King Tragedy Carves Out His Own Lane With “I Am The One Nobody” [Single + Video]

People and events brush against us throughout our lives and help to make us who we are. Sometimes those interactions are sweet and memorable, other times they’re anything but. Often, those not-so-great memories have a way of feeling ever-present in our lives and too often seem as if they have a will of their own. Regrets and bad memories have a particularly irksome way of occupying prime real estate in our minds – especially when you’re trying your best to forget about them altogether. But there’s something uniquely freeing in the rebellious act of owning your past – warts and all. King Tragedy – a Canadian hip-hop artist and self-described “troubled soul” who has dealt with addiction and self-doubt during the earliest years of his career – seems to be a true believer in the power of accepting your own and being yourself as he puts it into full use on his newest single “I Am The One Nobody”.

The track floods the listeners’ ears with King Trag’s volatile flow and his unique introspections about his life as laid out over a darkly chirpy, Hella Beats produced beat. Because of his wiry voice and rapid-fire rhyme style, “I Am The One Nobody” immediately feels like a full-on battle-rap cut, but his lines touch on thoughts that are deeper than proving to the world that he’s the best emcee to ever emcee. King Tragedy machine-guns his rhymes into the soundboard in a frenzied rush, sharing revelatory thoughts and confessions of his past at such a fevered pitch that they only become clearer on repeat listenings. But even after several replays, the song can still feel hard to pin down. Sometimes it comes across as lighter and darkly comedic. And on other occasions, it feels coldly confrontational. Still, one thing it never feels is boring. Like early Eminem or any-era Tech N9ne, the song and its creator doesn’t have a problem addressing past troubles or sharing uncomfortable thoughts to whoever is willing to listen. Instead of fighting or ignoring his regrets, King Tragedy owns his past and uses its inertia to move forward. And he does it all in such a unique and left-of-center way that it feels refreshing in a rap arena where almost everyone is telling you just how awesome their lives are.

“I recently left my job to do music full-time, which was a pretty big leap for me” the Manitoba-based artist begins when I ask him what motivated the song. “I caught a huge backlash from both my parents and family around me. The rap community where I’m from joined in saying I wouldn’t get anywhere because I’m a ‘nobody’. I figured, instead of letting them spread that about me. I’d own the claim, so it fueled the inspiration for [the song].”

To know what it is to make nothing out of something something out of nothing has been a feature of hip-hop since its inception and will be a throughline in the culture until it fades away. This art form has always had a special way of turning a negative into a positive and King Tragedy proves that this particular type of alchemy is still around for those artists willing enough to put it to use.  You can show your support by purchasing “I Am The One Nobody” – which is lifted from his upcoming Tragic Land album – from your favorite spot below as well as check out more from King Tragedy by visiting the links listed.

vibes – volatile, confrontational, cynical, acerbic, intense, brash, playful, superlyrical, sardonic, cutting, satirical, fiery, unfiltered, unflinching, searing, fired up, amped, sharp, lyrical, rebellious, risk-taking, ballsy, raw, rock co.kane flow

Stream & buy King Tragedy’s music on…
( Amazon | Bandcamp | Deezer | Google Play | iTunes | Spotify | Tidal )

https://listen.tidal.com/album/152522778

Connect with King Tragedy on…
( Facebook | Instagram | Official Site | ReverbNation | Soundcloud | Twitter | YouTube )