May 26, 2023 |
Los Angeles-based artist Khamari does everything. Songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, the R&B aficionado has been compared to industry heavyweights like Frank Ocean and Mac Miller, despite only pursuing music full time for the past five years. Born in Boston, Khamari moved to La-La-Land after laying some impressive groundwork for his success, attending the Berklee School of Music and accumulating a roster of skills playing instruments from the piano to French horn. He debuted his first EP Eldorado in 2019 – a six-song blend of emotive yet infectious pop ballads backed by a sea of soulful guitar strums.
Since then, he’s released multiple spell-bounding tracks, such as the popular ‘Doctor, My Eyes’ and ‘Tell Me’, as well as the more recent ‘On My Way’, which dropped March 10. Off the back of this revered tracklist, fans of Khamari have – quite understandably – been eagerly waiting for an album. Today, he delivered. ‘A Brief Nirvana’ – a genre-blending masterpiece which draws on inspirations from gospel to electronic to acoustics – proves that this artist deserves the hype that surrounds him. Although peppered with admirable elements, the MVP of this sonic production is arguably the lyricism. Across the 11-track collection, Khamari manages to touch on themes of solitude, perspective and self-discovery with clarity and ease.
The multifaceted nature of his impressive musical inventory is reflected in the influences that inspire him. Spanning from The Beatles to Stevie Wonder to Kid Cudi, Khamari’s ability to draw on a multitude of stimuli to create his unique and progressive work is truly exciting to watch. Here, we sat down with Khamari to ask about all things writing, how Boston has influenced his sound and what he considers the greatest love songs ever written.
1. Hey Khamari! Can you walk us through the story behind “Right My Wrongs”? How were you feeling at the time of writing?
“’Right My Wrongs’ is about that feeling after a relationship had gotten to a place where I was questioning choices I made and wondering if there was anything I could’ve done differently to save it, or if the situation was wrong from the start.”
2. How about the track “These Four Walls”? What’s it about and why have you selected that as the feature track?
“’These Four Walls’ is about learning to look at the isolation I was in when I first moved to Los Angeles from a different perspective. I wrote it in the living room of my apartment when I had just moved and there was no furniture besides my rolling desk and my speaker stands. It made the most sense as the focus track because it ties together a lot of the concepts I talk about on the project: the search for perspective, isolation, the angst of being in a [certain] position and wanting more.”
3. How will you be celebrating the release of your debut album A Brief Nirvana?
“In all honesty, I’ll probably be working on music.”
4. Being raised in Boston, how would you say the city has influenced your sound?
“Growing up in Boston gave me the curiosity to listen to different genres, but the thing that had the [greatest] influence on my sound is what my grandfather and my parents listened to. They had a soundtrack for everything they ever did when I was growing up, so I discovered a lot of music that way.”
5. In your opinion, what is the greatest love song ever written and why?
“‘As’ by Stevie Wonder is one of the greatest love songs ever written, ‘Mrs. Jackson’ by Outkast too. In both cases because the pen game is crazy creative but still universal.”
6. Greatest revenge track?
“‘U Don’t Know’ by Jay-Z or ‘Gives you Hell’ by All American Rejects.
7. What are your essentials for a great studio session?
“If I have a guitar, synths and a TV to play movies in the background, the session will definitely be a vibe.”
8. If you could have any designer make all your tour outfits, who would you pick and why?
“I would’ve liked to work with Virgil Abloh because a lot of the way I approach things is being creative while still keeping it simple and authentic. Virgil was really good at injecting creativity into things that still felt minimal.”
9. The cards are saying you’re set to become one of 2023’s biggest breakout stars. How do you feel about being thrust into fame so fast?
“I just look forward to being able to create more and tell more stories. I’m really in this shit because I enjoy the process; everything else is ancillary.”
10. What’s next for you?
“Working on the visuals for the project and finishing new music. Watching movies to stay inspired.”
Photography courtesy of Khamari.
