Latest / The Scene Projects / Keldamuzik on Independent Artistry, Fashion, and the Bay Area Music Scene

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Keldamuzik on Independent Artistry, Fashion, and the Bay Area Music Scene · The Scene Projects

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  This program is part of the Scene Projects podcast network.
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  Scene Project features interviews with independent musicians, comedians, and artists
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  from across the Midwest.
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  Become part of our community and support local art wherever you are.
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  Welcome in to another exciting episode of the scene.
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  I'm your host, Bubba Starts.
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  And today, I am joined by musician and fashion icon, Kelda Music.
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  Kelda Music, welcome to the show.
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  Hey, Bubba.
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  Thank you so much for having me.
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  It is absolutely my pleasure.
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  You look so lovely today.
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  I know that we're gonna talk about that awesome hat that you're wearing that you've designed
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  and had made and a lot more about that.
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  But off the top of the show, we'd love to just give you an opportunity to give you give us a
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  little bit of your backstory.
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  Sure.
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  Yeah.
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  So my name is Kelda Muzyk, one word, lowercase m, m u z I k.
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  And I am a hip hop recording artist, actress, talk show host, entrepreneur, fashionista.
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  Who knows what I have coming up, you know, next for me?
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  But, I like to call myself, you know, a jack of all trades when it comes to the entertainment
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  industry, whether it's in front of the camera or behind the camera.
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  I've been doing this since I was a kid.
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  Started off with acting as I got older, modeling, and then started recording music in
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  my teens and professionally entered this industry in 2005 music wise by releasing my
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  first album and then circling back to TV again and acting.
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  And now everything's just coming full circle, and now I'm just dabbling into into it all.
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  I love it.
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  And that's part of what, you know, artists or really anyone in the entertainment field has to
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  realize is that you kinda have to have a foot in all of the different worlds of the
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  entertainment.
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  You know?
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  If you have a passion for music, you should probably be into acting a little bit or at
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  least being comfortable in front of a camera.
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  For me, I'm a musician as well, and that's why the show is mainly centered around music
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  because that's where my world was.
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  But it was obvious that I couldn't generate the content.
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  I see some of these people that are putting out songs regularly.
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  I wasn't writing that prolifically and able to put out that that much music and then create
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  content around that music that as a big podcast fan, it was and a big talker, which you're
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  gonna find out as we go on to the show that the a podcast just made too much sense for for me
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  personally to do that.
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  It doesn't necessarily have to be a interviewee podcast, but you need to be showing up for your
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  audience in some way and in multiple ways.
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  And as a musician or an artist in any way, you have to have multiple streams of revenue coming
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  in to just survive sometimes.
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  Yeah.
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  Definitely.
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  You do.
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  And and that's my whole goal, and it's been working.
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  You know, I built myself and established myself as an artist first.
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  And, yeah, it just opened doors to many other things.
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  And if you look at all the artists today, look at, you know, fifty Cent.
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  Right?
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  You know, the guy produces content for stars and, you know, has his own, you know, media
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  platform now, you know, to produce TV shows and films and and starring in films.
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  And I think he's gonna be in street fighter two coming up next.
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  So it's just when you're an artist, it's kinda like, yeah, you kinda have no choice but to do
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  everything else, whether it's modeling, hosting, just whatever it is to keep expanding
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  your brand, and that will ultimately increase streams on Spotify and all the other platforms
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  for you.
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  Right?
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  You know?
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  Indeed.
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  And that's something that we're constantly trying to educate other, you know, younger
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  artists about coming out.
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  Because, I I mean, you started in 2005.
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  You know, I graduated.
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  I've been playing in band since 2000 with my dad.
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  I was still in high school, you know, ditching JV basketball games to go play in bars as a
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  very young man.
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  So I've been in this industry for twenty five years.
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  I have watched it change drastically.
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  You know, when we were, when we were kids, I'll say, the dream was still of a record deal and
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  and having that and someone believing in your music enough to give you a big pile of money in
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  advance, and then you'd be recording.
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  And as as time went on, we realized that, god, we really don't want one of those deals.
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  That's the last thing that we want as creators and and as people who want to work in this
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  business long term.
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  You know, I don't know what the stats are nowadays, but I know, you know, through the
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  late odds and as the music industry was kind of dying, I think it's all but dead at this point,
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  at least at at the national majors level, right, unless you have a billion streams and,
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  you know, 10,000,000 followers.
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  But, a a lot of bands, the shelf life or you would get shelved in less than three years.
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  You'd sign a record deal.
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  Maybe it was even a multi album deal, but most of these bands, a high percentage of them would
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  just end up on the shelf and then not working.
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  And and that to me is more disappointing.
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  How many artists do we know and I know personally that have been canned and had their
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  music just sit on a shelf instead of actually getting to release that music?
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  Because once you enter into it as a business on the large side, not everyone's gonna get that
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  shot.
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  Not everyone is going to get that investment.
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  But you, as an independent artist now, can invest in yourself and be releasing music and
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  be releasing videos and anything that you want to under a variety of independent platforms
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  now.
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  So it's one like, the the larger game, the majors game has changed, but the independent
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  side is stronger than ever and is growing every day.
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  And I'm really passionate about now educating these kids who are, you know, 13, 14, 15, or,
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  you know, into their twenties just
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  to put in
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  these careers with those big dreams to give them the tools right out the gate.
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  Hey.
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  This is how you get your publishing and all these things in order and build a business
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  plan, having your merch, and and not just, having something on a T shirt, but designing
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  your own stuff.
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  If you even have a slight passion for it, just do it.
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  You are your IP.
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  And, someone who I started following recently, Demisa, gets a ton of great content on
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  Instagram, and and I I recommend everybody go.
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  Shameless plug for Demisa because I I think he's great and and and what he's doing for the
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  the, you know, young artists out there.
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  Yeah.
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  Definitely.
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  Definitely.
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  And and and, you know, that's a great point you made.
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  You know, times are different right now.
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  You know, you're not being shelved, you know, with some major label and, you know, not being
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  able to do anything, you know, being independent.
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  It's just you kinda move at your own pace.
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  And a lot of major artists now are going independent.
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  And, that that's kind of, the way the music industry has evolved right now, And and it's
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  and it's even coming down to the point where where, you know, we're used we're creating our
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  own platforms to, you know, have, fans stream our music, and we don't need Spotify or, you
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  know, iTunes or any of these other guys anymore.
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  You know, you don't have anyone cutting into your money now.
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  It's just the what is it?
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  Artist artist to fan, direct artist to fan.
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  So and and I think that's the the better way in the future.
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  I think that's where, you know, artists are gonna be able to really see the outcome, the
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  results financially of their music, and be able to really live off their music and do this
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  professionally as a living even if it's independent.
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  Yep.
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  And you nailed it.
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  That's why we're starting to do, this year.
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  We'll do our first creator conferences while we're on our national tour filming for our
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  podcast, doing live events with our songwriter showcases and taking part in things like the
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  Midwest Talent Awards and being out there and just having the rolling.
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  Right?
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  Like, our IP and and our our content is video.
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  That's what we produce.
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  Right?
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  Like, you you have hats produced and to do those, we produce video content.
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  So realizing that and realizing that our life is the story, it's not just these
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  conversations.
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  It's all of it.
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  Now my life here in rural South Dakota, it's fairly boring.
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  And and a lot of it is spent in front of this computer, and you're seeing a bit of it.
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  But when I go on the road, it's very exciting, and there's no reason to just show you this
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  much of it.
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  Right?
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  Like, the live performances are just a small sliver of that.
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  So we're setting up the tour bus with the cameras and making, you know, reality shows,
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  documentaries, feature films.
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  Like, it's all something.
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  Just go out and capture your life first, and then you can decide what it becomes at a later
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  date and and to chop it up.
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  And it sounds like, you're doing very much of the same.
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  I'm really interested to know, where your passion for fashion came from and then how you
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  started to pursue that into the you know, not just designing, but also manufacturing and
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  creating these beautiful hats.
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  They just look so cool.
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  I don't know if I could pull it off, Kel, the music, but I'd be willing to try.
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  Yeah.
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  So, it all started during the pandemic.
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  You know, we, as artists, we're trying to find different ways to, stay engaged with our fans
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  and, you know, stay relevant.
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  And I looked at it as, well, you know what?
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  A hat is cool, but why not a beret?
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  You know, a beret's never been branded in pop culture, the black community, or the hip hop
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  community.
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  And I that it's something unique.
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  And if we make it in different colors to where, you know, it's it it enhances your your
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  fashion, I think that would be you know, I think it would it would be something cool for
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  people.
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  And so when I first came out with the berets, you know, it started off as tinks.
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  I had about 12 different colors.
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  And because of that, when we slowly came out of the pandemic, I started producing fashion
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  shows.
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  And then I started bringing on my customers who purchased my berets.
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  I allowed them to walk in a fashion show.
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  So I'm thinking, like, the average person who's not a model doesn't wanna be a model, but they
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  get the opportunity to be a model and look like a model on the runway without being judged for
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  their height, their weight, their age.
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  They're just wearing the Tams and voila.
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  You know what I mean?
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  Now you have a budding modeling career right now for no reason out of nowhere.
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  And then I've also partnered with a few hair loss organizations as well, and I've been
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  donating berets to them.
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  There was a couple, one called Bully Me, and then they invited me to their fundraiser to
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  speak and discuss how the berets came about and what my personal message is.
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  And then another organization called Hair to Stay, which is for, you know, they, they
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  fundraise revenue for cancer patients to, be able to afford a cooling stimulant to help
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  their hair grow back faster.
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  And I donated berets to them as well.
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  So, really, it's this is serving like a multipurpose now.
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  You know, it's not even just merchandise for fans anymore.
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  This is really becoming, like, a fashion statement and also, like, a personal statement
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  for everyone.
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  And and, you know, there's so much more that I'm gonna do with Tams.
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  It just doesn't stop here.
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  Yeah.
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  That's incredible.
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  And it's really hard to make a good beret look bad.
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  Right?
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  Like, everybody can look at it.
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  You just need the right one.
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  Right?
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  You need it to fit right.
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  The right one.
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  Yeah.
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  I I think it's beautiful.
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  You obviously look lovely in the one you're wearing here today.
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  I love the fashion show.
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  So I went to my first fashion show.
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  Shout out to my friends up in Minneapolis, smoking on the runway.
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  So bringing together the cannabis culture in Minnesota with the fashion world.
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  And, I promoted some of it and had one of the founders on the show, and they gave me a VIP
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  ticket.
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  I got to sit Mhmm.
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  Front row and to watch everyone walking in the show, and it just it was an amazing experience.
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  So I've already signed up to sponsor, the rest of theirs this year and to be there with these
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  shows.
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  And I love it.
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  I love that these independent, creators and and community builders, really, are coming together
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  to make these, like, a really cool thing.
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  They're such a unique event because it combines Mhmm.
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  Art and beauty and music and photography and filmography.
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  Like, it's just so many things in one, and then you also have an opportunity for vendors and
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  thing.
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  It was just it was a great event, and and I can't wait to do more of them.
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  Cal, where are you based out of?
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  Yeah.
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  So I am in the Bay Area, Bay Area, California.
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  So, I'm originally from San Jose, which is about 40 miles from San Francisco.
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  I relocated to the East Bay, and that's where I like to say Kelda Williams was born in San
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  Jose, Silicon Valley, but Kelda Music was born in the East Bay, you know, Oakland, Oakland.
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  And, you know, I think, you know, being out here and growing and thriving as a artist has
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  been nothing but the best thing for me.
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  And, you know, it's like a it's a Super Bowl out here.
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  You know what I mean?
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  So a lot of people know each other, and I think that's the beauty of it.
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  You know, we're not in, you know, huge markets like New York or LA where it's it's really hard
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  to come together.
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  Out here, we all know each other because this is a privilege to be, you know, in in this
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  industry, whether it's music, TV, fashion, whatever.
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  And so it's always cool when we do get to come together for fashion events or or, you know,
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  concerts.
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  Everyone knows about it.
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  Everyone comes together and support.
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  It's just it's it's a great network out here.
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  I spend a little bit of time on the West Coast, mostly in Oregon, coming from South Dakota in a
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  very rural, you know, upbringing.
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  I grew up in the middle of the woods, really.
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  Very blessed to have had that upbringing, but I read Kerouac when I was 18, and I was like,
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  wait a minute.
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  You can do that.
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  And, my parents raised me to be a a massive fan of the Grateful Dead who, Bob Weir, just passed
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  away a few days ago.
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  RIP Bob, you were such a huge part of my life.
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  But, so the Bay Area has always had a special place in my heart.
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  Even though I haven't spent a ton of time there, the last time that I was through there,
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  I got to go and to just have a picnic on the, lawn at Berkeley.
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  And to just sit and to be in this space where so many, iconic things have happened around,
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  you know, that have inspired my life and to be there.
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  And I know that it's changed so much, and and the city continues to change.
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  Obviously, a lot more tech now, you know, with Silicon Valley being so close, and that city's
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  been through a lot.
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  But it's always been a heartbeat of American culture.
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  And, talk about the difference a little bit for, you know, most of our listeners are out
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  here in the Midwest where, where we're based out of.
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  Can you talk about the difference just from, like, San Francisco to Oakland?
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  Because they are while it's a bridge separating them, they could be almost completely different
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  worlds.
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  Yeah.
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  Definitely.
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  You know, from a cultural standpoint, you know, Oakland, everyone is, you know, united as one
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  and very supportive of each other.
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  And a lot of community events happen in Oakland and a lot of intimate community events, take
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  place.
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  Oakland is slowly starting to really, thrive in the tech world.
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  I think at one point, Uber, they were trying to move their headquarters to Downtown Oakland and
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  employ, like, you know, around 50,000 people, which, you know, is the reason why, Oakland's
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  getting very overpopulated.
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  You know, a lot of transplants are moving to Oakland because, it's an easy commute from
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  Oakland to San Francisco if you work a tech job.
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  San Francisco is is definitely you know, obviously, it's it's it's a city.
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  It's a small city.
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  It's a it's a it's a congested city, but, it is, you know, like a baby version of New York.
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  So not a lot of people are really in the same circle out there.
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  You know?
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  And, but I will say it is more, diverse when it comes to music and other activities that are
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  going on.
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  Definitely more cannabis events and more fashion events that are out there.
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  But we're just probably, like, you know, maybe a year or two away before Oakland and San
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  Francisco really just kind of joined forces now, and we're doing things back to back, you
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  know, in each city.
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  But for now, yeah, Oakland stands alone on its own and so does San Francisco.
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  But, both great cities, great culture, great people, great network, everything.
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  You know, definitely San Francisco's more corporate.
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  You know?
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  It's where, like, a lot of the talent agencies are, or, you know, publishing companies.
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  You know, all the headquarters are over there.
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  But it's like more of the talent comes from Oakland, and they, you know, go to San
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  Francisco for those kind of resources.
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  And they try to bring it back to Oakland, you know, and just try to, you know, just build
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  even though there's a bridge, you know, try to bring the bridge together.
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  You know?
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  So yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  And just, I I appreciate that because not a lot of people and a lot of people that we we have
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  had on the show are are obviously from the Midwest as well.
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  So we don't get a lot of the West Coast, and that's really why I started it and and why I'm
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  kinda staunchly, you know, Midwestern because we kinda get forgotten about.
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  You know, my time on the West Coast, you know, people are like, oh, South Dakota.
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  And, Greg, yes, we have a lot of cows.
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  I get it.
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  But, also, there's a lot of culture out here.
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  It's just a different culture.
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  We are very, you know, family centric.
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  And not that you're not in the cities, but it doesn't always lend itself to that.
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  And having, you know, larger families and being that, having a little more space and and
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  resources aren't as scarce.
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  You know, obviously, a lot more outdoor culture out here and having that hunting and fishing,
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  obviously, very big in our communities.
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  I think bringing those together and having, a lot of that, and that's why I think Minneapolis
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  as a metro area is very unique in that way because once you get outside of the city, it's
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  very similar to what you find here in South Dakota and the rest of the Midwestern States,
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  but you still have a lot of the culture, the music, and things like that.
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  So, what a great great conversation.
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  I appreciate you taking some time for me.
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  I know it's a a little bit earlier, for you in the day than it is for me here in the central
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  time zone, but where can people find all your stuff, your music, your your hats, everything?
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  We we wanna learn more about Kelda Music in all facets.
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  Yes.
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  I have a website that has everything.
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  It's keldamusic.com, keldamucik.com.
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  You, you'll find the TAM's website on there to purchase a beret.
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  You could stream my music, my films, my TV show, my podcast, and everything else that you
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  need to know about me.
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  It's all, it's all on one website.
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  Same thing with all the socials.
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  Everything's listed there.
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  Fantastic.
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  And I hope that more artists take a heed of that.
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  Get your own website.
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  Have all of your stuff in one spot and and do things properly.
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  So, Cal, the music, thank you so much for coming on the show today.
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  And if you're open to it, we'd love to bring you and your fashion and your music out here to
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  the Midwest sometimes, and I'm gonna connect you with some of our people up in the Twin
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  Cities.
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  And maybe you can come fly in for a weekend and, bring all of you with, and and we're gonna
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  have a great time.
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  So
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  I'm down for it.
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  Let's do it.
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  I love it.
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  Well, thank you so much for taking a little time for me today, and thank you for being part
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  of the scene.
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  Alright.
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  Thank you so much, Bubba.