King Terry III
We selected King Terry III from the 5,000 recording artists who entered our ReverbNation contest, because we love his smooth jazz vocals behind his hip hop lyrics. “I’m definitely honored to have been selected. I know a lot of artists submitted.”
When I asked King Terry III if it was him singing vocals, he admitted, “On some tracks, like All Day All Night, I am singing vocals as well.” King Terry III, you definitely should sing more often!
King Terry III’s sound is quite unique and lyrical; it’s not traditional hip hop or rap. King Terry III describes his music as: “50% old school, 50% new school. I really try to mix it up and try not to forget what music used to be like.” Who does King Terry III credit as his major music influences? “Anything, all the way back to Rick James and The Isley Brothers. I love to hear a lot of their sounds in my music. That’s why I love to use a lot of samples and horns, strings and saxophones. I try to mix it up by giving people different sounds and different takes.”
In addition to winning the Amused Now Featured Artist contest, King Terry III has won numerous other awards, especially for his songwriting. “I’ve won quite a few awards from local performing showcases. I’ve won songwriting contests, from the International Songwriting Competition to the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. I used to enter every songwriting contest that I could find. I’ve also sold some of these songs on iTunes and Bandcamp.”
I listened to all King Terry III’s songs and I agree with his fans, my favorite is Rollin. I also really like Paid for Freestyle. King Terry III filled us in about Paid for Freestyle’s back story: “That was a fun record. I just started recording at the studio and the producer Newstalgia just started playing the beat. He let me freestyle on it, and then he started making his own chops with my vocals and moving stuff around. It came out kindda nice.”
Each one of King Terry III’s songs is produced by a different producer, which gives each one a different style. So, I asked King Terry III what he looks for when talking to producers: “I really look for a producer who has their own sound, who isn’t trying to copy everything else that they hear commercially. A lot of times I end up working with producers from other countries, having to use Google Translate to get the messages through.”
I really enjoyed his story behind the single All Day All Night: “I worked with producer High Klassified. He lives in Canada, and he mainly speaks French. It was really hard for us to break the language barrier. He ended up getting signed to Fool’s Gold, a record label owned by Kanye West’s Tour DJ, DJ A-TRAK, shortly after we did the record. So, that was definitely fun that we got to link up.”
When I asked King Terry III how he uses social media, he replied: “I love social media for getting the word out about my music on Twitter and Facebook. I just love connecting with new people. I like the ability that social media gives you to reach out to fans around the globe.” Like me, King Terry III’s social media platform of choice is Twitter: “I’ve been building my Twitter account for years.”
King Terry III advises other artists: “Do not be afraid to share your music. A lot of artists make music and they just share it with their friends on Facebook and allow it to circulate that way. Never be afraid to show your music to somebody out of the ordinary, somebody you don’t even know, because you never know, you can make a new fan in that moment.”
What’s up next for King Terry III? “I’m working on my next EP, which I don’t have a title for yet. I’m definitely using Rollin and All Day All Night on it. I’m going to release it for free on Bandcamp and my official website as well.”
King Terry III plays live 2-3 times each month: “I’m hoping to pick it up more.” Right now, King Terry III is getting ready for a show next month near Orlando, FL. Show dates and times can be found on his website and on Twitter.
Watch the complete video interview on the Amused Now YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/HaTg2ZnAM7M
Amused Now ReverbNation Contest Winners
King Terry III
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@kingterryiii
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Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now
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