Jeff K%nz Reaches a Second Level
Photography by Michael Salisbury
Mother Nature and TheGr8Thinkaz are one of the most intriguing groups I’ve come across in Chicago, to the point where I drove three hours from Austin to Houston to see the closest stop on their fully independent U.S. tour last fall. The tour was a perfect example of the complete lack of ego throughout the group. While its purpose was technically to showcase the SZNZ album, the duo brought the entirety of the Thinkaz on the road as built-in openers.
Even more impressive, seemingly every member of TheGr8Thinkaz has their own side hustles. Klevah Knox has her FreshAssMonk jewelry line. Rapper Gr8Sky has his Gr8 Juice beverage business. And JEFF K%NZ is no exception; outside of music, he spends time painting murals and hosting a sit-and-paint series called “Think & Paint.”
K%NZ is the most recent Thinka to drop a project, 2 Player Mode, featuring rapid, Jekyll-and-Hyde-style flow switches, thoughtful bars and even an intro skit from Chicago comedian Korporate. In the weeks following 2 Player Mode, I caught up with Jeff on Zoom. We bonded over our brief stints living in Texas, and I got some insight on the album’s title, his approach to working with other creatives, the type of rapper he hopes to be and more.
How long has 2 Player Mode been in the works?
Hmm. I’m gonna give you two answers, very Gemini of me [Laughs].
I’ve been working on the idea of 2 Player Mode for 10 years. But this project specifically, I’ve worked on it since 2020. I finished up [my last album] BALLOONZ and I was in Houston with my lady, and we were with [producer] Rokmore at his studio. He had sent me some records before I got there, but I didn’t know what I was gonna do with them. “Stranger Danger” came out of that, “Go With Out It” came out of that, I think “Praises” came out of that too. I was like “man I got these three records already.” And they were just fire. When we got to Houston, we got back in the studio, made more and I was like “yeah, this is gonna be 2 Player Mode.”
What would you say are some of the central themes of the album? What do you want people to take away from it?
This music is for a confidence boost. I want people to look at this music as if you’re saying these things. The whole idea of “2 player mode” is reaching a second level, doubling up your skill, and understanding you’ve reached Level 2 so you can operate accordingly. When you say, “I’m 2 player, I’m too player for that,” you’re saying you’re seeing yourself in a higher form. It doesn’t have to do with how many women you can talk to, it’s more about how you handle your life, how you handle your business and how you see yourself.
At this time in my life, I see myself as reaching a second level in my career. It’s just me understanding, and I want others to understand that when you’ve reached that second level, walk in. Don’t be shy about it. I’ve suffered from being shy and not believing in myself fully and it’s held me back from fully going crazy at things I feel like I could’ve done.
[It’s about] understanding this is me, I am what people say I am, I’m here, I’m supposed to be here, and I have what I need to be here. That’s 2 Player Mode.
You strike me as a very outgoing guy, to hear about shyness is a surprise.
Funny enough, the shyness is still around. I still definitely have my shy moments, but I use art and music to break away from it…. The music and art that I make, when it gets a genuine good response, it allows me to say, “I can do this again,” and I can get back into my creative bag and be more outgoing all over again, even though I am still a shy person.
It's not necessarily all about what others think, it’s just remembering that: “hey, if you can do this and you feel good about it and you get affirmation over and over, then you got nothing to worry about it.” I still get nervous, I still do goofy shit, I still say the wrong things in the right moments all the time. But I’ve learned to use creativity to break away from shyness. [Creativity] can solve so many problems. Anxiety issues, shyness, all types of things.
I definitely see TheGr8Thinkaz pushing forward the idea of healing through creativity and providing an outlet for artistic expression.
That’s everything bro because it healed us. It’s healing us still, it’s a never-ending thing. It’s something that’s been given to us that we can and should utilize, like a natural resource. That’s a blessing, [just like] having water, having corn, things that grow naturally.
Our mission is definitely related to creativity in all aspects. We’re trying to give people the gift that was given to us. I think that’s what art is all about. As an artist, you’re supposed to give to everybody what was given to you, which was the freedom of creativity.
I can tell the 2 Player Mode concept had been in the works for a while, just off of the thoughtfulness of the rollout. You have these “Think & Paint” events and recently hosted one for the album, what’s the goal of the series?
“Think & Paint” is my sip-and-paint business I started in 2020. The goal is to dive deep into conscious conversation and to activate your personal creative process.
People who come to sip-and-paints normally don’t have much art background, saying “I can’t really paint, can you do this for me?” Think & Paint is about getting rid of that idea. We all are artists, our first talent was art. You can go to any childhood, I’m sure you were coloring or using a marker to write on some walls or scribble on some paper. That was most of all of our first loves. What separates people who know that they’re artists from those that don’t is an understanding of the process of creativity. That makes you become an artist.
At Think & Paint, we dive into certain conversations. We might do one about understanding the balance between personal time and time with family and friends. Then we do a lesson on a certain “principles of art.” All they have to paint is something with [that principle.] But the conversation that we have helps them figure out what they’re going to paint.
It’s a creative cycle we do for about three hours and man, the things people create at these Think & Paints are really dope. It always surprises me because it really is in people…. A lot of people say its therapeutic. I’ve heard people say it’s changed their whole day, because of the therapy that is painting and the therapy that is conversation.
I think a lot of people lose a creative outlet as they grow up, and I can see how these sessions could reignite that for people that had to put aside their creativity to focus on making money, for example
Yeah, you never want to lose that. We don’t all live the same lives; we can get further from those things. It’s nobody’s fault, we just have to help each other and remind each other.
Back to the album, you got the intro from Korporate. I know you had linked up with him when he hosted “From the ‘Go Fest” last summer, did you two know each other prior?
Nah, I had never met him. Obviously, I knew his work. He’s funny as hell, great comedian, also a very dope artist. He makes music as well; he’s got some fire stuff. Just an all-around creative.
We were at From the ‘Go Fest and I performed with Heavy Crownz and he noticed me. We talked for a brief moment, and he noticed I had a resemblance to someone that most people feel like I do. I don’t see it.
He hit me up a few days later saying he wanted me in a skit. In my mind, I already knew what he was talking about, because it’s something that, I don’t know. When my momma and daddy got together and made me, I don’t know how, but most people say I look like (Quavo).
You don’t seem to love the comparison
Because I’m me. I’m JEFF K%NZ, I’m my own person. It’s just funny, and it was something that got me into a video with this man.
But it went from there. We did the video, it was funny, [he] was genuine. And we stayed in contact. I was on tour listening to 2 Player Mode and trying to figure out ways to enhance it. And I had this thought of “let me reach out,” see if he can help. He slid by and we collabed on it. Bro is a true creative when it comes to these skits. I gave him some key points of what I wanted him to say, and he did the whole thing on the spot.
It was a genuine connection. He’s a very good dude and I look forward to seeing how people react and tap into what I’m trying to say on the project. [The opening skit] is funny but it’s got some gems, and he gives you a great idea of what you’re about to listen to. It was just a funny experience, from meeting him there all the way to the tape.
How was touring with Mother Nature and TheGr8Thinkaz? What were some of the highlights?
Man, shoutout Mother Nature, shoutout 3V Agency and our management team; Cat, Day, Tea. They did a beautiful job executing and organizing.
I had a great time. My first tour was not like this tour, this one was way better. The first one was with artists I was coming up with in Champaign. It was a slight tour, but it taught me a lot about how to think going onto this next one. On this one, there weren’t a lot of problems. My favorite thing was our camaraderie; getting the bus loaded up, setting up the stage, getting better each show. Seeing our professionalism shine.
My favorite city was Oakland. I love me some Oakland, they got some amazing weed. I’m talking top tier. And I’ve been smoking for a while, I know my strains, I know my percentages, and man, they got some beauty out there. On top of that, the love in Oakland was really different. I had never been to that part of California, but when you get to East Oakland, you can feel that shit. That’s what I loved about the tour in general; every city we went to, you could feel the culture.
You have your dueling flows, the high and low pitches, on full display on the tape. You also experiment a lot with syllabic structure. Has that always been there?
It’s something I’ve kind of had flashes of here and there, but I haven’t developed it until recently, in the last four years or so. I’m very into artists that you can recognize by voice alone. I’ve always wanted to be that type of artist, to where you know Jeff K%nz when you hear him. So, I’ve been working really hard on trying to separate my sound from others.
The deepness, the nasal tones, the animation, that felt more normal to me than just rapping my verse straight through. Most rappers are the opposite, they start off normal, then add the flair. I enjoy artists who can really rap but also sound really fun: Ludacris, Nicki Minaj, Redman, Method Man.
Anything else you want to add?
We should all create. I say that. I live by that. And everything is great!
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