Interview: R&B Star Khalil & Lyricist Rofashow Team Up For Hot New Video
The pandemic has slowed the music industry down to a screeching halt for certain artists. Others have thrived from home by connecting directly with fans and creating new ways to takeover the virtual internet “streets”. Amidst all the commotion, R&B singer and songwriter Khalil is back with a fresh new single + video combination with help from one of his best friends and longtime collaborators, Rofashow. I got a chance to sit down with both the artists via a Zoom call and pick their brains about the buzzing visual.
VeryBad: First question I have is how did you two meet? How did that relationship begin?
Khalil: Me & Ro met back in middle school, we used to ride the bus together. From there we started playing video games online & skateboarding and shit like that. Then I started doing music so the relationship kinda grew from there. He used to fly out to Atlanta and visit me and we’d record and do freestyle battles, you know normal stuff as kids. And the relationship just grew to doing music and shit together as well.
Rofashow: I remember the first thing I said to him. He was a new kid at my middle school Leavitt, and I just walked up to him like “You new or something?”. He was kinda shy or timid a little bit but we he was like yeah and we just got cool off the bat. He lived in my neighborhood so that same day I went to his house and we were just skateboarding and shit, so it just kinda grew organically from there. I didn’t even know he did music until way later.
VeryBad: Question for Khalil, you've been in the game for a long time and you always stay relevant. Is it a challenge to constantly reinvent yourself for fans through different eras of music?
Khalil: Definitely. But I feel like just having originality with your music and really just going with the flow. Not trying to step outside the box and do stuff that doesn’t coincide with what you really believe in and what really fits with your image. Really me, I just try to create dope music and try to create the most timeless music I can so that’ll last.
Rofashow: But would you say it’s like a challenge? Cause you make it look easy. Even you say “too easy” alot, like it seems so effortless.
Khalil: Nah, it’s definitely a challenge even being faced with regular life stuff. I go through battles with not even wanting to do music and record all the time, like my mind might not be in it. I just feel like for me it’s having that comfortability and wanting to have that same fun that you had. If I don’t have that drive I like to just take a break for a minute, until I can build and grow that again and always be having fun with it because I feel like thats when I make my best product. So sometimes you gotta take a step back, you know what I mean.
VeryBad: Definitely, that’s important in anything. Keeping your mind refreshed.
Khalil: Exactly, so you can give it your all.
VeryBad: Right! Ro, we discussed a bit about the background of “True Shit” and you getting on it. How important was it to for you to be apart of this record?
Rofashow: You know, you were telling me how much you enjoy the record. For me, I felt the same way. I’m always in Khalil’s ear about doing records and shit, but how he approached it he kinda put the ball in my court to see if I was really serious. So I went to LA and he said to go through some records he had already recorded. I went through his laptop and I heard “True Shit” and I was like bro this is undeniable. And he didn’t really have any plans of putting it out so I was like alright, I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission. So I sent it to myself and I tracked the vocals with Matute, then SoundsbyDawson switched the beat around the make it more rappy. I just inserted myself and I sent it to Khalil to see if he liked it and he did. So he was like “I wanna pay it forward and put you on so you can put someone else on in the future”, and that’s really what it’s about, so that was my role.
Khalil: I had a lot of records in my computer that I wasn’t really planning on using, I just like to always have a bunch of stuff that I’m recording. He was just going through all the records and he kinda sparked my brain on the song. I always liked it and certain parts of it, but as a whole I feel like having him on it and the chemistry kinda brought it together. Then I could really see the video, so it came out dope.
VeryBad: The video is crazy! Which brings me to my next question, are there any funny music video stories or something that happened in the process that was interesting.
Rofashow: I mean, there wasn’t really anything crazy that I can recollect, everything was smooth but it was special for me cause I had my whole family there. I thought it was really cool cause Khalil, he’s like the person that brings my whole family together. Like my family, we don’t really hang out as much as we should but no one has seen Khalil in Vegas for a while. So when he came out here it was so organic and nostalgic, we went back to the place where we first met and I fell in love with the process again. It just took me back to when we first met, he replaced the batteries in my back. You know, we go through real life shit and sometimes it’s like “is this music shit even worth it? Should I choose another route?”, and I got rid of all those doubts in my mind when he pulled up on me.
VeryBad: That’s dope! I just know being on music video sets only like one out of ten times everything goes completely smooth and that sounds like what happened with y’all.
Khalil: Nah, yeah, I wouldn’t say it was completely smooth. As far as setting up there’s always a lot of waiting and shit like that, but the videos are pretty smooth for me. I be chilling, I don’t really mind the waiting and shit like that cause I be drinking, sipping champagne and stuff.
VeryBad: Yeah, I’ve shot videos where we planned on it taking two hours and it ended up taking three days of shooting!
Khalil: Oh yeah, it did get extended! It was supposed to be all shot in one day but it did get extended.
Rofashow: Yeah, it’s coming back to me though cause we did have to scramble with the models a bit. Like (one of the models) her name is Ruby Rose, and I just dm’d her and she pulled up, so thank God for that cause I feel like she added a lot of value. For me, just being from Vegas I thought it was cool cause the second part of the video was shot in DJ Franzen’s photography studio. So I thought that was pretty cool cause I’ve always heard DJ Franzen you know, just listening to the radio.
VeryBad: That’s actually fire! Those are those little Vegas easter eggs that kinda bring everything together, I didn’t even realize that. So with everything going on with COVID-19 and stuff, how was the pandemic affected your career or your output as an artist?
Khalil: That’s a good question. It’s kinda forced me to focus on different things. Also, it’s made me feel like I have time to catch up and not feel so much pressure. So that’s kinda helped with not feeling like everything’s moving so fast and I can’t catch it, with everything having a break it feels like I got time to catch up. It made it easier for me to get certain things out while I’m recording, not trying to rush.
VeryBad: Yeah, I’m seeing it honestly had a positive impact for certain people. What about you, Ro?
Rofashow: For me it was a gift and a curse, but it was about my mentality. Me & him actually had plans to go to Brazil and this COVID shit kinda cooked up those plans. So I could’ve looked at it as the glass half empty, but I just looked at it half full like “Aight, this shit is teaching me patience”. Then I just stated locking in the studio, I’m in the house bored like everybody else so I’m just writing a bunch of records. I’m grateful that it happened. Of course I’m waiting patiently on it to go back to normal, but I’m glad that it forced me to adapt. You can’t expect different results with the same routine, type shit.
Verybad: I definitely think it was a big reality check for everybody, like you said it was a gift and a curse.
Rofashow: I know Khalil’s kinda been used to the quarantine shit; one of the battles he’s been through is he broke his femur. A lot of people don’t even know, I was going back and forth checking on him to make sure he was straight mentally and shit. That’s when we did a lot of plotting. We were both going through shit and we kinda leaned on each other. So the fact that he’s coming back stronger than ever is just making me super proud of him as a brother, all music shit aside.
VeryBad: I heard about that, congrats on your recovery.
Khalil: I appreciate that.
VeryBad: So you both are working on projects right now. Do you have names for the albums?
Khalil: The name of the album is “Because I Said So”. I don’t have a date but it’s coming soon.
VeryBad: Definitely interested in covering that when it comes out! What about your album Ro?
Rofashow: Mine is called “Legend Has It”. It’s more like a “No Ceilings”/Wayne type mixtape, a bunch of features. Just really showing off my ability, playing with flows, collabing with a bunch of people. The concept is just like, you know, a legend has it. You don’t have to tell a legend that he’s a legend, he know’s he has the “it” factor. Like Khalil knows he has it, I know I got it, you know you got it. So that’s kinda what the concept is.
VeryBad: That’s dope! Of course we’re very interested in covering both of those when they come out. So other than the albums what can we expect next from the both of you?
Khalil: More visuals, I got another single leading up to the album. I mean everything! Vlogs. I’m trying to tap in with this podcast. I’m just trying to get back on my internet shit, Tik-tok and all that. A few of my homeboys got podcast, so I just wanted to tap into that world a little bit. Like not starting my own, but getting into that world cause I haven’t been doing interviews or nothing like that lately. That’ll for sure be a comfort zone for me, like I’ve been doing that. Like I did the cohost thing for 106 & Park and shit when I was young, so I feel like that’ll me something that I’m interested in and I can explore and get better at.
VeryBad: What’s next for you Ro?
Rofashow: For me, I really just love helping to cowrite. You know with these Verzuz events I’ve been watching a bunch of songwriters and stuff. I just think it’s really cool how like NeYo and The Dream and the other songwriters and stuff, you find out that they’re apart of records way after the fact. Like I don’t care if everyone knows right when its happening, but I really just want to build a dope resume and a dope catalogue as far as songwriting. So in order to do that I’m really playing with my voice on the low, just trying to practice getting melodic and stuff like that. Besides that, a bunch of merch, a bunch of videos. Me and Asaiah Ziv were just talking today about shooting a video for “Clockwork”, the song that we just dropped, so that’ll be dope. I just want to put my face on the internet more, kinda like what Khalil was saying.
VeryBad: I think that’s important. You brought up 106 & Park and other stuff, back in the day we didn’t have as much internet access so you really only knew people by their face. You’d see them on BET or VH1 or MTV, a magazine maybe. It was more so the media putting them in your face, so it was like I turn on the tv and there goes Kanye West.
Khalil: Yeah, so now you have to be that media putting yourself in people’s face.
Rofashow: Like Soulja Boy.
VeryBad: Exactly. Well thank you guys, anything you want to close with?
Khalil: Go watch “True Shit” video out right now! Me and my motherfuckin’ brother Ro!
Watch “True Shit” above and keep a look out for new projects from both Khalil and Rofashow.
