Hamilton rapper Kevin Williamson released his debut full-length album Mistakes.
Hip hop musician, independent brand owner, and community supporter Ktriggs, or Kevin Williamson, released his first full-length album titled Mistakes. Born and bred in Hamilton, the artist holds immense pride for his city, organizing summer music festivals, promoting local creatives, and collaborating with local artists. Ktriggs describes his style as a mix between old school samples and melodies, with new school drums, bass and lyricism.
"I spend a lot of my time listening to more classic artists like Tupac, Andre 3000, and Nas to name a few," said Williamson. "As well as J Cole and Drake from the more current time, but I also draw inspiration from the world around me. As a person, I'm very passionate, and that lead me to identify with social justice, which I express through my music, while preaching my message of freedom of speech."
Ktriggs starting creating Mistakes during the early stages of the COVID-19 lockdown. The artist wanted to use his newfound downtime to write songs that reflected his inner growth.
"Each song is a different mistake that I've made, and as the album finishes, listeners will be able to hear how I'm taking action to make change," said Williamson. "Also making plans to move forward as a more well rounded artist, and person altogether."
Ktriggs takes pride in his lyricism, as he writes them entirely on his own.
"Although this album does also feature two local Hamilton artists- Borse and Flcntheartist," said Williamson. "They both bring their own style to the individual tracks, and I hand-picked them for the talents that they each possess. Borse being very lyrical and passionate on a song, whereas Flcn is more known for his R&B and auto-tune melodies."
The album took a year to complete, based on the decisions of Ktriggs and fellow collaborators.
"The instrumentals for the album were all created by local beat makers Bodie and Nomai Music," said Williamson. "Along with the help of my beat-makers, and engineer Masocre, we were able to create a layout for the track list which best suited the tone of this project. My main goal was to create a cohesive piece of work that speaks to my brand and identity as an artist here in Hamilton."
One of the biggest humps in the creative process for the rapper was figuring out what songs to kick off of the project, and which ones could stay.
"This was a difficult part of the process because the determining factors of including specific tracks came down to specifics, such as BPM and mood," said Williamson. "Determining the final track list took about six months on its own, but I am truly more than happy with the final result, and I think people will understand once they see how the first half of the album brings you up with my high energy flow and bars, and then I gradually bring the intensity down before closing off with the outro song."
The debut track off Mistakes, "Snakes", points a finger at the people in Williamson's life who've acted fake towards him.
"It's more of angry song where I speak on the concepts of trustworthiness, and individuals who had done me wrong or "snaked" me," said Williamson.
"Wolf" describes Ktriggs as an independent thinker.
"I do my best to represent myself as a leader in my community, and at times that means going my own way and not following the sheep or doing what everyone else is," said Williamson. "So in a metaphorical sense I could be seen as a wolf."
Ktriggs collaborated with Hamiltonian artist Borse for his third track.
"On "Demons", I talk about how we all battle inner and outer demons in this world," said Williamson. "Borse understands that as much as I do. Which is why he was well suited for this song."
"DIP", the fourth track on Mistakes, was written as a club banger.
"This song is more of a hype club type song, but also references the small team of people I work with, and how much I appreciate their loyalty," said Williamson.
"HOT" was the first single released off the album.
"It's more of a braggadocious type song to make people move," said Williamson. "It also makes a connection to the growing Hamilton hip hop culture with the line, "Up in my city, yeah it be hot.""
On the sixth track, Ktriggs expresses how his past traumas have molded him into the man he is today.
""Horizon" is the transition point of the album," said Williamson. "Where I bring the audience to a less intense state of talking about my mistakes, and speak about how my sins don't break me but make me who I am."
Ktriggs gets vulnerable on "Enterprise", where the rapper reflects on past relationships.
"This is a much more melodic track, Flcntheartist lends his vocals for the background of the song to add flavour and ambiance," said Williamson. "This song hits closer to the heart, speaking on the toxicity of past relationships and moving forward."
The musician's closing single, "Jade's Freestyle", is a reference to his eldest sister.
"My older sister Jade spent many years of her young life teaching and taking care of me," said Williamson. "This song is a dedication to her."
Ktriggs hopes his listeners can come to terms with their own mistakes by listening to the album, and learn to grow into a more developed person.
"I made mistakes, and these are my sins written down for you in black and white," said Williamson. "But that doesn't mean I have to allow it to define me. Life is never easy, and it's not about how you fall, but how you choose to get back up. That's why all these songs have reoccurring messages about coming back from making a mistake, and learning how to not make it again."
You can support Ktriggs by streaming Mistakes, following his socials below, or by visiting his website.
Upcoming gigs:
(Postponed due to COVID-19.)