NORFOLK, Va. — KELO SOUL was determined to meet Grammy-winning rapper and producer J. Cole earlier this month during a visit to Hampton Roads.
The local rapper, whose real name is Marckel Bonds, says J. Cole has been one of his favorite artists for as long as he can remember.
After a message from a friend in the area, KELO SOUL happened upon J. Cole and Dreamville Records cofounder Ibrahim Hamad at Waterside — driving around in a Honda Civic selling CD copies of his new album — and rapped his lyrics as seen in a clip that quickly went viral.
News 3 got to catch up with KELO SOUL following his viral moment freestyling to J. Cole at Norfolk’s Waterside.
“The thing about freestyling, and I think writing music, is that I have so many songs in my head that I don't necessarily know that I have, until maybe I smell something,” KELO SOUL says. “Or like I hear a word or a beat plays and I'm like, oh, I have this thing that I created.”
He says his process in freestyle rap is like quickly adding something to an unfinished painting, tying it together in a moment to give to the world.
“And even in the video, you'll see at the end I'm like, yeah, I'm Kelo, blah blah blah, and J. Cole points to the camera. And I'm talking to him, and I can tell as I watch it back, he's like, no, this is like your moment for the world,” said KELO SOUL. “You know, like, I see you. Now they're going to see you.”
With thousands of new followers on social media and reposts from Genius and XXL magazine, KELO SOUL says he is gearing up to push even harder and keep the spotlight on Hampton Roads artists.
“In the 757, we have so many artists who just are coming off the heels of winning Grammys, and I think Virginia is the most talented place in the world. And if anything, we all deserve the light and the eyes to be on us,” said KELO SOUL. “If I can bring any encouragement to anybody else or any other artists, I'm glad that I can do that. So, the time is now.”
KELO SOUL also wants to bring people together, much like how coffee brings people together, through his brand Coffee Black. The promotional brand hosts events connecting artists, musicians and creatives to collaborate and tap into the region’s rich creative talent.
“And that's us on the ground, the grassroots in connection with, you know, your Pharrells and people who reach back to kind of give us blueprints,” said KELO SOUL.
KELO SOUL first came to Hampton Roads in 2015, playing football for Christian Newport University. His artist name emerged from a nickname given to him by his teammates, he says. Throughout his life, KELO SOUL had the nickname Kel, from his first name, Marckel.
When his teammates, including Julien and Jamal Spence, began calling him Kellog’s, he put a spin on that nickname to release music under an original name.
“I put my soul into my music,” says KELO SOUL.
KELO SOUL says he comes from a big music family: his uncle was an original member of Grammy-winning R&B group Blackstreet.
KELO SOUL was in choir as a child and landed a role as a rapper in his middle school’s performance of Dr. Seuss’s “The Lorax”, performed as a play. Originally from the small town of Bedford, Va., he started rapping with his friends at middle school track meets and football games before first recording music in college.
“I’ve always known how big of [an] impact you can make in a small town,” said KELO. “And I feel like Hampton Roads is the biggest small town in the world.”
