1.) What elements and/or characteristics made you say to yourself that you wanted to be an entrepreneur and create for a living? Who are your influences/heroes/role models? 

Well coming from a family of music, with my grandfather Chester Burnett aka Howlin Wolf being one of Chicago’s finest blues musician, which was my grandmother’s first love & my grandfather whom she married when she left Chicago & moved to Washington D.C., Johnny Greene who was also a musician and played the guitar making music. As well as my mother being a singer and went to Duke Ellington to pursue a career in music and my dad who was always rapping around the house. Not only did they inspire me with all that my family has done but also just the music they would play like Bille Holiday, Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson just to name a few of the music that was before my time. And me be being born in the 80’s growing up listening & being influenced by some of my favorites in hip hop, Queen Latifah, KRS-One, Salt-N-Pepa, Yo Yo, Public Enemy, MC Shan, Rakim, N.W.A, M.C. Brains, MC Lyte, Lil Kim, Pac, Biggie, Trina, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Nas, Mobb Deep, Fugees, Common, Outkast, the list goes on & on, too many favorites to name when it comes to hip hop. And the old school artists such as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Earth Wind & Fire, Blue Magic, Honey Cone, Freda Payne, Teddy P, Bill Withers, New Birth, Nina Simone & Linda Jones, they all inspired & influenced me to do music to let my truth be heard & to stand for what I believe in and to be a great entrepreneur in my craft.

2.) If you could compare yourself to an already established artist/entrepreneur, who would that be and why? If you don’t like to compare yourself, then what separates you from other artists and entrepreneurs out there?

If I could compare myself on an R&B tip, I would say Bille Holiday, Marvin Gaye & Nina Simone… When you listen to Bille, Marvin & Nina it’s as if they take you on a journey of feeling meaning whatever their happiness is or pain that they might have been going through you not only feel it through the words but with the sound of the instruments playing while they tell their story. And that’s what I do with my music, I want you to feel my joy, my pain, any feeling that I may be feeling through the vibration of my voice and the sounds of the beats. And when it comes to the hip hop side of me I would say Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa & Lil Kim because those women knew who they were & demanded respect in their music and was true to their self. And 2Pac because he was a wild card you never knew what personality of him that you were gonna get. And thats how I am its many sides to me as a person & an artist/entrepreneur. And when it comes to my entrepreneur side I would compare myself to Elijah Muhammad, Malcom X, and Marcus Garvey because all 3 always said do for self and they did for self as well as helped people in their community see that they can do anything, be your own boss, and giving us the ability to do that which would one day enable us to be independent, and gain the respect of the civilized peoples of the world. And thats why I am not only an artist but a business owner generating income from other different sources for myself and my legacy to come so that they won’t have to answer to someone else or burn their self out on someone else time while the other person reap the benefits and they get chump change and live not so comfortably.

3.) Everyone in life goes through adversity of some sort. Is there anything in your life that has any influence on your unique style of fashion and music? What is the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure on your path to becoming an entrepreneur?

No not at all. I’ve always danced to my own beat. I’m never trying to do what everyone else is doing, never been a follower so when it comes to fashion and music is about how I want to be seen and heard which equals my truth. As far as on my path to becoming an entrepreneur the road to success is not easy and it costs. It can be frustrating when you don’t have a team/ support and you just doing it all on your own and you’re wearing all the hats. I’ve had to endure losses, gains, being frustrated cause certain ones who are already established said they would help me or show me how to do this and that or going to give me the information to certain things and guess what, they didn’t come through. And even though its been a rough road and I came such a long way, it feels good that I did it all on my own from creating and building my online store by myself, recording and getting my music mixed by myself because I appreciate what I’m doing even more. All of the long nights and wrecking my brain to get everything done has been slowly but surely coming up. All I know its no fun when the rabbit got the gun, when certain ones think the rabbit gonna stay down and fear the outcome of things and stay in the hole. Lol not I….

4.) What are the positives and negatives of the music industry? What is it about the music industry that makes some artists push forward? What do you think makes some artists quit?

I would say the positive point of the music industry is having freedom of speech cause its so much versatility in the world for different groups of listeners who share that same outlook on any and everything, its just something for everybody in whatever you’re into.The negative points in my own personal opinion is promoting everyone to be zombies getting high popping pain meds that could eventually bust your damn heart open or make you brain dead and you a damn zombie. And also its ok to be a prostitute and sell your ass and make sure you get that money. To me that ain’t cool….

Now I think that the glitz & glamor and driving the hottest cars and living in a mansion, being rich & famous is what makes some artists push forward to make it to the top. And I believe a lot of people quit because it’s not what they thought it was going to be and can’t take the pressure with making it in the industry. And they thought they wasn’t gonna have to keep working as hard as they were to get there & it then becomes too much. Meaning the fame and the fortune and I say the industry is just like the game of life that we live in today, meaning this world will eat you up and spit you out if you let it and only the strong will survive. And it’s not for everybody, just like surviving in the streets everybody want to be a gangsta but cant take what comes with the territory. So I tell people be careful what you wish for cause you might just get it, & if something ain’t for you and you’re not about that life/lifestyle, stay in your lane. That’s my opinion.

5.) How do you prepare yourself to create? How do you prepare yourself to write certain songs? What is your song-writing and recording process? What is your overall creative process for anything that you engage in?

I smoke my ganga lol and go through beats and I go on my phone and pull up the recorder app and if I like how the beat starts off I push record on my phone and freestyle a rap or sing. And once I’m done, I would listen to it, get my journal and add or replace certain words and I’ll open Logic Pro X and record. Or I would smoke, go through beats and just freestyle a song and record it on Logic Pro X. Nine times out of 10 I don’t have to rewrite or write at all, I just have to add adlibs and double up on the chorus. When creating its about the sounds and instruments in the beat and story the instruments are saying to me and that’s how I create my music.

6.) Unfortunately the creative industry is full of talented individuals who more or less become the “starving artist” and don’t get any recognition for their talent and/or work. What do you plan to do to make sure you stand out and get noticed?

Just being and staying true to myself first and my craft. When I perform it’s my presence and then I interact with you which is going to make you want to listen to me. You’re going to remember my name, with every chance I get I will make sure you know it’s the one and only K.W.3.3.N. Cause I’m not on the same train as everyone else and selling the same thing. I’m serving you every genre in one. I’m not in a box in one category. I am “MUSIC”… Thats how I stand out and thats how I will get noticed.

7.) How does it feel to be in business with your sister? What made you both want to go full-force into fashion? What influences your own individual styles and the style of your merchandise?

It feels good actually because I love my little sister. It’s good to have brought her onboard to teach and to show her how to go into business for self and do what you love since that’s what life is supposed to be about. And also to be setting a foundation for our children and their children children’s and so on. Being in fashion for me is all about expressing yourself and showing all sides of your personality through your clothing. Whenever I put on clothes I wear what my personality mood is in, whether I’m feeling sexy that day and I want to spice it up and show a lil skin or if I’m feeling loose meaning I want to be comfortable and wear some sweat pants with a cute shirt and tennis shoes. So I thought why not go into fashion and have something for every look and not stick to just one type of clothing since fashion is meant to express all sides of you. For my sister Kee, she wanted to go to school to become a fashion designer cause for one she loves all the up-to-date looks & keeping up with it as well. Not only just that but when she was younger she would watch That’s So Raven on Disney and it inspired her even more to get into fashion. And with that being said since my style is different from her’s we wanted to create something for everybody.

8.) Are you able to make a living with your craft? If so, how were you able to attain a career doing what you love? If not, what do you do in order to fund your career? What advice would you give to someone who’s interested in pursuing a career in the arts and fashion?

Yes indeed!!! With me promoting and marketing my brand as an artist and business owner it brings me great financial rewards. Not only that, but the help of my husband holds me down and makes it possible for me to continue to do what I love. Also to someone who’s interested in pursuing a career in the arts and fashion I would tell them make sure it’s something that you’re passionate about and not just hopping on the train because everyone else is doing it & also it’s not going to be easy and you’re not going to start making money overnight. It’s a process and it’s going to take a lot of time, energy, dedication to do what you love. And not only that but you’re going to be up against a lot of competition and everyone’s fighting for the #1 spot and it’s up to you to either be a beast and knock down them walls or do nothing and let others get ahead while you sit back.

9.) How do you think the internet and social media affected the creative industry and how artists are able to market themselves?

I believe it’s overrated. Social media has made it so you can be whoever you want to be on the internet and I find it sad because you can’t tell whose real and whose fake. With that being said, the good thing about it is that you can actually meet people and get more exposure while marketing yourself and products more, which cuts out the middle man and you’re able to do it yourself and choose how you want to showcase.

10.) Social media is obviously an extremely important element in today’s world, especially when it comes to business, branding, marketing, etc. With that being said, do you think an artist will be able to survive in today’s economy if they’re not social media savvy?

Yes because I’m one of those people, even though I’m not one for social media and being on there 24/7 marketing and and doing videos, etc… And the good part is the technology that we have today means it’s not hard to find information on Google and YouTube, etc. on how to be a part of the social media world. So it’s no excuse why a person can’t be social media savvy.

11.) Artists who try to create art for the general public and make more money are usually seen as “sell-outs.” Do you see it that way and if so, what do you plan to do to make sure your art stays true to your brand without having to “sell out”?

Yes I do see it that way because when people reach a certain height they let others distract them and try to change who and how they are or how their business should be and then some flop off the face of the earth because they didn’t stick to what got them there in the first place being original. And one thing about Kw33n I’ve always stayed true to myself and did what I have to do and still doing. There’s nothing you can say or do to make me change who I am, how my clothing brand is and what it represents or change the tune of my sound & style when it comes to my music. I’m too strong-willed and I never let anyone break me nor do I break myself to please others.

12.) Professionally, where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

I see myself with a storefront having a couple stores opened in different states. And me being a known music artist for the world to see and know… And investing more money in different types of business to have revolving income.