Memphis’ Big KMula Talks Shotta Fam, New Music, & More

Memphis arguably had one of its greatest years following the commercial success of acts like NLE Choppa and Young Dolph. Cut from that same cloth, rising emcee Big KMula is building a formidable catalog with each new song. He arrived on the scene as a part of Shotta Fam, who took the year by storm with newcomers like Dee Bently and Kabana Dolce. Moreover, videos have racked up millions of views, gaining them heavy attention.

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Big KMula grew up through rough times, but fortunately, it made him a man. Initially, KMula took interests in football, however, academics weren’t his strongest which led to music. Fast forward to today, Big KMula’s “Our Year” video has garnered over 1.6 million YouTube views. Check out our interview below.

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Rough but at the same time I slick had my way. Growing up In a single parent home not knowing your father is always pressure for a child. Fortunately, I had my granddaddy who stepped in and helped play that role but growing up I seen so much shit it’s ridiculous. I watch my step-daddy die right in front of me when I was 14-years-old and it wasn’t nothing that could be done to save him but it was so much more tied into that what made me me.

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I’ve always had a passion and a ear for music but I never in a million years thought I’ll be making music but what really got me tuned all the way into music is when I first heard Starlito. Dude really made me love rap but actually being around an artist and seeing how you put words together, with so much sauce, word play, metaphors, flow, and deliver. This rapper name Ace Boogie from Memphis made me wanna get in the booth and just drop.

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I used to play football. that was always my first love but I played football at a small high school so I really ain’t get the exposure like some of the kids at bigger high schools got. I also had fucked up grades coming outta high school so that played a role in me not being able to further my football career like I wanted. I had a group of homies from the hood who started rapping a little bit before me and that’s when it all jumped off with the rapping shit on chuck and wood hollow back in 2013 but I ain’t really take it serious back then. I was featured on like three songs and one was in a video that we recorded for “No Chorus Pt. 1.”

How did you get introduced to the whole Shotta Fam?

Shotta Fam started in East Memphis. A few of the big homie put that shit together, banged it for a few years, then the other homies in the hood gravitated towards it and us being younger than them slick looked up to them niggas and we basically followed suit. 

Man, having house parties in the east. We wasn’t banging Shotta Fam then but everybody who Shotta Fam now or close to Shotta fam was at them house parties every Friday after a football game No cap. That was before the opps became the opps. That’s was before the big homies died, before a lot of the homies got locked up, we just use to have fun and everybody use to actually be they self.

Just being different. Memphis has its own sound when it comes to music and a mass majority of the people who rap in Memphis sound alike. It’s nothing wrong with that, like majority of everybody in Atlanta copy each other flows and sound the same. When I rap I try to keep that Memphis sound alive but at the same time I wanna sound like me and standout from the rest.

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With family I got 2 younger siblings and they grew up without a father like a did but by force this time not by choice. So I was always the man of the house taking care of them now I have a son I do the same thing for as well. With friends I’m always the life of the party. I’m the friend my homies be want be around cause they swear I got all the women which ain’t true but ion get in to much trouble, I be chill so my friends like to kick it with me a lot for those reasons.

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Keep working and pushing your material, somebody gone notice you. It be seeming hard at moments with me at times. I have labels hitting me up all the time but ain’t nobody pulled the plug on me yet to say “Yeah you our guy” but they are interest in what I talk about so that’s a step. Just make sure u keep applying pressure & if any interview, blogs, shows, parties just to let your face be seen show up to them. No matter how big or small u think it is that’s exposure because one day that same person you doing a interview with could be the next host, A&R, or VP for a label and that could be your ticket out.

Me branding more of myself, more music, more shows, more content, more everything. All the above.