Interview: A-kid Ballin’ After “Gaji Masuk”

By Karissa Lund  •  06 Feb 2018 in Interview

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“Gaji masuk, nak pi mana besok?”

With songs like ‘Apa Lagi Kita Mau?’ and ‘Ada Awek’, A-kid is well known on taking one-liners and turning them into whole songs. This time he’s back again with ‘Gaji Masuk’ featuring YungMana, AdibAlexx & Roti. The catchy kiddy tune mixed with elements of trap compliments A-kid’s bars about the joy of finally receiving your paycheck by the end of the month (and stealing your girl). Only the real can relate.

JUICE caught up with A-kid and got cosy at Krayziesoundz’s crib to find out more about his latest track, how he dealt with critics, and where his music career is heading.

In just a month, ‘Gaji Masuk’ garnered more than 200k views on Youtube, now 300k views and has also scored top 10 in Malaysia Viral 50 playlist on Spotify. So basically, how did this song came around?

The funny part is that I didn’t even plan to make ‘Gaji Masuk’ in the first place. I was fucking around with FruityLoops trynna create a jazz song and then I fucked up the chord, got frustrated, so I just started erasing all that shit. Then I just tried a simple way to create a beat and then keluar that melody. The melody reminds me of bila gaji masuk. So I cam, okay ah, buat ah ‘Gaji Masuk’! It took me quite some time to figure it out, but it was random ah. Oh the track also fits in the theme of my upcoming EP Stereot(h)ype.

The song features three other people. Solihin aka YungMana – a rapper that’s part of Krayziesoundz (KRZ), and AdibAlexx & ROTI (Luqman Podolski) who are new age comedians for young people. Why’d you chose them to be on the track?

I knew Soli could do the singing-kinda-trap punya flow, that’s why aku panggil dia. So when that happened I felt like Soli’s part was not an “end verse”, so I decided I need to find other person to end it. But at that time, tak ramai yang f**k with the song’s vibe. And the only one who vibed with it is Luqman & Adib. They liked the concept and everything. They recorded their part and that’s it.

Your previous music video ‘Ada Awek (feat. Senna)‘, which also garned more than 200k views on Youtube, received quite a mixed feedback from people. Some people loved it, some really hated it. Obviously, the lyrics and video became controversial, so how did you deal with that? Especially the hate?

Hahaha, aku agak koyak at first. Aku cam tak faham why they didn’t get the song was suppose to be a fun concept. It’s music, it’s a free ground. You can do whatever the fuck you wanna do, you know? At the end of the day, it’s just music. I don’t understand people who’s salty over this kinda sh*t. If you don’t like my sh*t, then do something better than my shit. It’s a simple concept. If you feel my song’s trash, cool, go make a better song. If you do make a better song, than congrats. What are you trynna prove anyway? What’s the reason you make music? To prove someone’s wrong? I don’t think so.

Your rap songs are known to be tongue-in-cheek (check out ‘Apa Lagi Kita Mau?’), some might even consider you as “comedy rap”. Has it ever crossed your mind to create more serious songs in the future?

Yeah, definitely doh. Like Irfan (ninjaboi and I-SKY) said, don’t let others label you and to always step out of our comfort zones. That’s what I’m trying to do. I don’t even listen to any comedy rap. I know rappers like that, but I’m not a big fan of ’em. Aku just buat benda ni sebab I feel like making this type of music in a particular time. So there will be different type of music coming especially with all the EP’s that I’m working on this year.

Gotta throw in a basic question, where do you see yourself in music five to ten years from now?

Ahhh shit… susah doh nak cakap benda ni. Damn.. I’m not saying that I’m not confident with the goal I wanna reach. But then again..

Are you worried that the audience in Malaysia is not that supportive?

I’m not gonna blame the audience for my downfall, sooner or later haha. I’m just saying that rappers now are… weird. They can start off rapping, but skip a few years later, they’ll be selling vodka like P.Diddy. You’ll never know. Maybe aku tak rap lagi in ten years. Maybe I’ll do something else that can make more money?

(At this point, fellow-Krayziesoundz rapper Senna interrupts) 

Senna Weh bodoh, don’t say that shit man, I’m gon cry. Nah nah nah, we’re gonna have Ada Awek Tour in the future.

Amongst all the songs you’ve released, which makes you feel the proudest?

A-Kid It’s hard to say. Every song that I have put out so far, doesn’t require me to take that much time. It just takes me like an hour and I just treat it like a fun song. I don’t know man, I like all of ’em. But the song that impacted me the most is ‘Ada Awek’, not even ‘Gaji Masuk’. Seriously. ‘Ada Awek’ taught me a lot, especially about the audience. Dulu I would just see other rappers yang kena (harsh criticism). But when it happened to me, it’s weird and it’s definitely a new thing to experience.

Alright, last question. What are your upcoming projects or EPs that your fans should keep an eye out for?

A-Kid Probably gonna f**k around and drop five EPs this year. I have my EP Stereot(h)ype. An EP with Danye, EP with Ameyy and an EP with Senna. Peep Unholy Mixtape by Krayziesoundz too.

Following A-kid’s Instagram & Twitter. 

Stream him on Spotify here.