[Herald Interview] Rapper Kisum wants to continue telling her story through rap

It took more than a year and a half for rapper Kisum to return to the music scene with a new single, but she says the time away was necessary for her to grow as a singer-songwriter.

“The time I had to solely focus on making music was a relief. It had been a long time since I had (taken time to myself), and I enjoyed writing lyrics and composing songs. I used to get so stressed out making new music when there was time pressure,” said Kisum during an interview with The Korea Herald.

Kisum wrote the lyrics to her latest single, “Let Me Be (Feat. Boi B),” which was released earlier this month.

“When writing the lyrics, I was inspired by ‘Are you T?,’ the MBTI-related meme trending these days. The single is about a couple fighting due to different personalities and going their separate ways at the end. The theme of the song is about letting me be who I am,” said Kisum.

The single is composed of trap drum sounds and a reggae guitar rhythm with a catchy whistle sound.

“The melody of the single changed many times when I started recording. But the final melody was the best one as it is very addictive, making you want to sing along just by listening to it once. It’s a different kind of music that I have not done before, but I always try to incorporate some new elements in my music,” said Kisum.

The rapper made her debut back in 2013, although she loved to rap long before then.

“I have loved rapping since I was an elementary school student. I liked imitating rappers and being on stage for talent shows. Even when I was a K-pop idol trainee for five years, my position was always the rapper. The appeal of rapping is that you can talk about yourself honestly. I mostly rely on my experiences when writing lyrics,” the rapper explained.

This year marks Kisum’s 10th debut anniversary, although she has not yet released a studio album.

“I adore all my singles so much that I want to introduce them one by one instead of putting a bunch of them together for an album. I have a lot of songs piled up and I do plan to release a studio album sometime, but not this year,” said Kisum.

Her goal this year is to drop a new single once every two months and make more public appearances on TV shows and festivals.

“I really love being on stage and communicating with my fans. I am always looking for an opportunity to perform on stage, so I will be wherever people want me to be. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I used to go on concert tours in Europe and in the US. I want to do that again,” said Kisum.

“I hope to top major local and foreign music charts with my music. I’ve only had one single that hit No. 1 so far. But what I want the most is to continue introducing my music ... music that once you hear it, you will know that it’s Kisum's.”