There was a recent performance in West Palm Beach on October 4, 2019, with It Takes A Village Tour.
It Takes A Village Tour is about addicts who tell their stories through music. There are five headliners who were Nester Nation, B-RAiN, Rem One, KC Makes Music, and Colicchie. They all perform individually for approximately 25 minutes. However, Colicchie is a known rapper in the sober industry, so he took a little longer. The event is to help both sober men and women know that they are not alone in this program. It Takes A Village Tour is a way to celebrate people who thought they were at their low but came back on top.
Instead of focusing on all the rappers, let’s just focus on one.
K.C. Conklin, who is known as KC Makes Music, started writing poetry in his sophomore year of high school. When his poem was published in a book, that is when KC knew he had a way with his words. He found out his neighbor had an at home studio, in which he recorded. For the next 10 years, he would write songs occasionally. However, when he became sober in 2016, he started writing every day. I have interviewed KC Makes Music, and this is what he said.
What is your story?
“I was born in Connecticut. When I was four my parents divorced and I moved to California with my mom and two older sisters,” Conklin said. “Growing up, my mother always pushed us towards any activities and sports we showed interest in. For me, it was wrestling. Throughout high school, I participated in wrestling and became quite good. I was ranked in the state. My mom started to work long shifts in order to provide for my sisters and me. However, that is when I started to get into trouble. I was starting to look up and hang out with guys I should not have been involved with.”
What did you do when you started to get into trouble?
“I started ditching more classes and doing heavy drugs,” Conklin said. “I did not take responsibility seriously. I started to get into trouble with the courts and barely ended up getting a diploma. When my mother and I moved to Florida, my mindset was still the same. Always chasing parties and surrounding myself with bad people. This led me down a dark path, which ended with me living in South Florida. I was 40 pounds underweight, very little communication with my family, no permanent living arrangement, and unemployment.”
When did you get a reality check?
“I just thought about my life and where I was at and realized, I had enough. I got sober when I was 28 years old, and I am now 32. In the past four years, I have tried my best to stay driven and motivated. I became a part of my family again when I moved back to Connecticut. I started to work and write again and saved up money for a studio. I asked as many questions as possible so I could learn the process of recording. I started working with other artists and a music studio, so I could start recording in a real studio instead of a house. I built my social media and began to make music videos as well as shows. I try to get involved with my music partner, which is when we started a music program. I took up music therapy classes into centers in my community for the youth who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues.”
How does writing your own music help?
“Music has always played a huge role in my life, even more so when I began using it as an outlet for writing,” Conklin said. “I genuinely believe I wouldn’t be where I’m at today without the healing powers it carries. It has the ability to take someone away from their current situation and provoke emotions in which changes perspective.”
Has it been hard being an underground rapper?
“No, it just takes hard work and consistency, if I expect to maintain a career in it,” Conklin said. “Drugs impacted my life negatively, while music changed my life for the better.”
What do you do now to help you stay on the path you have created for yourself?
“I do my best to stay motivated by taking selfless and constructive actions daily and work towards my goals. As I am speaking to you, I am on a tour bus with a few great guys traveling the country to perform my music. It took me a long time to figure out, longer than most, but I do not regret the decisions I’ve made in the past. They have modeled me into the person that I am today, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
KC Makes Music is one person out of millions who have suffered from addiction. He is someone who people can look up to when they hear his story and music. Drugs may have impacted his life negatively, but he came out stronger and even more motivated than ever.