King Konye, a recent graduate of Hartwick College, has 12,000 followers on Instagram. He is an artist who writes and performs rap music. He calls his music Melodic Rap and it reflects his love for people and melody. “Reminding people of our humanness; acknowledging and loving each other — that is my mission in my music.” We met for breakfast to talk about his music and his positive outlook on life. Konye had a burger. I had my usual breakfast sandwich on an everything bagel.
Konye grew up surrounded by music. His father, a music professor who grew up in Nigeria, wrote a song for each of his three children — it was the first thing they heard when they were born. While his father focused on classical music, Konye gravitated toward traditional rap. In 2018, while having dinner in Olive Garden, a young girl recognized him and asked if he would take a photo with her and her family. Afterward, he thought about his music and the impact the “words he used mindlessly — talking bad — might have on this young girl.” “I never want to set someone astray,” he told me, “or make someone have a perspective that is negative. This incident changed my approach to music and made me accountable for what I put into the world.” Konye told me he now sees his songs as seeds that might put something in someone’s heart that will grow.
Konye came to Hartwick College after a year at SUNY Potsdam. Unlike Potsdam, he found Hartwick College provided him with the sense of community he needed. His professors nurtured him and encouraged him to develop his music. His first performance in Oneonta was at CANO’s City of the Hills Festival of the Arts, which was well received and led to more local gigs and a job at Otsego Media. After seeing how well he connected with people on stage, he was offered a job promoting local businesses on social media.
Upon graduation, Konye decided to stay in Oneonta as he saw this as “a place that has a culture and a community that respects art.” He said he has a vision that Oneonta will someday have a thriving music and entertainment industry. I asked Konye for advice on what we should be doing to encourage more of our SUNY and Hartwick College students to stay in Oneonta after they graduate. He told me, “for better or worse, young people get their news from places like TikTok on social media” and that we need to use these avenues of communication better to let our students know more about all this community has to offer.
Looking back, Konye told me he was fortunate to grow up in a loving family. “I had a dad that knew how to be sensitive. He is a strong man who came from Nigeria and pursued classical music. At first, he didn’t appreciate my interest in rap music but he is now very proud of me,” he said. He told me that when his mother was “going through a rough patch,” he and his brother wrote a song for her that helped to cheer her up.
With Konye’s interest in bringing people together, I asked him his thoughts on overcoming the current divisiveness in our country. “We have a culture that is very individualized,” he told me. “Our country was built upon personal freedom, however, when things become too individualized we lose a chief component of human life. We focus on promoting ourselves instead of promoting relationships. I make music to remind people of their humanness. Yes, we all have this desire to be seen but we need to acknowledge each other. Nothing is more powerful than love — that is my mission in my music. Every stage I step onto is to bring hope and joy to people.”
As we were finishing our breakfast and our conversation, a young woman stopped by to say hello to Konye. He introduced me to her and told her I was a “cool dude.” “You think everyone is a cool dude,” she fired back. Looks like there is much we can learn from a 24-year-old rap artist who thinks everyone is a cool dude.