Kae-P

Perseverance. Intelligence. Acumen. Talent. Spirit. These five words celebrate Kae-P’s contributions as a young musical talent and successful entrepreneur. Born Kendrick Royal in Fort Wayne, Indiana, he’s especially proud of calling this “big small city” home. Growing up on the city’s Southside, an area affected extensively by urban decline, Kae-P was surrounded by adversity, but his passion for music became an outlet for speaking against hardship and finding more peaceful common ground. Kae-P grew up listening to music from Earth, Wind, & Fire and The S.O.S. Band, so his musical roots are based in an amalgamation of rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, pop, rock, funk, disco, and gospel. Hip hop was also appealing because it told a story, educated listeners, and left them feeling good. With his biggest hip hop influences coming from Busta Rhymes, Tupac, BIG, TI, Eminem, and Lil’ Wayne, Kae-P describes his hip hop style as “adaptive and absorbent,” and conscientiously based in truthful lyricism coupled with a “certain level of wittiness” that is “flashy, catchy, and easy to listen to.” Kae-P and musical partner Nyzzy co-created CertiFLYYed Entertainment Group in 2007. They released their first compilation two years later calling it Flyy or Die, Vol. 1. In 2010 B. King joined CertiFLYYed and the trio released three songs later that year which became the second installment of Flyy or Die. On a whim, Kae-P tweeted two CertiFLYYed songs, “Go’n Dumb” and “In Love With Money,” on Black Entertainment Television’s (BET) Twitter handle. While initial feedback from BET was disappointing, less than 12 hours later Kae-P received a phone call that changed everything. BET executives couldn’t ignore the traffic on their Twitter handle and ten months later CertiFLYYed performed live to seven million viewers on “Wild Out Wednesday” during the summer of 2011. After this exposure, CertiFLYYED began performing across the country. CertiFLYYed’s sound was also noticed by A Better Fort, a non-profit organization that empowers youth through community collaboration. A Better Fort asked Kae-P, Nyzzy, and B. King to write and perform a song about Fort Wayne. Although his musical partners were reluctant at first, Kae-P convinced them of the value in such a project. From this the song “My City” was born. Local performers including a children’s choir came together and created a unique blend of harmonies that resulted in a hit. The video immediately went viral on YouTube in January 2012 garnering 5,000 clicks a day. The number of views now total over 256,000 which coincidentally is Fort Wayne’s population. Not surprising, the My City following has since gone international. Always looking for new creative outlets, Kae-P continues to put his business degree to work. He developed CertiFLYYed Worldwide, a parent branding company that stands as the force behind his musical and entrepreneurial ventures. He’s also created CEG Music Division, a record/production company launched as a division of CertiFLYYed Worldwide. Kae-P’s also gained endorsement deals from GrindHard Endurance Drink, Digitracks Recording Studios, and Quiet Storm Vodka. Kae-P aka Kae Prodigy