Kegan Clark of Writepath Entertainment
Since inception, Ephin/SDK has always worked with and supported local artists and watched them mature and grow into professional musicians. We've always had a love for music and hip hop culture, so when we see an artist that is serious about their craft, and who has a strong work ethic and sound mind, it's exciting to jump in and see what we can do to help bring their vision to life.
We've been chatting with Kegan Clark (AKA K.C.) of Writepath Entertainment for a few years now, watching him grow and evolve into the artist he is today. So when he told us he had a new project in the works and wanted to kick it off with a fresh new single and video, and we heard the music, we wanted to help out. Kegan has been making moves in the local industry for years and is finally getting to a place in his life where he knows who he is and what lane he is in. If you haven't heard about him, consider this an introduction. We sat down with him to discuss his past, where he's at in his career, and what we can expect from him in the future.
How did you get started in music?
I’ve been heavily influenced by music since as far back as I can remember. The first time I remember obsessing over music was back when I was like 5 or 6. My mom gave me a cassette walkman with a bunch of Beatles tapes and I locked myself in their Ford Explorer and listened to it on repeat. As I got older I started showing interest in different instruments. The first one I actually picked up was trumpet in an elementary school band, and I sang in the choir for a couple years. The choir teacher always made me go in front of the class and sing super high notes, and she would be like "You see that, he’s a guy and he can sing that high! Don’t be afraid to try and hit the high notes!"
I was with it and all the girls were loving it, haha, so I started getting into Rap and hip hop shortly after. I think it was grade 3 or 4 when the chronic 2001 dropped. I remember our teacher Mr. Howe had a CD player with a 15 inch sub hooked up to it. He left the Class one day and we locked the door and slapped the sub until the next door teacher came smashing on the door. We had the whole class jumping, it was classic.
After a serious west coast gangster rap phase, I started really embracing Hip Hop culture. I studied the origins throughout grade 7 and 8. Africa Bambatta, DJ Kool Herc, etc. Pete Rock and CL Smooth were some of my earliest influences. I'm a child of rock so I listened to a lot of classics throughout my life. We started a band in grade 8 called the Jizz Bombs (a name I now regret, lol.) That was the first time I picked up a drum set.
As I dug deeper I really embraced Hip Hop as a lifestyle. Hip Hop comes from the struggle, and at that point in my life, I was struggling to relate to a lot of people around me. I was different and a small little fucker, so people would always try to boss up on me, but I've never been one to back down from a fight which would later find me expelled from my Aldergrove high school.
After grade 8 life started getting real. A lot of my friends were succumbing to the gang life, and I started selling drugs and getting into trouble. There were all sorts of small gangs forming in my hood and in neighboring cities. This was the era when Abbotsford became the murder capital of Canada for numerous years. It seemed like everyone around me had something to prove and at this point I just wanted to stack paper. I was a weed head who used marijuana to cope with stress and depression which I didn’t really understand at the time. I was always looked at as a bad kid after I hit grade 10, that was the general consensus form 90 percent of the people in my life. I was a bad apple and a lot of it had to do with the fact that I smoked weed, which I thought was ludicrous. For the remainder of high school I felt like a bit of an outcast. It felt like everyone was out for me, and although I would never join up with the gangs, I was still selling. They would try to take me out every chance they had and I was always looking over my shoulder, ready for whatever. It was hit or miss with these kids. When I would see one or two of them they would try to befriend me and be cool, but then when I saw them in a group they were coming for my head. It was confusing for me until one day in grade 10, I saw my first shooting. One of my friends who was more affiliated with a certain group got his hat stolen, so he’s like "Yo, come with me let’s go to buddy’s house." So we pulled up and one of the older kids came from around the corner with an extended 9 mill, and lit the house up. I heard the shots and b-lined it out of there. At that point I knew I didn't want to be a part of that shit, and music became my life.
What inspires you and who are your influences?
I just love music in general so I get inspired all the time. At certain points in my life I was heavily influenced by Bob Marley, Big L, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Weekend, Drake, Bob Dylan, Dr. Dre and Eminem, Maestro Fresh Wes, Choclair, Gangstarr, etc.
What is Writepath Entertainment and how did it all start?
Writepath is a movement. Kid Terror Beatz and myself started the movement in 2008. It represents the hustle and embodies the independent grind of doing shit without a hand out.
We were both playing around with different DAWs, he was using FL Studio and I started off using Reasons. Eventually I started using Cubase as my main software. We wanted to create a music production collective and we were trying to figure out what we should call it. My friend was of Afghani heritage and I asked him one day what his name meant in his language and he told me "The right path." And I spun it around and changed it to Writepath. We were some of the first people in Aldergrove to run a studio and push our music. Naturally I started recording myself and making songs. We both made beats but I leaned towards the song writing side of things.
The first group we saw some success with was Global Syndicate. They went on tour With Raekwon, D12, and Slaughter House. Eventually the group dissolved and we learned quickly that the hustle in this industry was real. Kid Terror Beatz eventually went on to college to study business, leaving me with no artists and in a bit of a depressed state. This is when I really started to try to develop my own sound. Sometime around 2012, I met Ryan Young and he became the new poster boy for our local underground movement. I met him at a hall party for a friends band.
Utter hell broke loose that night and we got in a huge brawl. At the end Youngin and I made an instant connection and shortly after went on tour opening up for Waka Flaka across Canada. This is where we met Miley TO (aka Mayhem). We did 16 shows, every major city in Canada except Scotia. We got on that tour out of pure luck. We paid some janky promoter and pulled up to Toronto for the first show and they told us hey knew nothing about the buy-on, so I literally had to go meet Flocka's whole crew and get permission to perform. If Flocka said no it was tough shit, luckily he said yes and we rocked with them every night. Youngin spit an acapella intro to the set and shut it down with no hesitation. This was our first look into the rap life.
Where would you say you are at with your music career, and what should people check out from your past body of work?
I spent a really long time crafting my sound. I have recorded so much music, but over he last few years I was always focused on releasing other artists music. Now I'm focused on myself. I'm really excited about what I'm going to be releasing in the future, but I would encourage people to check out some of my earlier releases. "Katch Me If You Can" is my first official EP. It was produced by Bricksdamane, producer of Goose Fur, Issa, Drake, 21 Savage, Baka, etc. It was engineered by Jamie Kuse. This was a stepping stone for my career and I noticed a big difference spending more money to work with top professionals. It elevated my sound.
How would you describe your sound?
It’s almost like a crossover between R&B and hip hop, lots of wavy melodic stuff over hard hitting beats.
How did you get connected with the Ephin/SDK crew? Have you guys worked together before?
My cousin Brian has known them for years, he works at Ephin. He introduced me to Caspian's music over a decade ago. I would stop by the shop from time to time, and eventually they gave me some big looks. One of the young producer/artists I manage is named Jake Frew made the beat for the 2018 SDK Cypher they used to promoted Merkules 2018 Canada tour. It has over 2 million views on YouTube, which was pretty exciting for a young producer. They've connected me with a few engineers and always been a really helpful group of guys with solid character and sound advice.
What is the name of your upcoming single, and why is it an important step for your growth as a musician?
My next release is a single called "Found My Way." I have spent years honing my craft as an musician. After years of struggles, learning the process, improving the music quality, and finding the right partners to help bring my vision to life the way I've always imagined it, I have finally 'Found My Way'. It represents the happiness one feels after a moment of clarity, the deep feeling of knowing you are on the Writepath.
This Song is supposed to be a peek of positivity. If you go through some of my prior releases you will see a bit of a story. Maybe they don’t all tie in together visually, but the first video I wanted to showcase is about how everything around me was too much, the girls, the money, and the gun representing the streets.
My second video was "Can’t hide." I wanted to showcase that you can run but you can’t hide from what will always surround you. Number 1, being your own train of thought. In between that I dropped "Pay No Mind", which was showcasing the idea that you should pay no mind to the negativity. Now here we are with "Found My Way", I really want this to show that hard work pays of and that perseverance is the ultimate key to success.
Is there anything you want people to know about you? Who is Kegan Clark as a person and an artist?
Number one, that I have been working as a artist/producer for numerous years. Two, that I come from one of the smallest towns between Vancouver and the interior. Three, that I will always be humble throughout my career and look to work with talent that showcases the west coast of Canada as a whole. We all need to bridge the gaps between artists to strengthen our local music scene.
Beyond that, I'm just me. Real and authentic, no sugar coating. I want to be recognized as a true artist who is crafting an original sound that's all my own. My upcoming release is almost a trailer of what's to come. It's a chill, feel good track with lots of melody and waves to kick things off. I'm really looking forward to it. It's the beginning of the most cohesive project I've ever released.
What more can we expect from you and the Write Path family in the future?
A lot of in house production and originality. In the near future we'll be kicking off a Canada tour. I have a body of work coming out this summer which is a sequel to "Katch Me If You Can," produced by Bricksdamane. We'll be putting out some more high quality visuals and a few features which I won’t get into to much detail about. If everything comes together I'm hoping to put together a fall album produced by Meemo. I'm going to keep grinding, keep improving, and keep releasing songs for my fans and fam. Ryan Young is the next artist from Writepath who will be coming out with a major release of his own in the future.
Any last words?
Just a big thanks to Vision and the whole Ephin/SDK crew for helping out, and thanks to everyone who read this interview and checks out my new single. It's available for pre-order on all major platforms on June 1st, and will be available on June 7th. Much Love!
- Kegan ClarK, Writepath Entertainment
UPDATE: The video is out now. Check it out below.