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King Louie: Voices From the Street

By FinalCall.com News | Last updated: Jan 21, 2015 - 11:52:11 AM

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King Louie (also known as King L) is a major figure in Chicago’s music scene, but you might not know that his participation is also major in the “Put The Guns Down” movement.

You will often hear it wildly publicized when rappers are doing wrong, but an effort should also be made to applaud them when they are doing something right, such as raising awareness related to inner-city wealth discrepancies and joblessness or participating in anti-violence efforts. He recently shared his perspective on life in the place dubbed “Chiraq” with The Final Call’s Ashahed M. Muhammad.

Interview with King Louie (also known as King L)

Ashahed M. Muhammad, The Final Call (FC):  I know you are active in the “Put the Guns Down” movement, there have been concerts and there are many things—good and bad—going on here in the city. We know people are doing what they need to do in order to survive. We have heard how sometimes the older generation judges the younger generation but what are your thoughts as one of the young leaders?

King Louie (KL):  I just think like Minister Farrakhan says, do unto others as you want done to yourself. I just want to be a father for my child to teach that to the youth coming up that will become fathers. Be a good dad and teach your kids the right things.

FC: We see that with you a lot. You are active on social media, specifically on Instagram we see you have your young daughter with you out and about in the city, going to places with you visiting and things like that, so you don’t like seeing what is going on in Chicago when you see all the violence. …

KL:  No, because I came up without my father but I didn’t take the negative out of it; I took the positive out of it. My father was locked up. Somebody told on him. So I look at it like—the government got someone to turn on my father to take him away from me so I took the positive out of it. I try to stay in my daughter’s life as much as possible and be around because that affects a child and you don’t even know it; that’s why the community is like it is due to the effect of the loss of fathers or lack of fathers in the younger generation’s lives. I ain’t going to flex my role. One of my role models was my auntie!  So I just want to be positive and strong like her.  That was my hero, my auntie!

FC: Now some people in the public eye say that they’re not role models. They don’t like that responsibility being a role model. Clearly, you have a lot of people that look up to you, they follow you and you’re also bringing in a lot of other rappers to grow under you as they learn about business related matters. Do you feel like a role model? Do you know you are a role model for many?

KL:  I feel like—I know I’m a role model but I look at it like—if you’re born and you’re born a human, you don’t say you wish you were born a dog. So me being born a role model, it’s like that’s how I was born. That’s why I was put here, so I have to deal with it. We’re born Black, some people were born White, so you can’t say you wish you were born White. You just got to use it to the best of your ability and do what you’re supposed to do with it.

FC: What’s the biggest misunderstanding that you think people have about what is going on in the streets? Much of it reported through mainstream media. 

KL:  I think the news is a lie. I think they just do stuff to make people do stuff. It’s like a conspiracy. I don’t really believe everything I see on the news. I’ve been part of things on the news and it was fraudulent information that the news produced, so I tend to not believe the news.  People have a mind of their own. So if you want to stay on the street, that’s what you do you know what I’m sayin? Like I do what I do. The music I know helps the people get through the day. It’s like one of the brothers said earlier, it’s like the rap is like movies. Like they gave an Oscar—they gave Denzel (Washington) and Halle (Berry) Oscars for the bad roles that they played but they’re great people. Those are just roles in movies so all I’m doing is just the music. It’s just like a movie. My life is a movie so I’m just playing my role, being my character in a movie, in my own life’s movie.

FC: And the misunderstandings that people have who don’t know about what’s going on out in the streets?

KL:  It’s just that when you judge that means—to judge someone you are not comfortable with yourself.  Everybody contradicts themselves.  A lot of people that judge people about stuff do the same thing they judge somebody about! Sometimes those people that are judges aren’t comfortable with themselves.

FC:  Anything else you want to add or tell the people?

KL:  Just stay positive and man-up band-up. Be a man about every situation and get your money!

FC:  Thank you.