Ishmaiah Graham uses his music to uplift and inspire others

Zipporah Jones

MC301/Staff Writer

“Music is so big in my life. I’m with music 22 out of my 24 hours in a day. The first thing I do, before I even get out of bed is listen to music. I’ve been around music my whole life.  Music can change your mood, your pace, your heart rate— music is so powerful,” said Ishmiah Graham, a local rapper who goes by the name, King Kèm.

Graham, a junior journalism and media studies major at Jackson State University is a native of Jackson, Miss. and has lived in the same house for 21 years.

“I have two younger siblings, a sister and a brother, so I’ve always been the oldest and a role model. I’m always teaching and showing them new things, especially my brother, who has just gotten into rapping as well,” said Graham.

He also described that his stage name comes from some aspects of himself and his childhood.

“I’ve always been really good at whatever I’ve done and I participated in a lot of competitions and pageants when I was young.  I would always win King.  This is where the “King” part of my name came from. My middle name is Rakem, and this is where the second part of my name came from.

Graham also points out that those in his family pushed him to be musically oriented as well.

“I’ve been interested in rapping my whole life, actually since I was six. My uncle used to rap himself. He also used to babysit me as a young child and used to make me freestyle over instrumentals he played out of his tiny radio.  My first project that I released is dedicated to him.  It’s called ‘Unsigned’,” Graham said.

The Jackson native describes the point in his life that he knew he would start to create his own music.

“I was in college when I started taking rapping seriously. I’ve always written music, but I never recorded.  Freshmen year, I recorded my first song which was called ‘King’.

While at Jackson State, Graham has made lasting connections with other creatives as well. Drevo Coolidge, DevMacc, Lil Lonnie and Ant200 are some artists who helped him on his journey, but the music he makes has been greatly influenced by southern rapper T.I.

“In my first song I dropped, I got a lot of feedback saying I sounded like T.I.  I’m glad I’ve sprouted and found my own sound (since then). The reason he has always been a role model to me is because of how he carried himself on and off camera.  I expect the same things (for myself)”.

Graham also says that his life has greatly influenced his music.

“I feel like my life has influenced my music…110 percent. Everything that has happened in my life is fair game to be put into my music.  If questioned about it, I can describe it,” Graham said.

Graham has dropped two projects so far, “Unsigned” and “Unsigned 2”. One thing in particular about Graham’s music is that it can be played around any demographic.

“I would describe my music as clean. It literally can be listened to and enjoyed by a wide range of people. I don’t degrade women in music and I don’t curse in music. My little cousin can listen to my music and my grandma can listen to my music,” he said.

Graham is passionate about rapping and encourages others who want to create music to believe in themselves.

Graham hopes that the music he produces causes positive things to happen.

“I want my music to pick others up.  I want my music to inspire, put people in a better mood, and relate to people and their situations. I want it to be appropriate for all audiences.”