Surprise single provides ‘Kodak’ moment for Warrn rapper
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Ky'Ly'ntae is enjoying his Kodak moment, even if it came from an unexpected source.
The 2007 Warren G. Harding High School graduate performs Saturday at Liquid Blue in Youngstown as part of a tour promoting his latest single, "Friend Zone." But at the same time he's working that track, another song is getting increasing attention.
Atlanta DJs have been playing "Do the Kodak," which features Ky'Ly'ntae and Atlanta rapper Lil Donald, who was signed to Freebandz, the record label started by Future that is distributed by Epic Records. The song was inspired by rapper Kodak Black and a dance he does in the video for his song "Tunnel Vision."
"I recorded a demo of that song in January, which I wasn't planning on releasing," said Ky'Ly'ntae, whose full name is Ky'Ly'ntae Mostella. "When I did the original song, it was more just for fun. I was inspired to make a song just for the fun of it, and that's where the dance came from."
When he was in Atlanta for a show, he was visiting with Wordell Heller, another Warren native who has produced Lil Donald and other Atlanta rappers.
"Lil Donald happened to be at his house when we were working on some projects, and he just happened to like ('Kodak')," he said. "DJ Greg Street, one of the most popular DJs in Atlanta, put the song out with us doing it. Radio picked it up, different web sites and from there it started trending."
The app Triller lets people create videos performing their version of the dance to "Do the Kodak," which is helping the song go viral.
Ky'Ly'ntae admitted he has mixed feelings about the song's sudden success.
"As a performer, everything is always up and down," he said. "In this situation, a song just blows up without me expecting it. It's an exciting feeling, but it's weird … This song was so easily done. I just feel I have so many more songs I put so much more effort into, and this is the one that took off."
"I really just think it's connections, the right people hearing the song. Lil Donald is very well-connected in the southern area. He just got the song in the right hands."
Ky'Ly'ntae wasn't counting on the song taking off, but he's going to do everything he can to build on its initial success. After the Youngstown show, he's returning to Atlanta for a radio appearance with Lil Donald, and the two are talking about possibly touring together to promote the song.
At the same time, he plans to continue working "Friend Zone," which been streamed about 7,000 times on Spotify and other streaming sites and sold about 300 copies. As the title implies, the song is about trying to hook up with a woman who sees him only as a friend.
"I wanted to make something more radio friendly," he said. "I produced the beat, and the song just came from there. I was wanting to have a catchy song and something people could relate to. I sent it off to a couple of people I work with in the industry, and they agreed, 'That should be a single. That could really catch on.'"
And Ky'Ly'ntae believes those who hear "Do the Kodak" will start to seek out the other single and his earlier work, including the 2013 album "Kylyweather." The rapper said he has enough material now to release a new album, but with the way the music business is today, it makes more sense to focus on releasing singles.
"I really want to get a little bit more publicity on the singles and then focus on releasing the album afterward."