Artist Profile: Rokkai
Rokkai, the multi-instrumentalist, rapper, and producer from Atlanta, Georgia, crafts smooth and uplifting tracks, harnessing his genre-agnostic foundations into the grooves and rhythms of his songs.
The son of a hip-hop head, Rokkai was exposed to a plethora of underground gems from his infancy by listening to selections from his father’s immense music collection. Despite this, he grew up mostly as a fan of rock, transitioning to rap in early high school. Around this time, he began bumping artists such as J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Isaiah Rashad.
Yet, he never stopped exploring other genres, identifying jazz fusion and progressive rock as being among his recent rotations.
This wide interest and its varying results are certainly present throughout Rokkai’s discography. His most recent project, “How absurd!”, leaned into a variety of sounds from the ‘60s and ‘70s.
“About [the time I was recording] my first album, I was listening mostly to classic soul, so songs from the sixties, seventies… I do think my influences that I'm listening to outside of rap are going to have a heavy presence in the newer sh*t that I'm going to drop. And don't get me wrong, I'm still rapping. but I I do like to explore different avenues and genres, especially ones that I've enjoyed throughout my entire life.”
While Rokkai’s relationship with rap began developing at this time, his musical journey began even earlier when his best friend, who now has his own rap career under the name Smiles, piqued his interest in guitar. Rokkai, over time, learned to play guitar and bass, and, as he started making rap music, put these tools to his disposal.
He now does most of his own production, chopping the samples and laying down instrumental tracks himself. However, he admits that this is mostly out of necessity, as he feels as though there are certain sounds he’s sought that are difficult to communicate to and draw from other producers.
“I started with my last album, “How absurd!”, there was an idea and certain sounds that I wanted to get, and I didn't really have confidence that other people could achieve the sound that I was looking for, because I didn't know how to describe exactly what it was that I was trying to make. I just had to kind of shoot in the dark until I landed one.”
As Rokkai works towards his next project, a rock and jazz-centric album, he hopes to continue to expand his collaborations, pursuing the various sounds that populate his creative imagination. He also looks to continue work with the NOBAN WORLD collective, an Atlanta-based music brand that looks to highlight and elevate artists from the area.
A man who is truly dedicated to his craft, Rokkai is and should be central to the stacked Atlanta rap scene, and, as he pushes forward in honing his skills, will certainly be someone to watch.
