Houston, TX is known for many things; sports, NASA, and of course its contribution to Southern Hip Hop culture. Growing up on the notorious Dead End Drive from the city’s south side, Killa Kyleon embodies everything the city used to be and more of what it is destined to become.
After a young Killa Kyleon caught the attention of Slim Thug, who signed him to his Boss Hogg Outlawz imprint, he released three projects as a member of the Outlawz, gaining popularity both regionally and nationally. Upon parting ways with the group and imprint, Killa propelled forward as a solo artist, successfully completing 30 Days 30 Deaths (a previously unheard of attempt at dropping a new freestyle every single day for thirty consecutive days) in addition to a hand full of highly-regarded mixtapes. In addition, Kyleon was featured on Wiz Khalifa’s highly acclaimed Kush and Orange Juice project and worked alongside DJ Drama to release Gangsta Grillz Extra: Natural Born Killa.
Killa Kyleon remains one of the South’s most talented, crafty, hard-working and diverse artists and he has very ambitious plans for 2017, including a new album, Texas Plates & Candy Paint 3, which will be released this spring and includes guest appearances from Bun B, Scarface, Devin The Dude, A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, Willie D, & Young Dolph among others.
Before his proper album arrives, Killa Kyleon has released his new project, Lorraine Motel, a conceptual project, released on 4-4-17 and honors the legacy of historic black leaders and figures, chiefly, Dr. Martin Luther King, who was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. During the segregation era, the hotel was an upscale destination that accommodated exclusively black clientele; and it became a frequent destination for many influential and iconic artists as well, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett & The Staple Singers. The hotel is now a complex of museums and historic buildings, tracing the history of the civil rights movement from the 17th century to present day. The National Civil Rights Museum is built around the former Lorraine Motel.
“The Lorraine Motel project is directed at what’s going on in today’s society within the black community as a whole” Killa Kyleon states. “It’s not a one sided commentary, it deals with the treatment people of color have been receiving from law enforcement and how we are programmed and influenced by social media, television and the culture of Hip-Hop to treat each other as well. As a race and culture, we need to stand together, but also take accountability for our actions. I feel the black American dream and ideal died when MLK was murdered in Memphis (at the Lorraine Motel). So I created this conceptual project as an analogy of today’s climate in America. We (African Americans) all died that day at the Lorraine Motel. Barack Obama is the last of one of our strongest black leaders to lead us as a race. The Lorraine Motel project focuses on events (both past and current) that have taken place since that fatal day.”
