In this interview, I hang out with Ian Kelly, a versatile rapper and storyteller from Oakland, California. We talk about community, the artist's evolution, intentionality, and of course, all of this involves music.

As I’ve continued to talk to artists recently, I’ve noticed that there are certain things a few have in common in their growth. It’s part of being intentional and part of letting go. This can seem strange because it’s contradictory, but it also seems true. Ian and I discussed this relation to his evolution. I don’t know; we’ll see where this goes as I interview more artists.

Something unique I appreciated about Kelly’s process is this idea of motion and imagery. He says that he “creates in motion” and that he takes opportunities to create, to imagine, while walking in the park or in the ideal passenger seat of the car. This is when he imagines, sees, and conceptualizes. He’s an imagery person, and I like it when sentences, bars, lines, and words produce images in my brain. I don’t always think about this, but it’s nice when I hear someone's words, and a scene is laid out in front of me, in my head. It’s funny how image and imagine are so closely related because one is so concrete, and the other extremely expansive.

Kelly has a few singles out, leading up to his Concrete Ocean EP, which will be released this May (2025). He also has three LPs.

Here are a couple of the latest singles:

WTA, featuring DJ D Sharp

SLIDIN, featuring DJ D Sharp and Iamsu!

You can also hear Kelly freestyling on Sway in the Morning HERE.

Ian Kelly website: https://www.firstnameian.com/about

PHOTO BY Lara Kaur

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