Georgia-based artist Rot Ken is a talent to behold. At just 17-years-old, Ken has amassed over 100,000 monthly listeners on Spotify by being something more than just a rapper.
Co-signed by Internet Money’s Taz Taylor and Nick Mira — as well as working with producer JetsonMade — Rot Ken has that undefinable quality that makes good artists great. With ferocious wordplay and ear-catching melodies, his voice and cadence draws similarities to a Lil Baby-NBA YoungBoy hybrid. He’s also reportedly earned a future feature on Internet Money star Dro Kenji’s upcoming album With Or Without You.
that’s a given.
— INTERNET MONEY (@taztaylor) October 25, 2021
+ way way way way more. https://t.co/eTa0lNkENq
After releasing his breakout hit “007” in March, Rot Ken stayed steady with a slew of trap hits in “Baby Choppa,” “Never Bend” and more recently “Soulja Slim.” Although Ken’s talent is instantly apparent, his issues outside of music are an opposite tale. He was incarcerated on Oct. 2 and has since started the #freeken movement on social media. The details of his arrest and sentence are currently unavailable.
free me be back soon. pic.twitter.com/MasOwWyB5L
— ROT KEN (@1rotken) October 2, 2021
Free Rot Ken
— Nick M1ra (@nickmira) October 29, 2021
As Rot Ken climbs to greater heights, his latest single “Heartbreak Kid” further displays his natural talent at age 17. With swooning guitar refrains and entrancing vocalizations, Ken croons about being the “heartbreak kid that just wants to see you smile.” He refers to his mother — feeling as though he’s let her down with the life that’s consumed him — spitting “I don’t know how many times I told you sorry, I don’t know why.”
Touting hard-hitting 808s and iridescent ad-libs, Ken’s passionate vocals are the star of the show, coming through with waves of self-reflective depth and power to overcome the adversity he faces. Its accompanying visual features Kenny and friends sitting on a couch sparking up and fiddling with pistols as the track progresses.
Ken is shot alone in his bedroom, looking up at the ceiling and at the wall overthinking, reminiscing and trapped within the depths of his morality and soul. “Heartbreak Kid” is Rot Ken growing, maturing and becoming the artist he’s truly meant to be.
By putting forth perhaps his strongest effort to date, it’s a huge step in the right direction for the unrotten, unwavering Rot Ken.
Free Ken.
Check out Rot Ken’s new effort below!
