Why Kankan is thriving while his peers are struggling

Summary

The video discusses Ken's successful self-marketing and brand creation despite a year and a half without new music. It highlights his early beginnings as a producer, his rise in the underground scene, and his unique personality that attracted a strong fan base. The video also emphasizes Ken's smart business moves, such as starting his own clothing brand 'Really Rich', and his independence, which allowed him to retain all earnings from music streams and merchandise sales. It concludes by suggesting that other artists could learn from Ken's strategic approach to their careers.

Takeaways

• 🎤 Ken has maintained relevance and a strong fan base despite not releasing new music for over a year.
• 🚀 Ken started as a music producer in 2017, working with famous artists before becoming a successful rapper himself.
• 💥 Ken's rise to fame was rapid, becoming a top figure in the underground music scene in 2021.
• 🔥 Ken's album 'Way Too Geeked' received mixed reviews, with some fans disliking the low energy of his music.
• 🎭 Ken's personality is a significant part of his brand, with a humorous and relatable online presence.
• 👕 Ken capitalized on his fame by starting his own clothing brand, 'Really Rich', which has been very successful.
• 💰 Ken is financially savvy, understanding the importance of monetizing his brand beyond just music sales.
• 🎫 Ken undertook a nationwide tour, which was controversial due to his performance style but still successful in terms of ticket sales.
• 🎵 As an independent artist, Ken retains 100% of the profits from his music and merchandise sales.
• 📈 Ken has more monthly listeners than other popular artists like Summers and Soo, showcasing his strong market presence.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the marketing and branding strategies of the artist Ken, and how he has managed to maintain relevance and financial success without releasing new music for an extended period.

What was Ken's initial role in the music industry?

Ken initially started as a music producer in 2017, working with artists like Famous Dex and Lil Pump.

How did Ken transition from being a producer to an artist?

Ken transitioned from a producer to an artist by collaborating with other artists in the Slat World collective, eventually starting to rap and form his own unique sound.

What was the public's reaction to Ken's album 'Way Too Geeked'?

The album 'Way Too Geeked' received mixed reactions, with some people criticizing it for sounding too similar and having low energy, while others found it decent with some good songs.

Why has Ken been able to remain relevant despite not releasing new music for over a year?

Ken has been able to remain relevant due to his strong fan base, his unique personality, and his smart branding and marketing strategies.

What is unique about Ken's personality that has contributed to his brand?

Ken's personality is characterized by his humor and relatability. He is known for being funny and memeable, which has helped him connect with fans beyond his music.

What is the 'Can Can Method' mentioned in the script?

The 'Can Can Method' refers to a humorous aspect of Ken's personality where he would sell fake lean methods to people, showcasing his humorous and entertaining side.

How has Ken monetized his brand?

Ken has monetized his brand by starting a clothing line called 'Really Rich', selling various merchandise, and performing on a nationwide tour.

What is the significance of Ken being an independent artist?

Being an independent artist means Ken retains 100% of the revenue from his music streams and merchandise sales, allowing him to have full control over his income and brand.

How does Ken's approach to his career differ from other rappers?

Ken's approach differs from other rappers in that he focuses on building a brand and monetizing it through merchandise and independent music distribution, rather than solely relying on music releases and traditional label support.

What is the advice for aspiring rappers that can be inferred from Ken's career?

The advice for aspiring rappers is to focus on building a unique brand and personality, understand the business aspects of the industry, and be smart about monetizing their image and music independently.

Outlines

00:00

🎤 The Branding and Marketing of Ken

The script discusses Ken's ability to maintain relevance and a strong fan base despite not releasing music for over a year and a half. It highlights Ken's journey from being a producer to an artist, his association with Summers and Slay World, and how he became a top artist in the underground scene of 2021. The narrator acknowledges Ken's album 'Way Too Geeked' which received mixed reviews but also points out Ken's unique personality that has helped him stand out. The personality traits, such as being funny and relatable, have contributed to his brand and marketing success. The script also touches on Ken's performances and how his laid-back style contrasts with typical rapper personas.

05:02

💼 Ken's Business Acumen and Monetization

This paragraph delves into Ken's business strategies, emphasizing his understanding of how to monetize his brand. It mentions Ken's clothing brand 'Really Rich' and how it has expanded to sell high-ticket items. The script also discusses Ken's independent status in the music industry, allowing him to retain all profits from his music streams and merchandise sales. The narrator compares Ken's success with other artists like Summers and Soo, suggesting that Ken's smart business moves have outpaced them. The paragraph concludes by encouraging aspiring rappers to learn from Ken's approach to branding and monetization.

Keywords

💡Ken

Ken is a central figure in the video script, likely referring to a musician or artist who has managed to maintain relevance and a strong fan base despite not releasing new music for an extended period. The script discusses Ken's marketing strategies and how he has built a brand around himself, which is a key theme of the video.

💡Branding

Branding in this context refers to the process of creating a unique, recognizable identity for Ken. It involves marketing strategies that help differentiate him from other artists and build a loyal fan base. The video discusses how Ken has successfully created a brand around himself, which has contributed to his sustained popularity.

💡Marketing

Marketing is the act of promoting and selling products or services, which in Ken's case, includes his music and personal brand. The video explores how Ken's marketing strategies have allowed him to remain relevant and profitable even without frequent music releases.

💡Producer

A producer in the music industry is responsible for overseeing and managing the production of music, including recording, mixing, and editing. The script mentions that Ken began his career as a producer, which laid the foundation for his later success as an artist.

💡Underground Scene

The underground scene typically refers to a subculture or movement within a particular field, such as music, that operates outside of the mainstream. The video suggests that Ken was part of an underground music scene that gained significant popularity in 2021, with Ken being one of its leading figures.

💡Controversy

Controversy in the context of the video refers to disputes or disagreements that can arise around public figures, such as Ken. The script mentions that Ken had his share of controversies, which can sometimes add to an artist's public profile and fan engagement.

💡Personality

Personality, as discussed in the video, is a key aspect of Ken's appeal. It refers to his distinctive character traits, humor, and approachability that have helped him connect with fans on a personal level, beyond his music.

💡Monetize

To monetize means to convert non-monetary assets into money. In the video, it is mentioned that Ken has been smart about monetizing his brand through ventures like his clothing line, 'Really Rich,' which has become a significant source of income.

💡Clothing Brand

A clothing brand refers to a business that designs, manufactures, and markets garments. Ken's clothing brand, 'Really Rich,' is highlighted in the video as a successful example of how he diversified his income streams beyond music.

💡Independent

Being independent in the music industry means not being signed to a major label and having full control over one's music and profits. The video emphasizes Ken's independence as a strategic move that allows him to retain all earnings from his music and merchandise sales.

💡Monthly Listeners

Monthly listeners refer to the number of unique listeners who stream an artist's music within a month. The video notes that Ken has more monthly listeners than other artists, indicating his broad and consistent audience engagement.

Highlights

Ken has maintained relevance and a strong fan base despite not releasing music for over a year.

Ken began as a producer in 2017, working with famous artists like XXXTentacion and Lil Pump.

Ken's transition from producer to artist and his role in the underground music scene's rise in 2021.

Ken's album 'Way Too Geeked' received mixed reviews, with some critics finding it repetitive.

Ken's unique performance style, standing still during concerts, contrasts with typical energetic rap performances.

Ken's personality and humor play a significant role in his branding and appeal to fans.

Ken's 'Really Rich' clothing brand has been successful, with products selling out quickly.

Ken's monetization strategy includes selling high-end, designer products through his brand.

Ken's independent status allows him to retain 100% of streaming revenue and merchandise sales.

Ken has more monthly listeners than popular artists like Summer Walker and Soo, indicating his widespread appeal.

Ken's approach to branding and marketing sets him apart from other artists in the industry.

Ken's business acumen is evident in his smart distribution of music and establishment of his brand.

The video suggests aspiring rappers can learn from Ken's strategic approach to his career.

Ken's success serves as an example of how to build a brand and market oneself effectively in the music industry.

The video concludes with a salute to Ken for his achievements and the lessons he provides.

Transcripts

all right guys so today I'm going to be

talking about Ken and what you can learn

from the way he's kind of like marketed

himself and created a brand around

himself and if you're wondering what do

you mean bro what brand what marketing

kkan hasn't dropped anything in like a

year and a half and he's still like

really hot like people are still begging

for music people are still like yo come

back people are still like man they just

love K like he's got a strong fan base

which I'm not going to lie like yeah I'm

a fan like I was I was listening to K

when he was dropping but I didn't expect

him or realize that he could go this

long without dropping stay as relevant

and uh make even more money than he was

making while dropping music so I'm going

to go over it all here's a little

background on Canan though if you don't

know much about him Canan began as a

producer way back I mean like 2017 is he

produced for famous decks and L pump I

believe he that was like a lyric

lemonade video he produced for smoke per

he produced for a bunch of people he

produced for young bands Can Can on the

beat that was like his beat tag he was a

successful producer and then he became a

producer for um Summers and slay world

and he joined as kind of like he became

cool with them as a producer and then he

was rapping a little bit he used to

steal beats apparently from like other

slay World members and he eventually

became his own artist he started forming

this new sound with Summers they were

doing their thing they their wave of

course and then he just blew up in 2021

that entire underground scene just like

skyrocketed it was crazy and Ken was at

the top because he was one of The

Originators and one of the people that

was there for the longest so you know

people respected him he had his own

thing going yeah he had a controversy

here and there but it was cool however K

can uh eventually he dropped his album

way too geeked it didn't have a great

reception a lot of people were like man

all these songs sound the same this is

trash this is that I thought it was

pretty good I actually like thought it

was a decent album there's some good

there's some good uh there's some good

songs on there like I think people just

didn't like his low energy if you don't

know something about can can it's kind

of like a meme how he'll just stand he

is like he performs like lucky except

lucky didn't perform how kkan did when

he was kanan's age kkan will just stand

there and like there's a CLI of can

Canon rolling loud and he's just stand

Standing There he's not doing anything

he's just like speaking to the mic every

like 5 seconds and the crowd is still

going crazy though but anyways I got

sidetracked if you didn't know Canen

hasn't dropped in like over a year it's

been a such it's been an absurd amount

of time since Canen has dropped yeah

there have been tons of leaks but you

know only your diard fans are going to

go find those leaks and maybe you know

some people that kind of mess with them

I check some of them out they're cool

but not all of them are like very recent

and people are like man we want that new

can can but what's interesting is most

artists of his level they wouldn't be

able to go that long I feel like they

would just people would just lose

interest you know people would stop

asking so the idea of this video is what

did can can do different or what has he

done different that allowed him to do

that cuz I think it's kind of

interesting so the first thing about

cankan that I feel like separates him

from so many other artists and is the

reason why he was able to get away with

this is because he has a personality you

know like I think he used to cook he's

like I don't know you could like watch

him on Old Instagram lives like there's

like this one video called can can

cooking a steak off a perk on Instagram

live like I don't know he's just mad

funny he would there's this thing called

the can can method where he would sell

like fake lean methods to people and he

was just a funny funny dude you know

what I mean like he was just he's just a

cool funny guy that you could just kind

of I mean not relate to I'm sure none of

his fans are like popping pills or

sipping lean but it's like oh this

dude's a funny guy it's more than just

making music like people can actually

like I don't know I wouldn't say relate

to him I I would even say like be

friends with him he just seems like a

cool dude you know you'd mess with

that's why I feel like a lot of people

gravitated towards Ken because of his uh

personality if you didn't know Ken he

wasn't actually that great of a rapper

in the beginning he was just all right

he got really good eventually but in the

beginning it was more of like his uh his

personality he was very like memeable

you know the pictures you would take and

the stuff he would do and it would just

create a lot of like it would just like

create a lot of um I wouldn't say

controversy but it was just very easy

for like a meme of can can to go viral

or for fans to like be able to you know

not laugh at him but just be like man

this D as funny as as hell for example

there was this one time where Canen and

this kid joined us live and he was like

Hey Canen

can and that was like a huge meme for

like so long it's not as popular anymore

but you know he used to have all these

like sus Instagram lives

and people would be like bro what you

know what I mean like you know like I'll

play some clips of can can being funny

but gave my [ __ ] a perk my [ __ ] crying

in this ho why you crying K sheit too

beautiful in the air right now life too

beautiful

huh man he's just a funny dude you know

he'd stream he do this he do that so he

had a whole personality and that's what

I mean by like how he built his brand

and how he marketed himself he didn't

just Market himself as like man cuz if

you think about it what did he rap about

he wrapped about guns drugs and money

hes girls all the stuff every other

rapper raps about but he wasn't exactly

like he didn't he wasn't afraid to just

be like Oh I'm funny I'm cool I'm like

this and you know you don't really see

that with a lot of rappers they're

people like lucky and Summers who do

that too but for the most part people

they just put on that hard image and a

lot of people they don't actually like

that they don't actually like you know

what I mean sometimes people obviously

if someone is really like that you

should be like that but I'm saying that

that helped K can a long way because or

sorry that helped them go a long way

because he wasn't like what I'm talking

about he's not like some stoic dude you

know what I mean he's just he's just a

funny chill like laidback guy so it just

fit him really well the other thing he

did really good is he understood how to

like monetize that brand you know so a

lot of artists what they do is they get

big and they just drop music and yeah

they tour and they drop some like lazy

merch and then they do like meet and

greets and then they do all these like

half kind of like okay jobs all this

stuff and their management handles this

and their label handles this and this

guy handles this can can is very smart

about his money and he's about his

business 100% one of the first things

kkan did when he got a lot of uh

recognition and uh you know just clout

and popularity is he started clothing

brand he started really rich and really

rich was like I'm you know he's going to

eat off that for a long long long time

I'm not going to lie when Ken first

dropped really rich I was on vacation I

saw those pictures and I thought man you

know these designs are cool but you know

is this just going to be merch or is

this like a real brand I didn't realize

what his plans were for it and he kept

dropping them and he kept building the

brand and now it's like it's selling out

it's going crazy he's even having he

even has like a more uh High ticket or

like just expensive stuff like he's

selling like designer jeans for like

thousands of dollars and it's just going

to be like he's just going to rework

them I don't know if you know how it

works they just take like he's just

taking expensive Denim and putting his

logo on it but you know his brand is

expanding he's selling like he's about

to sell products for thousands of

dollars and the only reason he's able to

or is doing that is because people are

going to buy them and they have been

buying them like I'm pretty sure he

sells out every single time and he drops

slippers he drops like pins stickers

hoodies shirts sweats you name it he's

selling it and people are buying it also

did a tour across the country which he

got a lot of hate for how he's

performing but I mean you know he sold a

tour across the country right like

that's nothing you can't uh discount

that right another thing is can can is

independent you know what I mean like he

keeps all the streaming money to himself

every everything every stream every

listen every anything you do relating to

can can stream on YouTube you stream

them on Spotify you buy something like

some piece of merch he makes 100% of

that it all goes to him and his team so

everything is kept in house if you

didn't know can can has more monthly

listeners than Summers and even Soo

which is crazy if you think about it cuz

Soo like he was all over Tik Tok yeah

Ken's got a couple of like Tik Tok songs

like woke up but it wasn't anywhere near

Soo and if you told someone that Ken

would be bigger than Soo like 4 years

ago they would they just wouldn't

believe you flat out they would be like

what but he is you know and that's

because of how smart he was at um

Distributing his music marketing himself

establishing his brand and uh those are

things that that most rappers don't

really think about and they kind of

slack on and they regret it later like

imagine if Summers started his own brand

imagine if Soo had started his own brand

you know like they would have been doing

better imagine if they had stayed

independent I mean Summers if he

distributed all his music and stayed

independent and had a brand like he

would have had more money than he has

now signed you know like but it is what

it is I just think can can is kind of

underrated how smart he's been with his

career you know you look at him and you

don't really think of someone who's like

so um business focused or just really

understands how to like demonetize

themselves you know like it's very rare

these days especially in his scen so

just salute to can can shout out to him

you know if you're an aspiring rapper

maybe you learn something from this if

you're a fan maybe you also learned

something from this it's cool you know

shout out to him thanks for watching and

see you tomorrow bye