My first time running into rising hip hop artist KO Kelly, was about a year ago in Colorado Springs, CO at a showcase held at a small event downtown. This was during a time when I had just announced the concept of 719 Mag and at a pivotal point in my own career. We had not formerly met until I was invited to judge a local rap performance battle being held on the westside this past September (All Males Verztality #EventRecap story) in which KO Kelly won the championship, over 14 other local artist performances, unanimously.
It was at that moment when he introduced himself to me, that I realized I was amongst a rare breed of talent and ambition that I can’t help but to recognize from time to time. Honestly, in my own opinion KO Kelly is one of the top 5 artists on my radar in Southern Colorado when it comes to creating hit records, having immaculate performances, and #motion.
When asked recently by a few of my colleagues what entails the criteria for a cover story for 719 Magazine, my reply was with no hesitation “Be undeniably compelling”. As an aspiring musician and artist myself, my own personal goal is to make a cover story oneday with my own music and accomplishments, so for me, I can understand the excitement and impact these kinds of stories have for an artist’s or musician’s dreams and goals. If I were to describe KO Kelly’s music and demeanor, “undeniably compelling” fits the description.
This by no way takes away from the abundance of talent, both new and old, in southern Colorado and in due time those stories will also be brought out in the limelight with many upcoming articles and cover stories. In a city of champions though, this story is about an “Olympian of Rap”, Kahlil Kelly aka KO Kelly.
KO is no stranger or newcomer to southern Colorado, orginally from Houston, TX, he has been a resident of Colorado Springs, CO off and on for about 15 years. Much of his story and history is expressed above in his #ExclusiveInterview with me just last week, as a result of winning a competition championship. In a matter of weeks this story evolved as we actually got to know each other as more interactions came about with another planned article we’ve been working on with his label/music group, Anthem Music Enterprises, and Terryjosiah Sharpe. I began to realize that it was more than a coincidence that me and KO Kelly kept crossing paths in various places in a matter of weeks. My own team doesn’t see me that often these days, so it only made sense.
Shortly after connecting a few times with KO Kelly, he was invited to assist me with a vendor booth 719 Mag had sponsored in Pueblo, CO for the Juicy Halloween outdoor/indoor concert vendor event (stay tuned for recap). Being that some of my staff were not able to accompany me on this event due to covering other events that night, KO offered to initially assist me with borrowing a smaller table that was more mobile, and as a result he rode down to Pueblo with me, and helped me setup and run our vendor table. Along with that, he brought his own product of oils to sell which actually ended up being a great move for him. This presented even more of an opportunity for us to connect with the headlining artists Jarren Benton (@jarrenbenton) Demrick (@iamdemrick) & Locksmith (@dalocksmith) once again, so we also got to have some great convos with them and some footage of that entire event building some valuable connections in Pueblo, Colorado along the way.
During all these interactions I’ve had personally with KO Kelly and coming to discover more about him and his music just in a matter of a month, it’s also no coincidence that him and his team made it possible, and went through all the necessary steps and requirements for his new album “American Gangster” (available now on all platforms) to be considered for an actual Grammy Nomination by The Recording Academy right now. Pretty impressive, being his debut album “Refugee” just dropped in 2022!
As I dug deeper in the world of KO Kelly and his aspirations, I made a conscious decision to do my best to give this champion his flowers during his own “humble” beginnings vs. after everything happens for him and his music career or before everyone “jumps on the bandwagon”. Clearly that bandwagon is coming and KO Kelly doesn’t seem to be mashing on the brakes anytime soon!
As a 28 year old artist, KO Kelly, clearly does what he’s able to do to balance not only a music career heavy in motion, a 9 to 5 job, a relationship, being a father of 2, and also finding time somewhere in between to get some sleep. As his interview with 719 Mag on Youtube reveals, he’s also a high school music teacher who helps students learn the fundamentals of song writing, audio production and engineering, recording, and also something very unique that I found intriguing- teaching students how to rap. So much to the point that he has a blueprint in motion to start the first ever School of Rap here in Colorado Springs, CO, very soon.
It’s no surprise that his squad over at Anthem Music Enterprises has an official partnership with the U.S.A. Olympics and his mentor TJ Sharpe is actually a part of their team also recently helping to compose the brand new theme song for Colorado Springs “Olympic City USA”! Stay Tuned for AME’s upcoming article with 719 Mag!
In conclusion, this cover story of KO Kelly is a story worthy of its merit, that has truly only just begun. In the City of Champions, Colorado Springs, the story of a champion, KO Kelly (@olympian.ko) is one of great relevance and importance for Southern Colorado’s Music Scene and we at 719 Mag are honored to provide a media outlet to be able to tell this #Exclusive story of a true gladiator active in the arena of the music industry.
Sound the trumpets!
KO Kelly, an Olympian of Rap, has arrived!
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Written by James Baldrick @idirty
Editor in Chief/Owner