King Khazm: The Beautiful Struggle
Photos provided by King Khazm
By RayJaun Stelly
Clocking 25 years and counting in music, art, and community service here in Washington and throughout the world, with his origins coming from South Seattle King Khazm is a prominent figure in the culture. An emcee, producer, and community organizer in the Seattle hip-hop scene, Khazm continues to leave a valuable imprint.
From a producer standpoint he’s had a hand in collaborating with artists such as Abstract Rude, Afu-Ra, Def-I, Eli Almic, Gabriel Teodros, OneBeLo, Sadat X, Sean Price and Xololanxinxo. Performed all over the world and country, participating in the World’s Fair & Expo 2020 held in Dubai, The IBE in Netherlands, Galpao Aplauso in Brazil, Festival de la Juventud in Guatemala, Strictly Street in Malaysia, and here in Seattle at Folklife Festival.
King Khazm has also shared the stage with artists by the names of Naughty By Nature, Gza, Kurtis Blow, Zion I, Aceyalone and many others. Khazm’s music background stems from his family, and it is safe to say it was embedded in him since birth. Having an uncle playing the guitar, the family as a whole having members who create arts and are craftsmen in different ways, combining the two ultimately resulted into something he gravitated towards.
“Something about hip-hop just resonated with me, the beats and bass just drove me,” said Khazm. “Run DMC, LL Cool J, FatBoys, some of the early music just captivated me and it spoke to me.
Being influenced by those around him and the hip-hop culture itself made Khazm’s decision to be in this field an easy choice. Starting as a visual artist with his graffiti, gravitating to poetry which evolved into writing lyrics then onto beats developed into his consistency as an artist.
Participating in street-cyphers, selling mixtapes are all apart of Khazm’s lineage keeping himself and friends out of trouble. Doing underground shows at local house parties, warehouses, Redmond Fire House, Nu Black Arts West Theatre/Washington Hall, and Seattle Center, with a promotional tour set to start in Europe during the month of August.
“In terms of my trajectory I’ve always been into music and art, that’s pretty much been my life,” said Khazm. “I really don’t know if it is stubborn, but I couldn’t really do anything else, it took a lot of years and dedication to really forge that path and have a level of stability.”
Despite his disability, Khazm never let his confidence waiver in who he is as a person and in this field. The beautiful struggle of life itself continues to fuel his purpose as an emcee, producer, and community organizer.
“There’s a Japanese proverb my great-grandfather use to say, seven times fall eight times rise,” said Khazm. “Took a lot of years of getting kicked down and you have no choice but to get up, for me persevering is apart of survival, in a lot of ways hip-hop saved me.”
Craving and paving the foundation he wanted for himself and help push the envelope forward, King Khazm doesn’t want any praise for his impact.
“I feel like that’s for other people to say, I’ve been fortunate to do what I’ve been able to do and push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Khazm. “For me, I just encourage people to explore their own individuality, not being too worried about what’s out there or follow any trends.”
“Explore your creativity and identity in who you are, as far as the future I want to actively create a community where people can come and be themselves to bring it back to the root of hip-hop,” he continued.
Khazm’s accolades are essentially endless, peaking in the top 10 four different charts for KEXP, NACC, Urban Influencer, and Earshot. NACC Top Hip Hop Adds ranking number one with most added with 11 adds, RapAttackLives Top 30 peak at number 25, RapAttackLives Top Five Most Added at number one most added.
Dating back to 1999 winning the Trooper Award from BBoy Masters ProAm to his most recent one, the Strongwheeled Together Award in 2023 from United Spinal Association in Las Vegas, Khazm totaled up to 18 awards in a 24 year time span.
“The accolades are material things, and it’s great to be acknowledged, but really the purpose is the music and connecting with people,” said Khazm. “That’s the thing I’m most grateful for, these awards and accolades are a reflection of that. I’m not driven by commercial success, I like to keep true to me and my people.”
King Khazm is currently working on a group project called Mid-Century Modern which debuted their single ‘Cry Me A River’ last year, and currently have a full length project called ‘Cinema’ that is being worked on with a promotional tour set to start in Italy during the month of August.
Keep up with King Khazm on Instagram @KingKhazm, Facebook Khazm Kogita, and his website www.kingkhazm.com
