P$O Kwama
Who are you?
It’s P$O Kwama. I'm from Brooklyn, East New York but also grew up in Dallas, Texas, and I rap. My family moved out here in like 2005-06. I didn't start making music until high school. I never planned on being like a rapper, I just liked to write poetry. And I used to tap dance when I was much younger, like six or seven years old. So I was always kind of tapped into just being creative and shit like that.
What is the origin story for your name?
Well, PSO originated with my business partner, my friend Miyoki, PSO Miyoki. He started PSO way before we ever crossed paths. I didn't meet Miqoki until 2014 at Taron spectacle blue summer video shoot. I met him at the shoot over the next two years, 2014-15, we just got super cool and in December 2014, I joined PSO. My mother is from Trinidad and my last name Kwame, an African name. Through my research, I found out that I was spelled K-W-A-M-E, at the time I had a different rap name, but I felt like it wasn't organic to like who I am. I was born in May, so I took the E off of Kwame and added an A, thus “Kwama.” Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So it's a, it's half of my last name and it's the month that I was born in.
What is it that you've seen that you are trying to shift that the Dallas music industry doesn't already have?
When I first started taking music seriously in 2014, you could go to Deep Ellum and nothing was going on. I was around to see various people really helping push what the culture is today. It's well-documented, if you watch some of the videos and blogs from back then. So from that time period to now, this shit has been really night and day. So I think I'm pushing what everybody else is pushing. It's just everybody coming together. I can't speak for everybody, but the space I'm in, everybody works with each other. Everybody that was around in 2014 is still around. And now everybody's ego kind is out of the way. Everybody's really working together. So I just feel like next year (2021), you're about to see a real strong, united front on top of the artists that are already successful from out here.
You have it in the small pockets, but we don't highlight it enough on a bigger scale. We're missing that person that's going to highlight it. That's literally all we're missing. Artists out here are a lot more connected than people think. It can be segregated, but if people highlighted the people that do work together, everything else would really start making more sense. That's why I say in 2021, people are going to see a lot of music from so many different people that they’re going to be like, “Samn, I did not know, like these niggas knew each other.”
What are some things you want the people to know?
Oh, I just want people to know that I care whether I'm putting up clothes, music, or just speaking on anything that might be affecting the world or people in general, not just black people. Of course, I'm always going to speak for my people first because I'm a young black man, but I just want people to know that I care. I feel like I speak with a purpose. I speak to say something of importance, even if I'm joking. There might be truth in that joke. You know what I'm saying? So that's really what I want people to take from any beat that I do.
What are things that you would like to see brought to the Dallas area?
There's a few things I want to see. I would like to see artists really come together to try and give back to the community. Not saying niggas don't do it, but I just feel like it makes more sense for ten people to do something than just one. I would also want to see people share their resources more. Not money, but information. We got to start being comfortable with trading information amongst each other because white people ain't really going to do nothing for us and we sometimes become so dependent upon the government or this or that. I feel like we got to stop writing people off and really embrace each other. And I think that is what would help push Dallas to the top.
What is your end goal with music?
In the next three to five years, I can honestly see myself owning various things. I don't necessarily see myself making music to pay bills. At that point, I would be making my best music because I'd have other things going on from the leverage I made. For example, I would like to open up a smoke shop or have a mobile barbershop. I want to open a Caribbean food truck, like I said, we're from the Caribbean. So like everything kind of ties back. I really just want to help invest in whatever my friends might have going on. I want to position myself to where music is something that I do when I feel like it. I want to have things in place so I can employ friends and family that are looking to take on that kind of responsibility. That's how I'm really approaching it. Because working for somebody else, they could fire you and hire you. You could have a death in the family. You got to ask for time off, and they did not give it to you. I can't live under those circumstances. There's nothing wrong with a job, but some people don't get an opportunity to really live and experience life. So I want to be able to provide an opportunity for the people that love and appreciate me.
