KILLY
CENSOR ©
All right. This is for CENSOR © Magazine. What moment in your career are you most proud of?
KILLY
I think so far up to date just the longevity of my career. I blew up in 2017 the first video I dropped and went insanely viral And through all the trials and tribulations, I've still been able to maintain a successful career, a lot of people that blew up in 2017, in my era aren't here today. They can't sell tickets, they can't sell out shows. So I'm just proud of the fact that I can still do what I love to do and make money off of it. And, you know, feed my family.
CENSOR ©
What was the hardest part about growing up in Canada?
KILLY
Damn the hardest part about growing up in Canada? That's a good question. I feel like everyone's experience is different in Canada, because we all..... the thing with Canada is a lot of people are coming from immigrant families. So you have the struggle of being an immigrant in Canada. I think it's like, working your way up from the bottom, essentially, it's a lot of people's story, especially in hip hop within Canada. Our families move here from countries, whether it's in Asia or the Caribbean, or Africa, we come here, and we start with nothing and make something out of nothing. I think that's the biggest struggle within, at least for me, and from my perspective growing up in Canada.
CENSOR ©
What song made you realize you made it?
KILLY
My first one, I dropped the video “Kilimanjaro” and it has 85 million streams to this day. but within like one, the first day I dropped about 10,000 views, and no one knew me, this is seven, eight years ago now. So I felt like I had already made it. 10,000 views in one day is crazy. I felt like I made it since then.
CENSOR ©
So was it like unexpected?
KILLY ©
I knew I was gonna blow up my whole life. I knew I was gonna be successful.
CENSOR ©
Everybody always seen it.
KILLY ©
No, no one seen it. But I was blessed enough to at least be someone that had a plan and knew what I wanted to do from when I was a young kid. A lot of people aren't fortunate enough to understand what they want from their life. When they're 10 years old, you know? But for me, I've been on the same path since I was 10. I stuck to it. I thought I'd blow up in high school. I never blew up. I was pissed. But one year removed from high school, I ended up making my first song which ended up blowing.
CENSOR ©
So what gave you that confidence? Was it just in you, your parents, your family?
KILLY ©
It was definitely my parents. I hated that I did not get along with my family because they pushed me to the edge. But it is what is that that made me who I am today. And at that time, I hated and left home when I was 16….I hated my parents, hated my family. But because of how hard and strict they were on me, it pushed me to do things that not everyone is able to do.... Now I'm thankful and I have a good relationship with them.
CENSOR ©
I'm the same way my parents, you know. My mom was strict. Alot of shit. My parents didn't let me do what a lot of other kids did. Now I look back and I've got the structure I need to do things.
KILLY ©
The discipline, the diligence. All of that shit. I'm the eldest. I had to be responsible for all three of my siblings my whole life since I was a kid. So it's like all these things that I hated as a kid really made me want to do my thing.
CENSOR ©
Respect respect. What's your favorite place in the states to tour and why?
KILLY ©
My favorite place.... I opened up for…. now… has to be Atlanta. That was crazy. Atlanta goes crazy. I have a story like before SOB's closed down in New York a cool moment for me… one of my first shows in America was opening up for Sahbabii in New York. No one knew me. The crowd did not fuck with me. I wasn't really on yet. But then a year later, I built and I came out and I sold out that show and it was amazing. It was just like a full circle moment I think.
CENSOR ©
How did growing up in Toronto shape your view on music?
KILLY ©
Growing up in Toronto was special because there's no real place you can grow up in Canada that's not Toronto and feel like you can do what people did because of the Drake's because of the Weeknd's. I grew up looking into the GOAT’s of the whole industry... of the whole world... they come from Toronto, the Justin Bieber's. So if it wasn't for these people I wouldn't feel like I had a chance. So yeah, Toronto is still on the come up too like, to be real… but to be one of the first people to be able to cross over and have a career in America and have a career around the world is like, it's a blessing.
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CENSOR ©
All right, so when you say, the Drake's and the Weeknd’s and the Justin Bieber's, does it almost feel like mythical or do you feel like they paved the way a little bit? Or both?
KILLY ©
Before Drake, no one could really crossover. All these rappers that are popping.... I don't know how familiar you are with Toronto. But the doors were not open. Drake really opened a lot of the doors like, I wouldn't have a career if he didn't have a career….the career he has… I tell him that. Even The Weeknd tells us that. Like, he opened the doors for Canada as a whole. So it's like, being a kid from Toronto knowing Americans look at us like we're from Europe, or like, we’re from some random place. But he made it more normalized for us to be like, accepted just coming from Toronto.
CENSOR ©
Yeah, I ain't gonna lie as an American from Atlanta. I did not realize how fye Toronto is….like I've been riding around..... This ain't my first time to Toronto, but every time I come here, I'm just like, damn, like, this shit is a beautiful city.
KILLY ©
Every rising artists from America, they love it here. I love my shorties. I bring them to lit spots. They're like, damn, like, I didn't know Toronto was like, a real city. You know? Bro I love bringing my American homies up here to just show them like, where I come from and like our city because bro, there's so much untapped potential here as well. Like, we're not even…. the thing is like with you and Atlanta…you guys figured out how to work together. And like, maybe not… but from the outside.... You're from Atlanta so you know the inner politics and shit but from the outside. When I'm in Atlanta, I go to fucking Mean Street Studios and there's one person in one room…one person in this room. Toronto doesn't have that.... everyone wants to kill each other bro. Like, realistically in Hip Hop, Americans might not know that. They think we're on some Canadian happy shit like polite shit but realistically, every rapper here has politics with each other.
CENSOR ©
Everybody's trying to be that one.
KILLY ©
Once we figure out how to just use each other and work together. We’ll be so blessed.
CENSOR ©
So what's an artist that's passed away that you wish you could have worked with?
KILLY ©
I think XXX or Juice. Juice WRLD brought me out to Germany, Tokyo, Miami, brought me all over the world.
CENSOR ©
You was in that world!
KILLY ©
Yeah but we never actually got a chance to make a song and that's like… that was someone that.... when he passed away I really felt it more than just someone I met in the industry. Same with X….X would always show me love and talk but we never got a chance to even meet or fucking work. So those are my two for sure.
CENSOR ©
What made you stop playing soccer and focus on music?
KILLY ©
Damn bro how you know that (laughing). I just feel like as I grew older, soccer was more like..... I wasn't the best (laughing). When I started getting older, I got in high school and I wasn't the best... my whole life, I was the best. That was a big regret because I stopped being the best and I feel like I quit because I wasn't the best anymore. So when it came to music… I just started focusing on music. I want to be the best, the best version of me, then that's what really shifted. And I swore I'd never do that with music. I was like, regardless of whoever's doing better than me, I'm not watching nobody and focusing on myself. I'm gonna just do it for me, I do it for what I care about.
CENSOR ©
What do you think you would be doing if you didn't become an artist?
KILLY ©
Yeah, good question. I think journalism, I'll probably be into journalism, or something with fashion. I really like fashion
CENSOR ©
Would you make clothes? Would you model? Would you write books? Articles? What would you do?
KILLY ©
I'm making my own clothes now. We haven't had like an official release yet but I'm working on it.
CENSOR ©
And who's your favorite Toronto musician? Other than you know… the obvious?
KILLY ©
I really fuck with PARTYNEXTDOOR. I like NAV, I'm good with everyone, bro. Me and Pressa have a bunch of songs.
CENSOR ©
Pressa is hard!
KILLY ©
One of my super super dogs from the city.
CENSOR ©
And what are you working on?
KILLY ©
Right now. I'm working on my next album. I'm going on this tour. I have my own tour I'm doing and then I'm opening up for Autumn! in Europe then I’ll drop my album. I'm just tapping back into the underground kind of where I came from. Just trying to you know, just trying to build and keep going.