For a while now, we have been a fan of an artist named “Boomslang X”, although recently Boomslang went through a full rebrand, and out came Kapre. We decided to sit down with Aboudi Lahib (Kapre) and ask him about his life, the rebrand, and what he has planned.
To start out, what is the meaning behind Kapre? Why choose that?
To me, I wanted to choose a name that i felt suited me and my music well. Kapre is a mythological creature who when I read the description about i felt its personality matched me perfectly. It also isn't really hard sounding, im not a big room artist or something like that so for me to have a name like Boomslang X, i just felt it didnt fit me. But Kapre, i dont know, i feel like it fits me
What brought you to change your name from Boomslang X to Kapre?
To be completely honest, i've never been a fan of my name as Boomslang. I made the name when i was 16 while watching animal channel. The name never actually resembled me and if anything, it resembled the opposite of me, a boomslang is something dangerous and deadly, when in reality im a big softy. Also i really just wanted a fresh start, ya I accomplished a lot as Boomslang, but i also made a lot of mistakes and i wanted to learn from those and move forward.
Do you think this move is a little bold? Rebrands, especially at a rising time like yours, have proven to be quite risky for artists in the past.
Oh ya! Haha, i knew it was going to be a huge risk, but i figured the fans who really cared about me would stick by my side, and everything else would hopefully just fall back into place.
You released your first song since the change just a bit ago, what was the inspiration behind “Fly Away” and why choose it as your debut single?
Fly Away all started beginning of 2015, i was at Johni's (J. Esho) house, and we were just messing around, we wanted to make a new song. Both him and I love the sound of cinematic strings and sounds and we had an idea to incorporate that with dance music. It took us a while but we got it going and then between all of our other commitments it took us almost a year to finish up, but after it did i really wanted to save it for something special, thats why i decided to make it the first Kapre release. I do have other songs ready that i consider “better” than it, but none meant as much to me to make it my first single.
Is there a specific “sound” you're going to be pushing as an artist?
As an individual, i listen to a lot of country music and broadway sounds, i want to incorporate as many of those styles in my music, which you will definitely start to hear in my upcoming releases.
What are your plans for the next year in your career?
I want to release as much music as i can and hopefully start playing more shows when i have the time
So you're still attending University, I also hear you get quite involved? How is that with handling the whole music career as well?
Ugh… its brutal but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I go to the University of Western Ontario (King's Campus). I have 4 volunteer programs that take up probably 20+ hours a week, plus a Job on campus as an exam proctor, another job i work Saturdays plus finishing my double major in criminology and sociology and applying for my masters. It usually has me on campus until pretty late, and then i get home around 11/12 at night and jump on my computer to work on some music. I hate not being busy, so for me this is the best way to keep my self occupied and i love to help people so it all works.
Any last remarks or comments you'd like to say?
To any starting out artists out there who are having trouble, keep pushing hard and i promise you, if you want it bad enough, it'll all come to you. If any of you need someone to listen to a demo, just shoot me a tweet and ill be there 🙂 @OfficialKapre
Make sure to show Kapre some love and follow him on his social media
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