TRI-CITIES, Wash.- Bellevue-based rapper Karma has toured across the nation, but he has not forgotten his local roots.
Kyle Schmoetzer, known by his stage name, Karma, was born in Illinois and moved to Richland when he was 10. He attended Hanford High School until his junior year before getting his GED and attending Full Sail University to study audio engineering.
“Tri-Cities has supported more than any other city all over the world. I’ve gotten support in a lot of places, and I’m thankful for that, but my local city has been holding me down for so long,” Schmoetzer said. “It means the world; it’s the only reason I can keep going.”
Schmoetzer described his music as a hybrid between melodic R&B and old-school hip-hop.
“I also dabble occasionally in more new-school, like modern hip-hop, where you’re using more effects on the vocals,” Schmoetzer said.
The artist draws inspiration from many places:
“I studied the whole [Notorious B.I.G/Tupac] thing, of course. Then I moved on to Outkast. Then I went to a Lil Wayne phase,” Schmoetzer said. “I kind of listened to it all growing up, from [J. Cole], to Kendrick Lamar, to Eminem… I studied it all.”
As for his creative process, Schmoetzer lets it come to him naturally. He said he typically starts by finding a melody. He thinks of what topic that sound brings to mind, and “fits the words in” from there.
“That’s how I’ve been doing it for the past five years, and it’s probably my favorite way to create.”
Schmoetzer moved to Bellevue to find more opportunities in the music scene.
“I wanted to create a little buzz in my city and then go somewhere else where there are more venues, more opportunities to open up [concerts] for people, and meet different producers, people in the space,” Schmoetzer said. “I feel like I accomplished meeting a lot of the scene and making those connections.”
Schmoetzer is slated to perform on June 8 in the 2024 Tri Town Get Down Festival at John Dam Plaza in Richland, Wash. He plans to release more songs before that date.
“I actually have a new music video dropping any minute,” Schmoetzer said. “Hopefully, we’ll get a few videos in before the festival.”
Schmoetzer is also scheduled to perform at Ray’s Golden Lion in Richland on March 31.
