Kota the Friend has spent the past few years intentionally crafting a lifestyle that sets him apart from the typical rapper’s pursuit of fame and fortune. While many in the industry chase visibility, Kota has focused on building a peaceful, sustainable life for his family, away from the spotlight.
“One thing I really had to do was disconnect from social media, and disconnect from the numbers and what people think about me,” Kota shared in a recent interview with Billboard. “Being so detached from that has allowed me to live a completely different life.”
The Brooklyn rapper released his latest album, No Rap on Sunday, last month, a project he made available exclusively on Even, bypassing traditional streaming services for now. As he worked on the album, Kota was also deep in the process of renovating a new house in Brooklyn, all while managing the responsibilities of being a father to two kids and a husband. Despite the demands of daily life, he finds that his focus on family and personal growth keeps him grounded, which in turn fuels his creativity.
“At the beginning, I told myself if I could pay my bills, keep a roof over my head, I’d be good. If I can feed my kids, I’m great,” Kota reflected. “I kind of set my life up in a way where I can focus on the art.”
Kota’s music, especially on his projects like Once in a Blue Moon, Memo, and Everything, has long centered on the theme of living authentically. His songs often include motivational messages that encourage listeners to disconnect from digital distractions and reconnect with what truly matters. In his new single “Michigan,” which features Big Sean, Kota expresses a commitment to living in the present moment.
“We tryna live in the now, I really ain’t tryna get caught up in back in the day,” Kota raps on the track, which was released on April 13.
Kota believes that going through struggles and emerging wiser has allowed him to create more meaningful music. “The wisdom plus the authenticity, I think it just created this beautiful album,” he said.
In his conversation with Billboard, Kota reflected on the inspiration behind No Rap on Sunday, explaining that the title came from the process of building his new home. “It really made me feel like, ‘Damn, I’m actually building something in my hometown,’” he said. The album, he continued, is about honoring his roots and focusing on what matters in a world increasingly dominated by digital distractions.
“No Rap on Sunday is really that breath of fresh air when you look around and you’re really planted in the moment of what really matters,” Kota said.
As his personal life continues to evolve, Kota’s appreciation for the small things has grown. “I’ve definitely been feeling like I appreciate the small things in life a lot more than I used to,” he shared. “I feel much lighter. I’ve definitely been moving through life with a lot less baggage, and it feels great.”
This shift in perspective has also influenced his creative process. “With this album, I was able to really speak from that authentic place,” he explained. “When you stop caring about stuff that doesn’t matter and start focusing more on your contributions in the world, your mental state changes. When I listen to the album, I’m like, ‘Man, I’ve never had this perspective on life before, even in my older music.’”
In “Michigan,” Kota brings a sense of hunger to his lyrics, driven by his achievements and his clear focus on the future. “I’ve achieved so much and done a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do in this life, and on ‘Michigan,’ I’m basically expressing that this is the way I’m moving through life from now till the end,” he said. “I’m too focused on what I need to do.”
The track also features a memorable verse from Big Sean, and Kota spoke about how important it was to have him on the record. “I love that he got on the record. I don’t think that there’s anybody else that should’ve done that record,” he said.
As for the “Michigan” music video, Kota wanted to showcase the contrast between urban and rural Michigan, filming in places like Detroit and Sleeping Bear National Park. “I really wanted to show people that we were appreciating the town from the city to the middle of nowhere,” he said.
Kota’s decision to release the album on Even, rather than traditional streaming platforms, was a deliberate move to keep the album’s experience more personal for his fans. “I realized that once I released it on streaming services, it felt like it was over. It kind of ruined the album experience,” he explained. “It’s not about the money, it’s about the energy. I put so much energy into making this album, and I wanted my true fans to invest in me.”
The album also features a collaboration with Fivio Foreign, a drill rapper from New York. Kota sees their collaboration as a way to bridge different musical worlds and bring unity to the city’s rap scene. “We don’t have to make the same kind of music to make a good record together,” he said. “We all represent a different part of the city, but we all walk on the same grounds.”
Kota expressed his frustration with the lack of unity in New York’s rap scene and said he was inspired by artists like Kendrick Lamar to push for a resurgence of New York artists on the global stage. “We need to do that here,” he said.
Finally, when asked about his place in the current rap landscape, Kota acknowledged that he doesn’t quite fit in with the mainstream. But for him, that’s not a negative. “I’m motivated to just work on music. That’s what I look forward to more than anything,” he said. “I want to collaborate with different artists and create different opportunities for all of our music to be heard.”
Related Topics
