What’s your stage name and where are you from?

Melo KAN (pronounced mellow cane) and I’m from California but the universe is what I claim.

What’s the story behind your stage name?

I was nicknamed Melo as a youth for my temperament. KAN is an acronym for King Amongst Niggas

Describe your musical journey in three sentences.

My musical journey has been one wrought of challenges and enlightenment. For a while I struggled with who I wanted to be in the space without sacrificing too much of my authenticity. I eventually came to the conclusion that I didn’t necessarily have to be a part of the “business” of music, in order to participate, and for me this was creatively liberating.

Share an interesting experience you had while creating your latest track.

I believe I was out of town visiting a friend of mine, and while at their home, inspiration struck. They had never seen me lock in before, so they kinda of sat there in amazement as I dowloaded (wrote). It doesn’t always happen like this, but it just poured out of me effortlessly and it didn’t take long at all.

What message do you want to convey through your music?

Music for me is healing and therapeutic. Growing up, music was a significant part of my most happiest memories and my darkest moments. I understand that everyone doesn’t have the gift to convey emotions and thoughts in such a way that others connect with it, so I don’t ever take what I do lightly. I realize it just may help someone heal or grow, so I’m more intentional with my pen.

Tell us about a challenge you faced during production and how you overcame it.

My biggest challenges around production is really the roll out. Every time. How do I put this out to reach the people it needs to reach. And when I don’t have a clear path, it just sits and sits because my mindset was this needs to be done right or not at all. Nowadays, I take the stance of; I have several places I can put this so that its available and even if only two people hear it, I hope it did something for them.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

Most the artists I would have loved to collaborate now have passed. But the living artists who would be amazing to work with are Lauryn Hill and Andre 3000. Mainly because their level of artistry is eons beyond everyone else due to their approach to music with authenticity and honesty.

Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?

I will just keep creating as long as the spirit is alive in me to do so. Wherever that leads, I’m grateful.

What’s the next big step for you as an artist?

Right now I’m working with a group called “The Lites” and we are cooking up some real dope things together. I’m really excited about getting to share that music.

Where can we hear/watch your most recent work?

I’ll be dropping more things on Soundcloud rather than dsps in the near future just so it’s more accessible. I also have a YouTube channel with some pretty cool high quality videos for anyone into that.