Kekoa is an experimental Christian rapper who produces his own instrumentals and lyrics. He comes from a family line of musicians, with his grandparents Leon and Malia being some of the first to make digital recordings. In addition, his father Koa Siu would win a Hoku Award for best rock album of the year in Hawaii. Kekoa grew up fascinated by music in his childhood, specifically worship music, dubstep, and future funk. Eventually rediscovering that passion in his adolescence when he was in the Pit crew of his high school marching band. After Covid and a road trip, he became inspired to start writing bars after the sheer awe of seeing the highlighted rhyme schemes of MF DOOM and the production of Kanye. He then discovered during 2021 the DAW Logic Pro X, a software which to this day he still uses to make his music. A common theme in Kekoa’s work is faith and trust in the lord, in addition to songs about his struggles with self-hatred and constant references to movies and anime he loves. In addition, he has always used tons of sample manipulation in his work, such as his song Purpose where he pitched up a dong by DOMD reversed it, and added the synths that are used in the song. He would later release his first album “The Life and Times of James Arson” released under the name H I G H R I S E in 2022 along with a slew of other singles, collaborating with his father, uncle, and a few of his friends from High School. At Biola he partook in choir, vocal training, piano classes, and Theory 1-2. He released an EP Avalon Outtakes under his birth name during the summer of 2024 and is currently a student at Fullerton College pursuing a music production certificate.
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With a little help from my friends.
Shot by Me
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