@PRETTY_LILASIA
Hello! Welcome to the Display Interview Series LIVE on WorldStarHipHop.com. So, I know your name is Courtney, can go ahead, and start by introducing yourself?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
My name is COURTNEY KELLY. I'm a rapper out of Valdosta, Georgia, but currently located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Yes. All right. Courtney, I'm ASIA., the interviewer. I'm from New York. This is dope that we're able to conduct an interview this way! People in the comments, they already saying “COURTNEY! <3". Seeing some fans of yours, which is beautiful! So, first question, though...
I was checking Instagram out and listening to your music; your sound is so unique, and I want to know… What inspired your sound?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Yeah. So, I draw from a couple of inspirations. My forever inspiration is going to be Aaliyah. You know I’m rocking her every day. And just from that sound, I really liked how she didn't overpower the beat. She just always became, like, one with the beat. She kind of had a softer delivery, and I like that. I draw inspiration from Janet Jackson as well.
As of late, I've been inspired a lot by MoneyBagg Yo, Duke Duece, and other Southern Rappers. My favorite thing to do is mix the hard and the soft so, the hardness of being like, a Southern rapper, but then also the softness of someone like Alia or Janet Jackson.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Yes, Yes! That's exactly what I heard. Some tracks, you know, were real tough and some tracks were softer.
I know you said you were from Georgia, right? So, what about Georgia? Tell me a little bit about your town and were you’re from. How’s the music scene out there?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Yeah, so I'm from a small town in Georgia. People always think I’m from Atlanta. I'm like, no, I'm from South Georgia. Like a bottom of the map type deal.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
WAIT! So, so what's the name of that song again? It is about where you are from?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Ya, Ya, cause I’m not about to tell nobody I’m from Atlanta then they start asking me about stuff, and I get caught up because I don’t know what they're talking about. I'm from a small town called Valdosta. Most people know us for, like, football, and that's kind of what it is. It's a football town. But, growing up it was just nice to kind of be in an environment where pretty much everybody knew each other. Like, they knew your family and they could look at you and tell who your people are. It was just a very encouraging environment because everyone wanted people from the city to win. They wanted someone from a small town to make it. So, you have people that, of course, were good at football. They went on to play College or maybe they went to the NFL. So, to see someone like me that kind of went the academic route to go to college, like, I had a lot of people from back home just rooting for me, because they want to see other people from a small town and do great things. That was a great environment to have that type of encouragement.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
That’s so dope. It’s always good to have your hometown on your back during your come up phase! That’s so cool! Alright, one thing I did notice, also, was your sense of style. Even like right now, you know. I love fashion so much, so I want to know… Is the creative side you use to make music, the same creative side that you use in your style to make music?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
I feel like it's not the same side, but it's definitely an extension of that side because everything I do, I just want to be myself. So, when I make music, I want to make music that's me. Even if I say, oh, I want to make aTwerk song, it's going to be the Courtney Kelly version of the Twerk song. And so that's how I approach style. I want to look like me. I want to feel like myself, but I also want to do things differently. Like, when I rap, I don't want to sound like everybody else. So, when I dress, I don’t want to look like everybody else.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
YEAH! What's your Sign?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
I'm a Leo.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Okay. Yeah. Cool, cool, cool. Funky. Absolutely. All right.
So, I know you recently put out a project called A Vendetta of Love, and I want to know a couple of things about that project. So, the first thing I want to know is what's the fan favorite? Just so people that hear this know what to run to first.
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
So I feel like the song that gets requested most all the day, and I feel so bad because I never perform it, but it's definitely 'For the Record (Shake That)' They actually played it on U92 a couple of weeks ago out here in Utah.
People love that song because it's just so aggressive and I definitely set out to make an aggressive song, but I don't like performing them because it's a lot of words. So, if I ever do perform it, just know like, I probably got pressured into it, and had to really prepare. But, ya, that's kind of one of the favorites.
The other one that I do perform that gets the crowd going is Deluxe. I love doing that song because the hooks very catchy. People can always relate to it. We all have our own version of luxury; that we like. So, the crowd gets going with that one. And it’s just a fun song.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Okay, so what inspired the album all together?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
So, my no good Ex is who inspired the album altogether. And it’s crazy I wrote some of the songs while we were still with each other.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Oh okay, so your Ex?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Right, right. And we would fight a little bit.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Ahhh, we love when a girl goes through heartbreak a little bit, and we get the music.
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Yaaa, and we would make up, but while we fought, I would write these songs. And, like, I know we back on good terms, but check out this song I just wrote about how you ain't no sugar honey ice tea or whatever, and it was crazy because he got how I could separate the fact that, yes, we are on good terms, but I wrote this song and he could still appreciate part of it.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Okay, so he didn’t take it as a diss track???
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Nah, noo, no, no.. There was only one time he was like “Okay, You can’t say that.” And, so I ended up changing it because he never had a problem with anything else, and I get it. But the lyrics were written to feel something. And I was going through that break up, and I was like ‘I’m already sad, so why would I want to feel more sad? Listening to sad songs and crying like ‘Oh why don’t you need me? Why don’t you love Me.’ I don’t need that. And during that time I was listening to a lot of Young Dolph, R.I.P, and I had really got into him. I got into Moneybagg Yo more. And I was like this the type of stuff I want to listen to more if I’m crying. But then I was, like, dang the lyrics don’t match up. The energy is really how I feel, but the lyrics and the vocals don’t really match up. I need to merge those two together. Talk about my heartbreak and how I felt but still have that energy of those Southern Rappers.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
YAA. We need a drill track with your vocals!
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
Yeah, listen its so funny that you say that. I’ve been working on a new song that is a drill track, and I thought I would never do one. I was always like, I’m just ehhh I’m not, that’s not my scene. But, I heard this one beat and was ‘Oh, I got it!’ So this one is a little different than my usual sound, or the usual drill track. It’s more so metaphorically like you killin' people. Can’t nobody touch you. It doesn’t matter what somebody says about you. They can’t touch you or your family. Partners, family can’t touch them because, like, you’re killin’ em. People can’t even go against what you’re doing, So a lot of times that's how I like to encourage myself and other people, that no matter what somebody says to you, or what they say you can't do, you can still go out and be the person you want to be. And achieve everything you aim to do because nobody can stop you. When you are determined, nobody can stop you.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
That is beautiful. So, to wrap-up, my last question would be, what is your hobby other than music?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
I like to work out a lot, but I guess, yeah, I'm actually going to go to the gym after this interview. And to me, working out has just become like my alone time to really just focus on nothing else but myself and goals I have. And to just be in the zone and to see myself achieve something that I don't have to have like a crowd for, I don't have to go to studio to do. I can just do this for me. So, a lot of my hobbies outside of music are just things I like doing. People tease me about this with my friends; I like to do puzzles! I’ll sit at my house and do a puzzle. Really just things that don’t have to do with a performance. Something for me to have fun doing, and just be ,like, normal.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Escaping things but still satisfying yourself in a way that is not dark. I love that. I do same thing! I love to work out! And crossword puzzles are really my thing!
Speaker 1
Where I get frustrated is like the jungle puzzles where you have to like guess the words that go into a different set and the newspaper n all that.
Thank you so much Courtney, and you are coming from Salt Lake? How long have you been out there?
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
I've been here for four years, and I feel like that is too many years, but I actually feel like surprisingly, I've had a lot of growth as an artist here in Utah. And Utah has really embraced my music. So it's pretty cool. I would never thought that in Utah, like, how I'm doing, but I enjoyed it and kind of creates the safe space to just really kind of grow and develop because it's not a lot of really good and people are so hungry for more. So it just gives you that platform to just really create because they want it so bad. So it's like you put it out there, they really take through it.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Shoutout to Salt Lake for that. I appreciate this. Tell them your IG while we on WordStar. Tell ‘em your IG just in case!
@COURTNEYKELLYXI
You can follow me at @courtneykellyxi on Instagram and twitter. But you goin’ get a different version of me on twitter we have fun on twitter.
@PRETTY_LILASIA
Thank you I will follow you so we can be in touch thank you! Courtney doing her thing. I definitely like her sound. She has different sounds for everyone. So Check out her music.
You can watch the interviews LIVE on Worldstarhiphop.com on the 1st day of the month! Learn more about how you can interview in Episode #2 of the WSHH LIVE Interview Series on Aug. 1, 2022! Click Here for more info!
