Rough Draft: 7i7 Kwony
7i7 Kwony is a swiss-army knife creative and a talented artist who can give you soothing R&B melodies and vocals more suited to hard-hitting beats. As a Filipino & Black artist from Anchorage, Alaska, 7i7 Kwony moved and is active in Chicago, Illinois. He respectfully produces his own tracks and engineers to create a polished final product, independent of a need to outsource his creative process.. And in an industry with so many moving parts, it pays to be an army of one. Rough Draft Magazine had the opportunity to sit down with 7i7 Kwony and deepened our knowledge of his impact, his experience in the industry, his influences, and misconceptions about engineering.
7i7 Kwony found his passion for music at seven years old, owing his interest to his family who was already deeply embedded in music by playing the trumpet and other instruments. At times, he would even go so far as to make his own talk box and bought one to compare the differences. As he matured, he began to take influence from transcendent talents such as Andre 3000 and Frank Ocean, praising the former for his boundary-breaking style, opening new avenues for what a rapper can be, and the latter for his bravery in his journey as a musician and his experimental brand of R&B.
When asked how his rough drafts shape him, his answer was simple, “To me, everything is a rough draft, until you get your stuff mastered.” He then went into detail on how he tends to record in the same session that he makes his beats, and that rough drafts are his main creative methods for hooks and lyrics. Though his catalog is long and diverse in sound, Kwony has listed his personal favorite project as his breakout album Player One, where his stylistic vision came to life, and where he utilized his talk box to great effect to convey emotional depth. After a spate of singles and EPs released between 2021 & 2022, Kwony has no plans of slowing down anytime soon. He elaborated by saying he is working on 4-5 albums at once, and discusses his upcoming joint project with Blvck Mitch, Music Therapy, a 10-track breakup album inspired by two breakups that happened at similar times for both artists, and was completed in two weeks. In California, he’s made several singles with Seven Ceez, a Death Row Records collaborator, and has announced that they will be released in a matter of weeks.
Kwony is also a big supporter and user of using livestreams as a producer, using YouTube and Twitch, he will make a beat live and by the end sell the beat to any interested viewers auction style. Following in the footsteps of other producers such as Kenny Beats and Marc Rebillet who have expanded their brand and generated opportunities for other musicians through live streaming platforms.
In addition to beat-making and vocals, Kwony has worked consistently as an engineer, mixing and mastering for other artists, and clears up some misconceptions about that side of the industry that people tend to get confused about. Artists that come into the studio to work should come prepared, planned out and ready to record, and to know that everything that they ask for is not for free. As he puts it, if you say “‘I got this beat, I need you to remake it,’ that’s gonna cost, plus the session you want? That’s gonna cost.” He also says that artists should not engineer themselves, and those who do should either mix or master, but not both, especially if your ears are untrained.
Kwony also emphasizes the value in his network. His “home away from home” is 432 Production Studio, where he produces, engineers, and records with close friend and collaborator Tripp The God. It was with Tripp and in 432 that Kwony made his 2020 single, Basic. 7i7 Kwony also shouts out Jack Flash, who helped him strengthen his craft when he put him on to The Remix Project, funded in part by OVO. Connections will always take you farther than if you shut yourself off from other artists and talent.
Music sync licenses were also discussed, a relatively fair profit stream that many artists don’t talk enough about. 7i7 Kwony has several licenses but hopes to get many more, finding connections through Instagram, YouTube, and Discord. As Kwony puts it, “It could be harder, but that’s only if you don’t ask the questions.” Again, reiterating the importance of researching and putting effort forth if you expect to get profit.
In five years, 7i7 Kwony sees himself at the Grammys and the Oscars, well-connected and working on soundtracks, personal albums, and alongside other artists who resonate with his work. Speaking to his younger self, Kwony closed our interview with words of wisdom.
“In a few years you’re going to go on tour with Bone Thugs, you’re gonna see the first show, when you see the first show, you’re gonna cry…and you’re gonna realize why you’re on stage like ‘this shit ain’t it’ but you can’t let that discourage you, you just gotta keep going. There's certain things you just gotta go through, even Tupac was a RoadDog so even if you gotta start off being a RoadDog first then do that.” 7i7 Kwony’s ceiling is high, his network deep, and he is open to make and share great music with the world.