Today we’d like to introduce you to Yung English.
Hi Yung, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Yung English is kind of like a record label but there’s no contracts. It’s a collaborative space for artists, comedians, poets, etc. The people apart of the group can choose to represent YE loudly or quietly. But we are here to help them in personal development as well as artist growth goals. YE is a movement and a statement. Something much deeper than your ordinary label. Our connection of independent collaborators within the Kansas City area is growing and it helps us get artists in contact with the right people as well as gain new exposure.
The ones who created the idea of Yung English is a young activist, artist / musician, poet and poetry coach known as Mikel Evans aka KellyisXL. Along side him were two great friends; Caleb Daley who was an Artist but with a pallet and the MANAGER at the time …And Elijah Readman, basically just That Guy/ Artist just having fun living life.
Caleb had Overheard Mikel talking about Music with another Group Legend Ke’mana at a job the three had together Named “Main Event”. Daley Surprises The Yung Artist with a Brand New MacBook Pro as a Gift that would set up the next 5 years
Along the way the group grew to a solid 6 members adding Sepanta, Zim and KSzn.
Sepanta and KellyisXL became connected thru Snapchat as fellow artists and started to make music together. Kelly was a teacher to Sepanta but he was also a friend. And so one day long after they established their connection, they found a company that would provide housing and travel as long as they worked. So they took a trip, driving around the country with no money and almost got stranded. From KC to Vegas to Arizona to Colorado to Utah to Cali. During our trip we stayed in Utah with a friend while we waited for our next job opportunity. That’s when we had time to focus more on our music and Sepanta’s Snapchat blew up.
“I don’t know, something about the air in Utah haha”
We ended our journey in Cali where we miraculously got offered flights back home in return for helping “overthrow the monopoly”. We got to give people a second option that could save them money which was Gods work if you ask me.
Long story short, everything happens for a reason.
And we got back home to Kansas City, that’s when we decided to create the instagram page. It took us traveling around the country to realize we had to tap in with our hometown,
This IG page would be the start of a new movement that Kansas City has never seen before!
Sepanta and Kelly realized the amount of competition in the city and the so called crab bucket that the music industry can be. And so we decided to do the exact opposite and started editing videos for all the talented people we knew. More than anything, we wanted to give people a way to start and show the world that nowadays it’s possible to make a change with just your phone.
Not only do a lot of talented artist make their music on their phones but Sepanta and Kelly started editing music videos on their phones as well. This would be the foundation, as in something physical to represent YE. Before the instagram page it was mainly a spiritual concept. More about freedom and truth and unity and love. But now it can be seen in a physical form. You can see that no one really owns YE.
Sepanta and Kelly know so many talented people that they believe if we all come together and play a part then we could all get the exposure and recognition we deserve. We could change the world with influence But it all starts with the city.
The craziest part about YE is that Sepanta and Kelly started by doing all their artist intros and videos for free! It’s because we were tired of all the schemes as well as the industry milking artists. We just want to see all of our peoples succeed doing what they love. The page has inspired members in the group to take their creativity more seriously and to upgrade their content.
It’s important that the artists of the city have a place to speak, get together, and build community. On a deeper level, it’s about understanding philosophies and lifestyles. The voices of the people have such influence on the youth and so we want to give them both the fun and serious side of things. YE is English for the youth which includes the slanguage.
We want KC youth to have a platform that can be fun as well as teach them. A place they could get their art or ideas out with the proper support and guidance. And in turn the adults get to do their thing to help the kids and each other.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There was a huge learning curve with the edits. It’s easy to put limits on yourself but I knew that if we could make music on our phone that sounds this good then there’s gotta be a way to make music videos as well. Sepanta used to be musically inclined yet terrible at making song lyrics until he met Kelly. That was a learning curve too but it’s all a matter of how badly you want to evolve. We truly have a passion for music and helping others and that’s why we were able to do what we did. Even though the videos weren’t perfect, we saw that we were learning and they slowly started to get better. Learning how to express ourselves on camera was also something that took a bit of time and practice. It only gets easier. Now the visualizers look a lot more professional. Now that we have a lot of people wanting to work, it’s a little harder to manage time but all these are good problems to have. Not even getting all the way into all the other challenges the group had to face to stay as solid as they have for over 5+ years, some of those challenges being Personal, financial, spiritual, communication and even the ultimate challenge of finding one’s self! This group is attempting to showcase their skills and display their connection to the source, which they believe everyone has a connection to. No matter the Race.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We make free introductions, photoshoots and videos for people whether they’re comedians, musicians, poets, athletes, models, etc. If you’re an artist in Kansas City, we’ll get you some exposure. Many talented artists who had their first ever music videos on our page.
We love interacting with our community and we have all the kids and adults shoutout the page. It shows the support is real. It’s not artists vs artist. Every follower is a connection, a contributor, or a lover of art. Anyone coming from a place of love could be on the page. Every follow helps the movement make a statement in the city. We have a lot of activists and philosophers in the group and we want to make a positive impact within our community but we don’t plan on stopping there. We’ll expand our reach. What sets us apart is being genuine and authentic.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Meditating. Writing lyrics in my notes. Plugging my headphones into my phone and messing around with autotune. It was fun and it quickly became something I decided to master not only for myself but also for others. I was fourteen when I realized how much influence words have on people. People change people and I wanted to be someone who could have a positive impact on others. – Sepanta
Playing outside all day back when we were only coming in for water or if a dog was chasing us around the neighborhood – KellyisXL
Pricing:
- $10 – Introduction / Interview Video Collab Post
- $10 – Photoshoot (Nine Photos) Collab Post
- $10 – Music Video Visualizer w/ song Post
- $30 – Intro, Photoshoot, Visualizer (Three Posts)
- $30 – 30 min call plus connections you need for your business (strategy, development, growth plan)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @yungenglish.source
- Other: [email protected]
