K. Flay – The Last Days Of Junior Year

It’s equally important for an indie emcee to mash both potatoes and tracks. San Francisco’s K. Flay is doing that an alarming rate. Following her debut mix tape MASHed Potatoes in September, the Stanford University graduate dropped a self-titled EP a month later to put Bay Area hip-hip heads on notice: she’s pursuing a masters on the mic. The Chicagoland native spoke to TWV on attaining a GED (good enough disc) without even picking up her guitar and asks where the seniors are partying next year.

The Well Versed: You started rapping in your spare time while studying at Stanford six years ago. When did you realize hip-hop could be your full time gig?

K. Flay: Not really until after I graduated [in 2007]. I was sort of–I got done with school, I was considering applying to graduate school but I wasn’t ready to be back and be a full time student. I was a little burned out after college. I was teaching the GRE’s and SAT’s, test exams for people. I was doing music just for fun on the side.

A couple of people got interested in what I was doing. It was encouraging enough that I was, sort of, alright, making a concerted effort to try to earn money through music and quit my other jobs, which I actually was able to do eventually. It was maybe a year after I graduated that I started thinking seriously about it, figuring it probably wasn’t good if I wasn’t going to try hard to make it happen for real.

TWV: How did you get the name?

K: My full name is Kristine Flaherty. All throughout high school I played sports, so people always called me Flay. When I got to college—everyone, not because I told them to—in my freshmen dorm, a lot of called me K Flay. Kristine Flaherty doesn’t sound like an awesome emcee name so I went with the nickname.

TWV: You talk a lot about personal anxiety in your songs—

K: [laughs]

TWV: Is that an understatement?

K: I was an anxious kid growing up. That’s my thing. Everyone gets a little sad. I worry about things that I really shouldn’t worry about too much. I got to chill the fuck out, I think.

TWV: Do you feel hip-hop has shifted away from general social consciousness to personal social issues like anxiety?

K: Even with people like Drake, who are like super-kinda mainstream, you can play it anywhere, but a lot of his stuff is very inwardly focused. I don’t know what it is. Its like the inner experience is becoming more relevant in the hip-hop context. I think its cool because there’s still definitely the social commentary aspect to the genre and there’s a lot of people doing that.

But in my mind its like, the genre is kind of broadening as more and more people become involved in the creation in that kind of music, just as any genre kind of evolves over time and grows broader and more multi-faceted. You’re right, it does seem like we’re in—Kid Cudi is very much more in that personal space. Have you listened to his new album at all?

TWV: I have. That’s what’s interesting to me about it. I see you in that realm alongside Kid Cudi and Atmosphere who are really speaking on anxiety.

K: I think it definitely succeeds in the sense that it conveys a real state, a mental state. It’s not a great mental state. I’ve always been drawn to singer-songwriter stuff and really personal lyrics. I think that’s why my stuff tends to be a little more in that direction. Those are guys that I definitely look up to. Not only respect, especially like Slug, he’s such a pioneer of that. His connection to his audience is insane. They’re just totally rabid, totally invested in music—in a cool way.

TWV: You cleverly forced people to “Like” your Facebook fan page in order to download your new track “Fuck and Run.” How important is social media to an up-and-coming artist like yourself? The flip side, how much anxiety does that create for you as an artist because everything is on display in a 24-hour news cycle?

K: I think it sort of depends. If you’re an artist that’s mysterious, there’s definitely musicians and bands that I think people are drawn to them because there’s an element of mystery and enchantment with some kind of unknown. That’s not really the case with me. I’m pretty much—I’m kind of a very, very regular, normal person. I’m not mysterious; if I tried to be mysterious, people would laugh in my face. I think for someone like me, social media is very good.

I like that kind of interaction. Connecting people in that way is kind of a goal of mine. I think that will help more and more people listening to my music. I think there is a lot of pressure. Even if it’s not like slipping up and something getting posted or Tweeted or whatever, it’s just this pressure to always be interacting. At times, for everybody, no matter what your job is, you don’t want to go to work. You just want your weekend and do whatever. I think more than anything, at least from other artists I’ve talked to its kind of the pressure of maintenance. Constantly being “on” in some capacity. It’s certainly a way to help build a movement; there has to be another element to it that people really believe in, like a product, not just a persona. I definitely think it can be a jumping off point.

TWV: How do you feel about your product these days? You just released a self-titled EP. What’s the reaction been like?

K: It’s been cool. I put out the EP largely as something to have on tour. I had a couple tours in the fall. I didn’t really have something for people to take home music wise. I kind of took the songs that were in a more finished state and had a cohesive quality and put those together for it. It’s sort of like a little introduction. I’m really glad that it’s out there, listen and check it out and start to get a vibe for the project.

I’m just excited for next year to put out a full length for people to get sense of my music. This EP doesn’t have a lot of guitar stuff on it and that’s another dimension to what I do. It’s like figuring out the right way to integrate the different components, but hopefully that will come out nicely in the full length. I’m just excited to give people a more comprehensive idea of what I’m doing next year.

TWV: Would you describe this as a building block year?

K: I feel like I’m a junior in high school. ‘Oh, I kinda get it now.’ You know that feeling when you’re not a little shrimpy freshmen or sophomore, you’re kinda like, ‘I know a bunch of seniors. Its cool.’ I kinda feel like that right now. Hopefully next year will be a fun senior year.

TWV: Like now you know where the parties are…

K: Exactly. I’m still trying to get in.

TWV: Having graduated with degrees in psychology and sociology in a time when the economy hasn’t been kind to recent graduates, does that make it easier to pursue artistry because, what else is there to do?

K: I think its interesting because a lot of people that I know—I don’t know if this is the case for you too—have jobs but they just don’t care about them. They got a job, they’re paying their bills but its not something their passionate about. It’s just a way to keep their roof over their heads. As a consequence, at least I know for me, when I’m engaged in a pursuit that’s not completely captivating to me, it makes me want to do other things even more.

I think that not only being unemployed, that inspires a certain degree of dejection that often supplies creative output, but its also being in a job you don’t care about, having that free time when you’re off work to devote it to something you care about. It’s been cool.

TWV: How does being the road inspire creativity?

K: You get to places where stuff doesn’t always come around. People are really hungry for new music, for new live acts. On this last tour with 3OH!3, kids line up before doors and they’re there for all the opening acts and looking to discover things. That was kind of the most inspirational part of this last run because we were in a lot of markets that were like instead of being in L.A., we were in Bakersfield.

TWV: You’ve worked with MC Lars and Zion I. What have those collaborations taught you about making it as an artist?

K: It’s cool because everyone has a different creative process and for me on a fan level, that’s interesting. What’s really cool about Lars, who I’ve known since I was about 20—I’ve known him since college—is [he's] just really, really hard working people…

They’re super focused and very much committed to a vision of what they want to do and what kind of music they want to put out. That’s just very inspirational.

TWV: Any plans for collaboration in immediate future?

K: I’m on the new Eligh record with the Grouch on a track called “Shine.”

TWV: Has your career been sudden? Is this all happening very fast for you?

K: It does feel kinda crazy at times because its meeting people and collaborating with people that I really respect, but I also feel that I’m ready for things to be ramped up…dive into these experiences with all of my being.

TWV: Do you feel it’s important for young artists to not sound like their inspiration and draw from varied sources? I know you’re big into Liz Phair and sound nothing like her.

K: I think the main pitfall and this is something I think a lot about too is, who are you making music for? I think the biggest issue that people encounter and I know I feel pressure in this way too, is to make music with someone else in mind. Not that music should be created in a vacuum in a totally narcissistic fashion but I think the best stuff is a vision of inner experience. Not appeasing some investor or some perceived audience. As a total fan of music myself, the music and the songs that resonate the most with me are those that were born from some kind of necessity and not from some less authentic place.

TWV: Your own sexuality on your records: what’s the difference between your take and what’s put out in the mainstream?

K: As a performer in any way, the potential for sexuality to get co-opted is just there. Its kind of a part of it, any kind of performer I think. I think for me I try to be as honest, I guess, about my own experiences. Some of what I say is a little tongue and cheek. I think when you’re an artist that projects an image of your own it allows for a little more unusual representations.

TWV: Do you feel there’s a push to have fun in hip-hop again given the current tense socioeconomic climate?

K: You look at someone like Lil Wayne and he’s a character. He’s like Lady Gaga in a sense. He’s this superhuman, larger-than-life persona of over-the-top persona of zaniness. I think there’s a reason that people are drawn to that in recent years that they perhaps weren’t in the past. Character is the wrong word but that existing is a nice counter point…Look at someone like Nicki Minaj, she’s obviously having an impact and resonating. She’s got these crazy voices and she’s kind of her own creation.

TWV: Anxiety-related depression comes up in your tracks. How is creating music worth the personal pain?

K: I think for me when I’m sad, those are some of the times when I feel the most alive and inspired…feeling kind of in the depths of a low place makes me feel very much in the moment and present. It’s oddly comforting in a way. I remember when I had my first real break-up, I was like, ‘I’m so sad,’ but at the same time there’s something I perversely like.

TWV: That’s the masochism in us all. Has being K. Flay made it easier or more difficult to find a man?

K: I am so in work mode constantly I feel like its a distraction I can’t afford right now. I’m staying focused on music and just knowing myself, if I get involved with someone I’m not gonna be as productive or creative. I’m not trying to get mixed up with any dudes, cause any problems.

TWV: So big things in 2011?

K: Definitely gonna be on the road as much as possible. I’m gonna be out most of the month of January. I have some East Coast dates, a couple of Midwest things, then back to the West Coast. I’ll be at Slim’s on the 28th of January. Being as creative as possible and writing as much as I can, learning from other artists and hopefully soaking it all up.