet: Your lyrics are very honest. How do you approach writing a new song?
KOTA The Friend: Every song I write is true to my experience. Almost every time I begin with the music. I hear an instrumental and I get to writing, singing melodies and rapping gibberish. Then once I get in the groove I put my life onto the page until I’ve painted a vivid enough picture. I always tell the truth in my music because that’s the only way I can connect. You can tell when people are disingenuous so I keep it real.
rubyhornet: The growth from Palm Tree Liquor to Anything is evident. If you could go back in time and tell yourself anything while recording Palm Tree Liquor, what would that be?
KOTA The Friend: Thank you for noticing the growth! I honestly wouldn’t tell myself anything because my life is so beautiful now and I wouldn’t want to mess with the natural order. I was in such a dark place when I created Palm Tree Liquor and even Paloma Beach. Every day I’m just grateful that I’m no longer in that space and I’m reaching more people with my music.
rubyhornet: You speak on depression and suicide on past projects. What advise would you give to someone who feels boxed in due to their mental health? Has music helped you get out of this stage?
KOTA The Friend: It’s not always easy trying to get someone out of depression. A depressed person can often be their own worst enemy. In my personal experience dealing with depression, I felt alone like many others. I felt like a failure, like I didn’t matter, like even God was against me and I hated myself. I turned my life around when I started to be grateful for the little things I did have. I would tell a depressed person that they are worth so much and that they are in control even if they don’t feel like they are. Even if you’ve been making the same mistakes for 5 years you can decide to live your life different from this day on. You don’t have to be the negative things that “they” say or think you are. I would tell a depressed person to take time to get to know the real you. If you don’t like something about yourself you can change it but you have to be honest with yourself about who you are and then make adjustments. No matter what, don’t let the thoughts of others define you. They are dealing with their own struggles and imperfections. On top of all of that, IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU. Other people are struggling mentally and it’s important to understand this. Be kind to everyone no matter what.
rubyhornet: As an independent artist is it a goal of yours to become signed?
KOTA The Friend: Not really. I like being indie. It’s super fun. But I don’t know what the future holds. I’m making music, feeding my family and I get to be around my son all the time so I’m happy right here
rubyhornet: What are some plans from here on out?
KOTA The Friend: Just keep making music, touring, experiencing new things, eating healthy, being a better person and keep showing my people love. That’s it.
RH Collectors: DJ RTC
Many music heads are also collectors. There's a common thread between seeking out new and rare sounds and using that same drive to acquire and celebrate other passions that ties collectors of all kinds. RH Collectors is a series that aims to showcase the collections of the various music heads in Chicago and beyond. In our last edition, we spoke to the Stitch Gawd, who showed off her collection of art and memorabilia that she has collected throughout her time in the Chicago music scene. Today, we turn the spotlight onto Closed Sessions + rubyhornet honcho, DJ RTC.
Going back to his early childhood, RTC has been an avid baseball and basketball collector, and boasts an impressive collection. For this installment, I spent time with RTC's card collection and asked to speak on a few choice cards. Peep it below.
If you've got a collection you want to talk about, hit us up. We want to talk to you.
What got you into collecting cards?
I think it was partly playing sports, and playing on teams all based on major league teams. My first team was the [Atlanta] Braves. I was young, like 6 or 7 years old. I just remember watching the real Braves on TBS and all my teammates wanting to be certain players. The first baseball player I really knew and wanted to emulate was Dale Murphy. Later, my brother introduced the concept of baseball cards to me and I got into keeping stats and dove into the card collecting heavy with many of my friends. It turned into a big social activity. My friends and I all played in the same baseball league, and we all wanted to be like our favorite players. We picked our jersey numbers based on those players. We would hang out all day playing sports and/or trading cards. Then from there it became more obsessive, it was all about who could get the most rare cards in your peer group. It was a good era to be a kid in that the popularity of cards was at an all-time high. It was a great way to feel closer to the game.
Ozzie Guillen: 1985 Fleer Extended Rookie Card
Ozzie Guillen was a shortstop on the White Sox from 1985 to 1997. Then he briefly went to The Orioles, then the Braves, and ended his career with the Devil Rays. In 2003 he came back to manage the White Sox. Ozzie Guillen was my favorite baseball player growing up. I modeled my stance in little league after him, many coaches corrected that because it wasn’t an ideal stance for a little kid to have (fundamentally speaking). My dad started taking me to this card shop by Comiskey Park, and I also got a subscription to this magazine called Beckett that listed the value of baseball cards, and I started noticing this thing called the XRC card, which stood for “extended rookie card.” I saw Ozzie Guillen’s XRC in Beckett and finally tracked this down . I don't even know at what point I got it, but it took a while. My dad and I got it at Grandstand in Bridgeport. Definitely a prized card, many Sox fans around my age view Ozzie as the man. I can't speak for older or younger fans, but definitely in my age group, Ozzie was the man. If we could one day throw a Closed Sessions party with Ozzie Guillen in attendance, that’d be great.
Sandy Koufax: 1963 Topps
I connect with Koufax on many levels. One of the great things about baseball, why I also think I like it so much, is that my dad, he kind of got into it with me. My dad's older, he had me much later in life, when I was 10 he was already 55. For him, his generation of baseball player was from the ‘50s and 60’s. Sandy Koufax was revered in every Jewish household, he was one of the first athletes to proudly be Jewish. Game one of the 1965 World Series games Yom Kippur, which is the Jewish day of atonement. Even for Jews who don't go to synagogue regularly, Yom Kippur is the one day where you’re supposed to sit back and observe. Sandy Koufax was the Dodgers best pitch and was supposed to pitch that game, he decided to sit out and observe the holiday and became a Jewish folk hero. That’s one piece of it for me, another is in Sunday School there was this teacher who always labeled me as a trouble maker for whatever reason. Whenever anyone did something, he would blame me and send me to the library. So I would be able to get out of Hebrew class and go to the library, and I actually preferred it like that. I’d have nothing to do, so I'd just check out books. There was a book about Sandy Koufax, and anytime I was sent to the library, I’d find the book and pick up from wherever I left off. I learned that the first few years of his career he was really bad, he was 2-2, 2-4, 5-4, 11-11, ERA was high, he wasn't very good. He had to figure out how to succeed, and its unique because he’s in the Hall of Fame and revered as one of the greatest pitchers ever. He only had a few great seasons, but they were so good that he ended up as one of the best. He also retired early because although he could still play, he said he wanted to “live the rest of my life with the use of my arms.” So I think Sandy Koufax has a lot of things that make him unique: from almost being cut to becoming one of the best, to retaining personal beliefs over sports, and even the idea of quitting while you’re ahead, athletes using their bodies while they still can. Thats why I connect with Koufax on so many levels. This card from 1963 I got at a shop in Skokie. It was one of my first major cards for sure.
Jackie Robinson: 1954 Topps
My brother's friend Josh was cleaning up his room and that included getting rid of a slew of all of his baseball cards. He dumped them all in one big bag. He called me up and said, 'if you want to sort through this bag and keep the cards, that's fine but just know its mostly scrub players, worthless cards.' So I’m like, 'ok, I got nothing to do.' It was summer vacation, I was probably in 3rd or 4th grade. He lived next door, and I went over got this large paper shopping bag of cards. I take them home and start going through them. It's been a few hours, I’ve gotten some good cards but nothing special... I picked up the next card by the back, I see "Brooklyn Dodgers" and some stats and I’m just getting this feeling like, 'oh shit, oh shit.' I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time. It only took a second, but I remember turning the card over in slow motion, in my head thinking 'please let it be, let it be' and I remember just having a heart attack. A real life Jackie Robinson baseball card! My mom had these books at home that were called "ValueTales", they are a series of books that taught kids morals and to believe in themselves etc... There was a book about the story of Johnny Appleseed, Abraham Lincoln, but as cartoons and starting as kids. One of my favorite editions of the series was the Jackie Robinson story, which taught the value of courage. I remember viewing him as this epic figure, and here I was with his baseball card. I remember I was so naive that I called Josh up and was like, 'thank you so much! I can't believe there was a Jackie Robinson card in there,' when he was probably on the other line thinking, 'damn...' It was my prized possession, I had it in a single case, one day I guess I left it on the couch or somewhere, I go to bed, then later hear my mom on the phone, all of a sudden all I hear is 'OH NO, THE DOG HAS THE JACKIE ROBINSON CARD OH MY GOD!" I jumped out of bed, found it in this (ripped) condition, had a meltdown, I probably wanted to kill the dog. I was so sad I probably cried myself to sleep that night. I was so angry and sad I told my mom I didn’t even want it, get rid of it, I didn’t even look at it for maybe 6 months. But she always kept the card around, so later I healed enough to finally put it back in my book and accept it, because it is still a real Jackie Robinson card - it is ripped, but at least I have one, So (Shrugs)...
Michael Jordan: 1990 Upper Deck
For anyone that doesn’t know, really sadly Michael Jordans father was killed the summer after the Bulls won their third championship, the first 3 peat and as a way of coping Michael Jordan stepped away from the Bulls and pursued baseball because that was his dad's dream (to play in the major leagues). Jordan was good enough to get to the minor leagues with the Birmingham Barons, it had always been known before that he could play baseball well. This card was actually from before that, when he would play in spring training games. The White Sox and Bulls have the same owner. If you’re a real collector you have to have this. It was one of the first years of upper deck coming out and this was just a dope card to have.
Bo Jackson: 1991 Topps Traded
This was big because he was severely injured playing football. He had to retire from the sport and took a while off from baseball. Many people thought he was done. He was released by the Royals right before the season started, the White Sox signed him after the season started and everyone was pretty excited. This was included in Topps “traded edition”, which would come out midway through the season every year and multiple brands started following that format, reissuing cards for marquee players. This was the first card of Bo Jackson as a member of the White Sox. It was significant because he was such a famous player and so heavily tied to the Royals. And extra significant to me as a lifelong White Sox fan. My dad used to take my brother and I to Toys-R-Us and we’d buy packs of trading cards and my brother would always end up taking the best cards because he was 8 years older than me. He’d give me some of my personal favorite players that I'd heard of but actually sucked, while he’d pocketed a Mo Vaughn rookie card or this Bo Jackson card. One day I decided it was time to take them back, so I hope he’s not reading this because I did in fact steal this card back from him. So yeah, First ever Bo Jackson card on the Sox, the highlight of the Topps Traded Edition 1991.
Shawn Respert: 1995 Classic Wooden Award Contender (autographed)
My brother went to college at Michigan State and Shawn Respert and Eric Snow were there and they formed Fire & Ice. He is was the school leader in 3 pointers made, and Michigan State's all-time leading scorer. This card is special because it came from his collection, which is pretty interesting that I think about it. He graduated in 1995, and was my favorite basketball player at that time. When he got drafted, I wrote him a letter wishing him good luck with The Bucks and stuff. He wrote back with this signed basketball and that cemented him for me as one of my favorites. He never really made it in the NBA. It came out years later that he had stomach cancer and just never told any of his teams. But man he was a hell of a college player and a great guy.
Kobe Bryant: Fleer Ultra 95-96 Rookie Card
Outside of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant really opened the floodgates for high school players to go straight to the NBA. This was during the height of my card collecting. Getting a Kobe rookie wasn’t much of a big deal at the time, since he hadn’t done anything in the NBA yet, but I had a feeling that this was gonna be special. Similar to music, and how you can tell certain artists are going to be something special, I saw that with Kobe Bryant and basketball. I got this one in a pack. So many years later during his famous feud with Shaq I remember a lot of people siding with Shaq and at the time I was in teach for america training which was in Long Beach, California. There were a lot of kids from LA in that program and we were on the school bus one day and the radio announced that Shaq had just been traded to The Heat. All the kids were like “oh no!! Fuck Kobe” while I was just laughing since I was just a Bulls fan with no particular stake in either side.