Koncept

Keith Michael Whitehead (born October 10, 1985 in Queens, New York City, United States), popularly known by his stage name Koncept is an American rapper, emcee and songwriter.[1] A former employee at Fat Beats, Koncept started out drawing graffiti and also had a short stint as a DJ before he went on to start writing songs and doing freestyles until he released his first EP in 2010 titled Playing Life. In 2012, he had his first break with his debut solo album titled Awaken which featured guest appearances from Soul Khan, Homeboy Sandman, Royce da 5'9" and Sene with production credits from J57 and Marco Polo.[2] In 2015, he collaborated with J57 to release an EP titled The Fuel which had its fair share of positive review from notable magazines including Respect Magazine, DJ Booth, HipHopDX and The Source.[3][4]

Koncept
Koncept in 2016
Background information
Birth nameKeith Michael Whitehead
Born (1985-10-10) October 10, 1985
Queens, New York City, United States
OriginBrooklyn, New York City, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)Rapper, songwriter
InstrumentsVocals, rapping
Years active2010–present
Labels
  • Sony
  • Champagne Konny
  • Vismajor
Associated acts
Websiteiamkoncept.com

Early life

Koncept was born and raised in Queens, New York City. He went to high school in Warwick, New York and attended Community College in Burlington, Vermont where he used to DJ at nights. Koncept majored in Graphic Design.[5] In 2007, he started working at Fat Beats, a New York City-based hip hop records store where he met producer and music partner J57 as well as the group called Brown Bag AllStars.[6]

Career

Koncept's professional music career started in 2007 while working at Fat Beats. In 2009, he released a 13-track EP titled Resilience and went on to release Playing Life and More Than Meets The Eye EPs in 2010 and 2011 respectively.[7] He made a guest appearance on DJ Concept's Heavy Smoke album released in 2011. On 24 October 2012, Koncept released a single off his 2012 debut album Awaken titled "Watch The Sky Fall" with vocal appearance from Royce da 5'9".[8]

In 2014, he was part of the 2014 annual Brown Bag AllStars A Year in Review mixtape which featured guest appearances from 50 Cent and Phantogram.[9] On 20 November 2015, Koncept released a joint EP with J57 entitled The Fuel with preceding singles like "The Fuel", "Porcelain", "Excitement" and "Crazy is Beautiful" which were received to critical acclaim.[10][11] The Fuel featured guest appearances from notable artistes including Hollis, Akie Bermiss and Dice Raw.[12] In 2017, he moved to South Korea where he performed at several shows, featured vocals on Part Time Cooks "Calling Me" and then signed a record deal with Sony Music Asia and Vismajor Company, a Korean record label.[13][14] On 9 June 2017, he released 14 Hours Ahead through his record label Champagne Konny Inc. with support from Sony Music Asia.[15]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Awaken (2012)
  • 14 Hours Ahead (2017)
  • Champagne Konny (2019)

EPs
  • Resilience (2009)
  • Playing Life (2011)
  • More Than Meets The Eye (2011)
  • Malt Disney (2013)
  • Live On (2013)
  • Malt Disney (J57 Remix) (2013)
  • The Fuel(with J57) (2015)

Selected guest appearances
Title Year Album
"Knuckle Puck"(Soul Khan featuring Koncept, 8thW1 & Homeboy Sandman 2010 Soul Like Khan
"Lost"(Tranzformer featuring Koncept, Blame One, Tenacity & Jefferson Price) 2011 Tranzformer
"Half Zombie"(J57 featuring Silent Knight, Emilio Lopez, Koncept & DJ Emoh Betta) 2012 2057 EP
"Pulp Fiction"(J57 featuring Koncept)
"Puff Puff Pass That"(DJ Concept featuring Koncept, Famoso & Rap P) Heavy Smoke
"La Luna"(Reks featuring Koncept, Sene, Vanessa Renee) REBELutionary
"Sound Familiar"(DeeJay Element featuring Koncept & J57) 2013 Reality Kings and Reason
"You Ain't Fresh (Ziplock Mix)"(Playdough featuring Koncept) Turn It Out
"Losing"(Charmingly Ghetto featuring Chandon & Koncept) Of The Meaning of Progress
"Louis Vuitton Wallets"(DJ Rhettmatic featuring Koncept) 2014 Non-album single
"Being"(Esoligh featuring Koncept, Soul Khan and Cee belle) The Way I See The World
"Just Begun"(Sparx f/ Kirswords, Koncept, Aayu, Soul Khan, Joe Swisher & Enrichment) 2016 ABM Records Presents The Vault

References
  1. Locke, Tinora (28 March 2014). "New Rules: Koncept & J57". Mass Appeal. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  2. Paine, Jake (7 January 2012). "Brown Bag AllStars' Koncept To Release "Awaken," Featuring Royce Da 5'9". HipHopDX. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. Hunte, Justin (24 September 2015). "Koncept & J57 "The Fuel" EP Release Date, Cover Art, Tracklist & EP Stream". HipHopDX. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. Solo, Dread (20 November 2015). "KONCEPT & J57 "THE FUEL EP" + INTERVIEW". Respect Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  5. Popova, Sofiya (21 July 2015). "Interview with Koncept". Ouii District. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  6. Wyse, Praverb the (8 August 2012). "Koncept Interview: Tired of Playing Life, Finally Awaken..." Praverb. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  7. Kearse, Stephen (10 December 2013). "INTERVIEW: KONCEPT AND J57 PREPARE FOR DEPARTURE". Respect Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  8. "Koncept ft. Royce da 5'9" - Watch The Sky Fall". DJBooth. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  9. "Brown Bag AllStars Recap Their 2014 With 'Year In Review' Mix". 2DopeBoys. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  10. Orcutt, KC (20 November 2015). "Review: Koncept and J57 Release "The Fuel EP"". The Souce. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  11. LaBate, Steve (22 October 2015). "Review: Koncept and J57 Release "The Fuel EP"". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  12. "HYPETRAK X KONCEPT X J57: INTERVIEW". 1 November 2015. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  13. "Part Time Cooks & Koncept sign with VMC, release 'Calling Me' MV". hiphopkr.com. 22 May 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  14. Celeste Kriel (7 March 2017). "NYC musician makes Seoul temporary home". Korea Times. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  15. http://hiphopdx.com, HipHopDX -. "#DXclusive: Listen To Koncept's "14 Hours Ahead" Album". hiphopdx.com. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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