Why Khaliq: Outlook
The state of Minnesota is home to a lot of talent and the attention drawn over the last few months has been well-deserved. A native of St. Paul, Why Khaliq, is helping put the burgeoning Minnesota hip hop scene on the map.
On January 20th, he dropped a project entitled Under The Perspective Tree (UTPT), driven by a new outlook and inspiration in life: his daughter. No stranger to adaptation, this new motivation pulled a raw, more storytelling part from within. With a distinct flow and delivery, Khaliq’s lyrics reach for your soul; realistic and relatable, the connection one feels upon listening to his music is innate. Recently, I had the chance to meet with Khaliq and get an inside look at just what it’s like to be under his very own “perspective tree.”
Photos by Jazmayne Lynn
When and where did you start making music? I started recording when I was in 11th grade. [My friend] Cam brought me to the studio, we recorded this song called “Racks” and it was so garbage. I remember the next day I was supposed to have my ACT and I missed it because all I wanted to do was record. I used to just listen to a song and write my own raps over other artist’s music. No one really knew though.
What inspires you? Life. Like, we can be sitting here right now and something said can just spark up and I can hit the studio and make a song. I just take inspiration for whatever I feel I’m absorbing. When I was writing UTPT, I had a two hour commute to work. I would just ride and people watch. I would see people driving, homeless people, people with 3 or 4 babies. And that all inspired what I’m saying in the music. When you listen to the song Euphoria, I was taking everything in. I see people going through it and I feel like we are all searching for this happiness.
Listening to your latest release, Under The Perspective Tree, it’s apparent your daughter is a huge encouragement. Is that a different type of inspiration? Yeah, it’s way different. I was writing to her before she was born, trying to explain what the world was going to be like before she got here. She’s like an invisible inspiration. Before she was born, I was lazy; I didn’t want to work two jobs. After, I just started doing shit. I stopped being lazy and I was working hard out of nowhere. Musically, not everything is about her but knowing this is a way I can provide for her makes me take my craft way more seriously.
Clearly, you have a lot of responsibilities. How do you find a balance? A good support system. I’m surrounded by people who understand what I’m doing and that it’s going to benefit all of us in the end.
Has race ever made you feel limited when creating or attempting to work with people? All the time. I can feel people stereotyping when I tell them I make music & I can tell they’re unsure the second I say I rap. Luckily, I like to earn my respect. I’ll just show them a video or have them come to a show and see what it’s about.
How do you separate yourself from other artists? My in-house producer definitely helps. I feel like I have something that not everyone has and that’s the ability to dream and to truly have the urge to chase that without looking back. People don’t see that dreams are close enough to touch. People don’t understand that God put a gift in all of us. If you know it and maximize it, you’re going to be successful. It’s all about having faith and taking risks.
Listen to Under The Perspective Tree here: https://soundcloud.com/whykhaliq/sets/under-the-perspective-tree
