Hailing from Mississippi is not necessarily a plus in the rap industry. With limited outlets to push music and few people searching for the immense talent that resides in the state it’s simply a difficult place to overcome. One artist I feel has the talent to take on the challenge is Teddy Kobain. Hailing from Oxford, MS by way of Memphis, TN the young rapper has an honesty shines through with every effort including his two prior singles F.H.I.T.O. and Somebody Loves You. This honesty and skill is set to culminate with the release of his long awaited EP No Fictitious Stories On My Wall. With the project set to debut tomorrow, November 2nd, what better time is there to help introduce the man behind the music and preview what’s to come? Head below to read our conversation with Teddy Kobain and do just that.
For those who are getting their introduction tell us a bit about your background?
My real name is Matt McClain, I am originally from Memphis, TN, but I moved to Oxford, MS back in ’96 with my mom and my little sister. I been here in Oxford for a good minute man, but I love my city. I am the oldest out of my brothers and two sisters. I am married to my beautiful wife Kay McClain (hey bay lol) who I met in 2012, and we have a beautiful 15 month old daughter and her name is India (I call her lil’ bay or baby bear).
What role does family play in your career?
My family plays a big role in my career. Everybody keeps it real with me and I listen majority of the time. Without family I wouldn’t be able to write some of the songs I have or ever wrote period. They keep me grounded and humble a lot.
What keeps you motivated?
What keeps me motivated would be my girls (wife and daughter) because my goal is to really show them the world and make sure they both are straight. It be times where I don’t even want to go punch the clock for work but I just close my eyes and just imagine both of their identical smiles and eyes and just say aight let me get my ass up and go make this money, figure out some moves I can make.
What is your favorite album of all time and why?
This is a hard one because I have so many but right off the back I have to say it’s between Usher’s “Confessions” album and Kanye’s first and third album “The College Dropout” and “Graduation”. The stories in those albums and what they talk about are amazing to me.
Rap is always evolving how do you plan to keep up with an ever changing genre?
Rap is true enough evolving. My way of keeping up would be me sticking to my recipe to keep that timeless music coming. Through this evolution of rap I want people to always come back and play my first project and be like “that’s that shit”.
Who do you feel is the most underrated artist of all time?
The most underrated artist of all time to me is Big K.R.I.T and Don Trip. They both are really talented and some people really be sleeping on them a little to hard.
Rap still isn’t looked upon as a respected genre of music, why do you think that rap isn’t as respected as its peers?
Because of these one hit wonders and some of the artist who are hot don’t even make any sense. Now I will play some Rae Sremmurd because their music is fun. I can dig that but everything else that’s out on the radio now I can’t. I listen to the oldies on my way to work and home with a little bit of the type Hip-Hop I listen too.
How do you relax?
I relax by chilling at the crib playing Madden 16 or NBA 2k16 and enjoying my family. I really don’t get into tv too much because there is always some crazy stuff I come across but when I do watch it I like shows like The Flash, Arrow, Gotham, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, Empire, and Rosewood. I am a movie head all day so my dvd collection is pretty dope too.
What was the project that made you wanna pursue rap?
The project that made want to pursue rap was J.Cole’s “Friday Night Lights” mixtape. Real talk I heard Cole for the first time driving in my moms car and “Who Dat” dropped. Bruh, when I say the vibe and feeling I caught off of that was crazy for real. So, for me to hear “Friday Night Lights” after that was it for me. Like I can say with a straight face that Kanye inspired the producer side of me and J.Cole inspired me to finesse my ability to use words to tell my own stories.
What’s on your playlist right now?
My playlist consist of Teddy Kobain, J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Big K.R.I.T, Wale, Lito, Don Trip, Kevin Gates, Le$, Truth Gordon, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa, Jeezy, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Drake, Wayne, WAR, T-Pain, Chris Brown, and Lil’ Dicky. This is not even half of who I listen to, because my RnB list is stupid long, my old school list starts from 1920’s all the way up to the 2000’s. I got some Classical Music in my stash too along with some Jazz.
Describe the mood you set in the studio?
The mood I set in the ‘yo depends on how I am feeling that day. I will say the majority of the time it be real mellow and chill. I play a lot of old school music and think. Most time I go in with a clear mind not even thinking about making a song. I mess around in FL studio for a little bit to see if I am feeling like being really creative with different sounds and it starts from there. If I catch the sound I am looking for then it’s a wrap from there.
What’s next on the horizon for you?
Next on the horizon for me would be working my EP “No Fictitious Stories On My Wall”. I hope to be performing at SXSW in March if I am selected to perform. I am praying for that spot man for real. I will be working on new music, more features and just continue to grow as a person and musician. Really just want to keep supplying some real and great music.
Next year I want to have the business side completely set. Then just putting in the work, making music. Also working in my degree of Medical Billing and Coding so I can put a lot more money behind the brand. I want to expand this Kobain Kampain, so I will have to get back used to hitting up different areas.
Who’s your biggest influence?
My biggest influence would be my mom. She is the perfect example for me to know that no matter the trials and tribulations everything will get better. I have seen my mom overcome some things in life and seen who she has become. Lol man my momma a boss now, literally.
Who inspires you the most? Outside of rap and musically?
Family and friends inspire me the most outside of rap. Musically I am inspired by my environment and situations. I really sit back and keep to myself and think a whole lot. For real though I think for some people who don’t know me like that would consider this EP being a lot of something to say.
My biggest single inspiration is my daughter because from the time she was born and even before she was born when we found out it was a girl I have been moving in a positive direction. It’s like everything started clicking. I really evaluated who I was at the time and how I can be an example of a man for my baby bear. I want to teach her how to think and use her mind. I mean it’s amazing how she does it now naturally but when life starts for her I want her to think before she reacts to all kinds of situations. She inspires me to do better every single day.
What do you feel is the best song you ever wrote and why?
The best song I ever wrote is one called “Ain’t Nothin’ Like” off of my EP. The whole process of creating that song was unbelievable because for one when I came across that sample it caught my attention instantly. It took me all of 10 minutes to make the beat. When I got a chance to just sit down and look at it, listen to it, the words started coming. Then what else made the song one of my best is that my wife helped me with her input and ideas and she is on the song with me in the hook. I got a chance to reflect back on my life the good times, the rough times and express my transition from a boy to a man.
https://soundcloud.com/teddykobain/somebody-loves-me-x-teddy-kobain-produced-by-teddykobain
Sounds very introspective and that’s good to have because rap is all about invoking emotion. Using your body of music as a whole, what’s the emotion you would say resonates most?
The emotion in my music is real emotion. I pretty much can relate to just about anything or have been in similar situations to where I can help a person by talking to them or being able to reach to them in song, you just have to listen to what I am saying. With my EP I feel like I have touched a good bit of emotions within myself that I know people can relate to. The only emotion I don’t really get into is anger to a point where it seems like hatred. I don’t hate anyone, might not like a few people but then again it could be vice versa.
How did the new project come into fruition?
I haven’t really made a project in like 5 years. Within those five years I have learned and studied my craft and I always told myself that if I ever just get my own equipment that I was going to put together a small project and put it out there in the world, the way my music sounds now compared to how I sounded 6 years ago is pure growth. I wanted to go through things and experience life before I created this project and I feel like it was all worth it up to completion.
How do you deal with adversity?
I pray first, then I just deal with it accordingly. I had to learn to pray more and watch my G do what he do for me. Most time I just sit and write about the situations and those become songs like “F. H. I. T. O”, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like” and “Green Grass” come to life.
Are the singles an indication of the sound to expect from the EP?
Those two singles are very much so the indication the sound I have created for Teddy Kobain. Different is what I was pushing for.
What is the ultimate goal you have as far as the project’s reach and sound?
The ultimate goal is to be heard, perform and just having people rock with movement. I want to earn money just so i can take care of my family and boss up in a positive way. I want to lead by example of doing the right thing.
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