đź’ 24kGoldn for ODDA Magazine
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine 20th Issue “There is a Time”.
24KGOLDN
2020 was a very good year for the 20-year-old rapper, singer, and songwriter 24kGoldn. His earworm of a song “Mood” had, by the end of the year, spent eight weeks at No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 between its original version, which featured Iann Dior, and the remix that worked in vocals from Justin Bieber and J. Balvin. 24kGoldn, who is taking a leave of absence from his full ride at the University of Southern California for Business Studies, is also in the early stages of setting up a scripted tv series about his life and his debut album “El Dorado'' is set to drop by April. All of which is to say 24kGoldn is currently living his best life.
JESSICA MICHAULT. When did the idea of becoming a singer really come into play for you?
24KGOLDN. It is such a tiered question because I feel like I was surrounded by music my whole life. When I was a baby, my mom and dad sang harmonies to me of Michael Jackson songs. Music was always there. I was always encouraged to sing and express myself through my voice. But it was not until I was 15, during my sophomore year of high school, when I had already linked up with my mentor, Paypa Boy, and he gave me the opportunity to record music for the first time, that things really got serious. I never wrote music at first. I started rapping a year prior, but Paypa Boy taught me how to write.
JM. Talk to me about the cultural dynamic between your parents; your father is Black and Catholic and your mother is white and Jewish. How did that impact the way you express yourself as an artist?
24K. For some people, when their parents are so different, that can be a cause of tension within their family dynamics. In my house, that was never an issue. It was about whoever had the best way for our child’s development. My parents were not overly religious in the first place, it was more about the culture and remembering to connect with spirituality. I think dealing with that duality growing up gave me a lot of perspectives, that there is not just one correct way of doing something. There are often many correct ways of doing something. The way this affects my music is that there is no one right way to make a rap song or a pop song. I am just making songs and letting it flow. I think that openness to combination, spin-offs, and variation comes from such an open-minded background.
JM. Your attitude is very joyful and positive. Where does this come from?
24K. I have always been very optimistic. From those early days of elementary school, my teachers always told me to act right or else the other kids will just do what you do. I was always encouraged to be that shining light in whatever room that I walked into. I think the way I am now is just a continuation of that. That is something that never changed within me. The light is better than the darkness to me even when we do deal with those dark situations. Everyone has their problems and struggles but you can look at them optimistically or think that it is all over. It is not always easy to pick the first option because life is hard.
JM. 2020 has been a tough year for most people. But it's been a year of major successes and wins for you. What has that been like, to have so much positivity come into your life in such a difficult year?
24K. I had a little bit of survivor’s remorse because everyone around me is going through a lot but my music was very successful. It was a weird dynamic. I never questioned the virus that much in the beginning, I put my head down and worked through it. But it's true that I don't even get to enjoy the fruits of my labors, essentially.
JM. Yes, but you did get to perform at “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve.” What was that like?
24K. That was dope because I remember watching that with my parents ever since I was a little kid. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I appreciate all those moments but I want the real-life experience. I grew up in an internet age, but I have always been a real-life experience kind of person. So this year has been the most challenging time period for me.
JM. What was the biggest “I can’t believe I’m here” moment?
24K. Whenever someone asks me what my most memorable moment as an artist has been, I still go back to that 2019 Bay Area Rolling Loud performance I did. I am from the Bay Area and that was my second Rolling Loud. The first one I did, right across the street from the school I went to, USC, had about 50 people show up. Boom, six months later I am back in my hometown and I have one of the most lit sets of Rolling Loud that year. It was surreal, going from having 50 people watch me to having 3,000 to 5,000 people watch me live in a matter of months was mind-blowing to me. That is still the moment that resonates with me the most.
JM. What makes a “lit” set? What do you have to do to get the crowd rolling?
24K. Honestly, I was wildin’ out. I brought girls up the stage to twerk, one of them kicked off the stage lights and I did not realize it until after. I like to stage dive at my shows, throw water, basically all the things that venues hate.
JM. You attained a full ride to the University of Southern California for Business Studies. Do you still have that business mindset? Do you still think about stuff like investing for your retirement?
24K. 90 percent of the time my head is on straight in the financial aspect. But that 10 percent of the time when I just wild out because it is whatever and who cares. Most of the time I am definitely responsible with my money. I do not live beyond my means. The way I describe it is the basketball game of 21. In 21, once you get past 13 points the lowest you can get knocked down to is that number 13. But the whole journey up there points 10, 11, 12, is extremely important because you can get knocked down all the way from 12 to zero. Until I get to that point of financial comfortability, there is definitely a part of me that is scared that I did not make it all the way yet.
“The light is better than the darkness to me even when we do deal with those dark situations. Everyone has their problems and struggles but you can look at them optimistically or think that it is all over. It is not always easy to pick the first option because life is hard.”
JM. You do a lot of collaborations. Who is on your bucket list to collaborate with next?
24K. Young Thug, Billie Eilish, and Drake. Those are my top three right now.
JM. “El Dorado,” your debut album, is coming out when?
24K. I just got the date from my label yesterday. I would say late March, early April. I have 10 songs but I want to make the project 13 songs. That is my lucky number. I have 10 songs that I really like for the album but some stuff needs some additional work. I got those extra three songs that I have to figure out too. I made a lot of music in this process, probably around 40 or 50 more songs. I am really picky, I am learning about myself, and especially since it is my debut album, I want to make sure I put my best and true foot forward.
JM. How are you defining how you want to represent yourself in your first album?
24K. That is the challenge of being a very genre-fluent artist. You have so many different types of fans. The fanbase is one, but it is also very segmented. The people who like “VALENTINO” might not necessarily be the same people that like “CITY OF ANGELS”. For me, it is important to create a project that is inclusive to all the different types of people that enjoy my music. It is inclusive to everybody, but not sacrificing any quality. The first 10 songs were easy, but those last couple ones were very difficult. Maybe it is not trying to compete with your own music, but about exploring your music and vibes.
JM. You have a song called “VALENTINO” and one called “Coco,” there are a lot of fashion references in your work. If you could go to any fashion show, who would you want to sit front row in?
24K. That is a very difficult question. I like Virgil’s Louis Vuitton collections, but it is more about certain pieces that stand out the most to me. Everyone likes Virgil’s collections but when everyone else starts to like something I start to not like it as much. But because of the environment and world that he creates at his fashion shows, I think that Virgil’s would be the fashion show that I would go to.
“For me, it is important to create a project that is inclusive to all the different types of people that enjoy my music. It is inclusive to everybody, but not sacrificing any quality.”
JM. I hear there is talk about a television series. Is that true?
24K. I just did a pitch meeting a couple of days ago. But it is this scripted show called “Golden” which is about my life. I do not know if a lot of people know this but when I first signed my deal and left college, I did not immediately move into an apartment or anything. That summer between being “college Golden”and superstar 24kGoldn I was living at my friend’s house in L.A. I am this kid from one of the poorest spots in one of the most expensive cities in the world that got a full scholarship to USC, got a full record deal, dropped out of school, and then moved into one of the craziest guest houses that I have ever lived in my life. I am just there the whole summer doing me. That fish out of water experience was a crazy idea to pitch. It is like “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” meets “Entourage.”
JM. How has the Black Lives Matter movement impacted you as a person, and your music?
24K. I think that it shifted more of my sense of urgency rather than my music or my beliefs. I have always been an advocate for my people ever since my freshman year of high school. We were doing all these events so it has always been an issue that I was passionate about. But after going to those protests and experiencing everything that came as a result of the killings clicked in my urgency. It made me realize that I am not just a kid anymore. I have a platform and I can use this platform to deeply impact people’s lives and potentially change their perspective on how they see things. My demographic is a lot of younger people and they look up to social media stars, artists, and actors to be their moral compass and guide. Like Uncle Ben in “Spiderman” said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Now I know that I have a lot of power and it is my job to change the world to be the way that I want it to be and one that I want to live in.
In conversation with JESSICA MICHAULT
Edited by CHARLENE FRETT
Photographer HARRY EELMAN
Fashion editor SHARON CHITRIT
All by LOUIS VUITTON MENSWEAR S/S 2021
