KINGMOSTWANTED is here to put on for the Inland Empire, putting his city on the map any chance he can. At only 20 years old, the rising star has already lived through a lifetime of hardships and experiences… every reason why fans can’t help but gravitate towards his music. Injecting real-life scenarios and sentiments into his rhymes, the West Coast spitter has his eyes on being one of the greats.
In describing himself, KING states he’s “reckless, goofy, turnt up. I’ve got a soft side. I like all music, all types of music. I’m just a cool person. I’ve easy to vibe with and I’m not easy to vibe with, just complicated basically.”
Most recently, KINGMOSTWANTED unveiled his new single and visual for “Cali Lovin,” flipping one of the most timeless records in hip-hop: Ice Cube’s “Check Yo Self.” The fact he does the track justice is a talent in itself, adding a modern-day twist that audiences around the world can relate to.
He spits, “I gotta check myself before I wreck myself, I’m a 909 n*gga with a Tec under my belt. Bank account high I’m living it well, and it’s f### the police free my sharks out the cell.”
“Cali Lovin” serves as the lead single to his forthcoming EP aptly titled Notorious King, his newest project following 2020’s FRESHMAN YEAR. Currently releasing music via Vydia, KING has come a long way since the release of “In My City,” which put his name on the map.
AllHipHop: What was it like growing up in the IE?
KINGMOSTWANTED: It was fun, a lot of life learning lessons and everything. I like the IE, I love the IE actually.
AllHipHop: Who’s really from there?
KINGMOSTWANTED: From the IE, that’s big? Nobody really.
AllHipHop: I know Audio Push and Hit-Boy…
KINGMOSTWANTED: Shout out to Hit-Boy if he’s from the IE.
AllHipHop: He did Nipsey Hussle’s “Racks in the Middle.”
KINGMOSTWANTED: I don’t know that. I don’t listen to Nipsey Hussle. Rest in peace though, I pay my respects. It’s just not my type of music.
AllHipHop: What’s your type of music?
KINGMOSTWANTED: NBA Youngboy, Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes.
AllHipHop: Billie Eilish?!
KINGMOSTWANTED: I love Billie Eilish. I don’t listen to West Coast music like that.
AllHipHop: So where do you get your bars from?
KINGMOSTWANTED: It’s all natural, it’s me. That’s just how I talk so if people consider it West Coast, then I guess it is, but I don’t listen to West Coast music honestly. There’s a lot of people and a lot of talent out here, there really is. It’s just not my style, I don’t like listening to it sometimes. No disrespect or anything, I love the West Coast.
AllHipHop: When did you fall in love with music?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Me doing it, as soon as I started. Ever since I was younger, I’ve always loved music. I loved country music, I like a lot. All types of music.
AllHipHop: When did you realize you could do music for a living?
KINGMOSTWANTED: When I was 13, I realized when I was in jail. 12, 13 years old, an officer told me… I was just rapping, playing on the homie’s head. She pulled me to the side and said “you’re talking nonsense, but you really know what you’re saying. You could put bars together, rhyme good and make sense.” Then I took it seriously at around age 15, 16.
AllHipHop: What were you doing before then?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Before music? School. Just school and turning up with the homies. Hanging out and s###, just partying.
AllHipHop: How did you get your name?
KINGMOSTWANTED: KINGMOSTWANTED, just because I was in juvi again. I was locked up. Not a lot of people know this, but I was going by BIGMONEYKING at first. Somebody from the Bay, I forget now who it was but they had that in their name and they were already poppin’. I thought “I can’t just take that name, I’m a switch it up. What can I be?” I seen a lot of people have “most hated.” Why do a lot of people want to be most hated? I’m most wanted. The cops want me, the fame, the money, the girls. I’m the most wanted. King’s my last name so KINGMOSTWANTED.
AllHipHop: How long were you locked up for?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I’ve been locked up about 12 times in juvenile hall, then I’ve been to county at 18 once.
AllHipHop: What did you learn from being behind bars?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I actually learned there’s a lot of snakes out there, and probation’s really just a set-up.
AllHipHop: It’s better than being locked up, no?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Not really. I don’t know, in my eyes you’re gon; get locked back up. Probation… I’ve only been in jail for a charge once and that’s when I was 12. Every other time, it was violations from probation. I think about it like if they never put me on probation, I never would’ve gone back to jail.
AllHipHop: Are you good now though?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I’m straight. Clean record, nothing. I’m good.
AllHipHop: Talk about “In My City,” the video has 9.2 million views on Youtube. Did you think it would blow up like this?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I did. Not really as far as it went nationwide and international. I be seeing I got plays in Germany, all different countries. I didn’t think that, but I did know that song was one of them ones because I’m not targeting strictly San Bernardino. I’m saying “In my City,” where you live you can bang that. So if you’re from the Bay, you’re from San Diego, you can say it. “In My City,” I’m not targeting one area. For surely I put my city in there though. My town. But anybody could — even if you’re from New York, whatever city you from, you can say “in my city.” I already knew it was going to be one of them ones. I didn’t expect it to blow up as much as it did, but I’m proud of it.
AllHipHop: Did that help build your following? Or was there another moment?
KINGMOSTWANTED: There were a lot of moments. There was a time where I had 5, 6 different songs going crazy at once, all at once. Different challenges to one song, they were all doing different types of things to one song. All of them helped with my following.
AllHipHop: New single and visual “Cali Lovin,” what inspired you to create this one? It’s an Ice Cube classic!
KINGMOSTWANTED: I really like Ice Cube a lot. I don’t listen to his music like that but when I heard the “check yoself” song, I said “I gotta do it, I just have to.” I already knew I had to sample and remake it, put my splash on it. That’s a good song.
AllHipHop: Was it hard to clear the sample?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Very hard. A year and a half hard. My team did it, shout out to Vydia. They worked really hard, specifically June and Saheed, all of them. June really put the pressure on them, shout out to him.
AllHipHop: What inspired the visual?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Me, my manager, and the cameraman SuperGebar, shout out to him. But my manager Ocho, they really helped. It was all a team discussion and decision type. We all came together on it, really shout out to them. They put the most effort into that video.
AllHipHop: What was the best memory from shooting?
KINGMOSTWANTED: When I was behind the bars, it gave me back memories. But I can actually walk out of these bars! Damn I could walk out and I felt good, I was with my people and everything. It just felt good. It’s a good video shoot and I like the way it looks, all of it. Super Gebar, he did his stuff on that. It’s a good video.
AllHipHop: How’s the independent grind?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I love it. I can drop whenever I want, I’m not forced to do certain things. I went on the right path because nobody owns me. I’m me and I get to be with my team. I’m still 8PETOWN.
AllHipHop: What is it you want fans to get from your story?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I’ve heard from a lot of different fans that they get certain things from a song that I didn’t even expect them to get from it. Honestly, whatever you can get from listening to it because every human being is different. I’ve been getting a whole lot of different responses from certain songs. I’m like “oh, I wasn’t even targeting that.” But if you got that from it, it’s good.
AllHipHop: Talk about your upcoming project “Notorious King,” what can we expect?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Notorious King, you can expect some big features. Something crazy, I can’t go too in on it, but it’s notorious. Notorious King, just like the name. It’s going to be spectacular.
AllHipHop: You can’t give us an exclusive on the features?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Shout out to JOP, Jesús Ortiz Paz you feel me. He’s gon be on there. He’s a Spanish artist, he’s the biggest one right now. He’s from San Bernardino too so we collaborated. He’s really blowing up in Mexico and everything, this is his first song. Oh yeah, “Cali Lovin” with King Combs too.
AllHipHop: Love King Combs! How did y’all link?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I’ve been linked with him before. Originally, I had him on another song but that one is still in the process of getting cleared so I had him get on this one. I talked to him, Facetimed him, and just told him. He heard the song and he said “yeah I’m a do it.”
AllHipHop: Did he bring that East Coast swag? Well, I guess he’s from the West Coast, technically.
KINGMOSTWANTED: Hell yeah, his first bar. He said “I’m an eastside n*gga…” [laughs]
AllHipHop: Talk about your “F### Yo Samples” mixtape with DJ Five Venoms.
KINGMOSTWANTED: “F### Yo Samples,” it’s really all in the name. because I don’t get that clearance stuff, I’m trying to bring back stuff from people. I didn’t even know about Biggie Smalls so I’m trying to recreate and put it back out there so people my generation, my age can know about it. That clearance s###: y’all don’t want me to bring them back? Certain songs will never see the light of day?. So it’s really “F### Yo Samples,” I’m a drop it anyways.
AllHipHop: What’s the vibe with Venoms? Love him!
KINGMOSTWANTED: I love Venoms man. I can say it with my whole heart, he’s dope to just jump in and be a part of it. It was a great experience what we did. He was playing my stuff at Rolling Loud and I wasn’t even there! Because I couldn’t be there. I heard he was playing my songs, shoutout to him.
AllHipHop: 3 things you need in the studio at all times?
KINGMOSTWANTED: I need my brothers with me, I need the music up really loud, and sometimes I need ecstasy.
Teslas, I like the Tesla slide.
AllHipHop: AZChike, he just made a song “Tesla or the X.”
KINGMOSTWANTED: Yes, I love it. I love AzChike too, that’s my brother.
AllHipHop: You’re only 20, do you feel young?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Nah, I feel like I’ve lived my life. I know there’s more that I can do, but I’ve done more than what a grown 60-year-old man could say he’s done. Way more.
AllHipHop: What do you like to do when you’re not doing music?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Man, I like to be with my brothers. I could be in the crib for a whole week with them and it feels like we went to Hawaii or something.
AllHipHop: These your brothers?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Jank Baby, TGK Splash. They have now, not next ever. They part of the team.
AllHipHop: You’ve been on TikTok?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Yeah, I’m poppin’ on TikTok. It’s really good if you want to go nationwide, international. Sometimes, I’ll see a bad female. I’ll click on it and I’ll be like “damn, but she’s from Atlannta. Show me some Cali people!” Just from that, I know that s###’s international. It’s important to some artists.
AllHipHop: What are your favorite brands?
KINGMOSTWANTED: My own clothing, Versace, and Bad News. 8PETOWN and 8K, I really love it. Also ain’t gon’ cap, that Desto Dubb: A Lot of Cough Syrup and A Lot of Percs. I like that, that’s hard.
AllHipHop: Anything you want fans to know about you?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Know I might come off aggressive sometimes, but I’m not always like that. I am like that, but I’m not always like that. Some fans, they text me and they tell me, “I seen you there, but I didn’t want to take a picture. I didn’t know if you was in the mood.” Man, you come up and take a picture with me. I love my fans and supporters.
AllHipHop: What does your face tattoo mean?
KINGMOSTWANTED: The Asian one, that’s my granny named Margaret. Rest in paradise.
AllHipHop: Do you have any goals for yourself?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Keep elevating, keep going up. More visuals, I love visuals. More performances, and just takeover. I’m coming for Mexico next. All of Mexico. JOP on there, shoutout to Fuerza Regida and all that.
AllHipHop: Anything else you want to let us know?
KINGMOSTWANTED: Shout out my brothers, TGK Splash, Jank Baby. Shout out MCM Raymond, shout out Big Ocho, shout out the whole 8K team. Shout out GQ, Bad News, and shout out my man Fake Jello. They all doing their thing, and shout out to you and your 7 gram blunt. Damn, I only put 3.5 in my Wood. I’m finna smoke that right now.