BY: SEIF GHAZI / STAFF WRITER
Everyone should be paying attention to this rising artist who’s steadily taking on the New York music scene. Kyro combines his past and his present while infusing it with New York City’s distinct sound, representing the true essence of the melting pot that has made New York City the metropolis it is today.
Kyro brings forth his Egyptian and Arab heritage as well as his native New Yorker upbringing in a unique musical blend almost as distinct as he is. I sat down with Kyro on behalf of Seawanka to get the inside scoop on who he is, what his music means to him, and what it means to his audience.
Kyro originally started songwriting as a Freshman in college purely for pleasure. He would sit in the library and write rhymes on a notepad. When Kyro realized that he had a natural talent for songwriting, he decided to take his lyricism to the next level.
Using a beat that a friend of his mixed for him, he went to a professional studio in Manhattan and recorded his first song. From that moment on, he fell in love with music and songwriting and decided that his path in life would be that of an artist.
It wasn’t until tragedy struck with the loss of his father, that Kyro fully embraced his Egyptian heritage. He states: “At first, I was very much trying to sound like a New Yorker, I was trying to fit into that New York sound and fit into the culture. I was trying to make music for New York at first. Then October 2021, I went to Egypt and that’s when everything changed.”
Kyro and his family spent a year and four months in Egypt recuperating upon the loss of his beloved father. Sometime into his stay, Kyro began looking into the Egyptian Arabic music scene and rap scene.
As a result, he fell into this whole new world of music that expanded his view and perspective on everything, from his place in the world to his personal music style. In essence, he turned a tragedy into a new beginning!
Kyro wrote and produced two songs during his time in Egypt, and among them, is his personal favorite of any song he’s ever released, titled Kalami Wadeh, which translates to My words are clear. This song combines New York with Cairo, English with Arabic, and even the past with the present through the mix of cultures.
As a small artist, Kyro used the power of TikTok to help promote his music through an ingenious marketing strategy. At first, he would post comedic content that allowed him to accrue a modest following. He then began combining the comedic content with his music promotion by including a snippet of a song, such as Kalami Wadeh, at the end of each comedic video.
This strategy wound up being quite effective as his musical reach has since then expanded greatly. Kyro states: “As we speak, I’m on the way. I’m definitely not where I wanna be, but I’m consistently growing every single day. I actually see the numbers going up month by month by month. I’m consistently gaining more traction.”
Over the past few years, Kyro has come a long way in improving his craft. He’s always had a musical brain. Music production, in terms of putting different elements of a song together on one track, and songwriting came to him naturally; however, it’s through trial and experience that he’s developed his voice.
As he expressed when we sat down together: “I 100% developed my voice over time, when I first started I was very monotone I would just read lyrics. Maybe I would have some energy, but it wasn’t all the way there. I didn’t learn voice control and tone and pitch shifting and all these other things you can do until later on, years down the line. I didn’t get taught it, the more you go the more you pick things up and realize things.”
Beyond the technical aspects of his music, Kyro’s message has also evolved. He firmly believes in pushing back against the materialistic worldly culture of rap in the present day. In his own words: “So many artists talk about money, cars, drugs, sex, very worldly elements. I don’t talk about that stuff ever in my music, maybe 2019 me or 2020 would throw in “filler bars”, but that’s part of the evolution of my personal music style. Me now, you will never hear about anything related to materialistic pursuits in my music. I can promise that.”
Kyro firmly believes in stressing the existence of a higher power, of a belief in God, and in remembering not to get lost in this life’s materialistic pursuits. Therein lies his core message and drive for producing music that fully represents his authentic self.
In his own words: “I want to focus on perfecting the craft of actually writing”. Kyro stresses the importance of learning by experience, especially for aspiring musicians looking to get into the craft. It’s because of this go-getter attitude that he does not believe in limiting your own potential. He doesn’t even believe that the sky’s the limit. Wherever you can take yourself, however fast, is where you should go, a belief that all artists should hold in order to grow.