Meet Patrik Kabongo | Rapper/Songwriter, Creative Director & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Patrik Kabongo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Patrik, what is the most important factor behind your success?
That woul definetly be my relationship with God.

It’s the most essential part of my life and is a major part of who I am. It’s helped me with everything in relation to my success and my brand’s. Wether it’s decision making on who to collaborate with, wether to accept a certain opportunity, where to spend it all has some attahcement to my faith. To trust God with the littlest of things has helped me trust him with the more important things and in such I feel He trust me with responsibilities .

That instinctive trust blessed me with the chance to partner with some great individuals, build a solid team and all in all make the most of what others may seem as unfruitful opportunities. It’s part of my story, the authenticity of it all. That too is important, especially with branding. Does the story match the individual? Does the individual match the message? There has to be a consistency and it has to be authentic. Some people manage to have a successful brand though there may be discrenpencies within he fabrications of that structure, and in this digital world, it’s easy to hide who you are and showcase what you do or portray what you do. It’s about connectivity and adaption and connecting to God has helped me be mindful fo those things, by always staying true to what makes me who I am.

I’m a human being first, and that relatibility has helped my audience identify me as someone genuine, real and easy to relate to. As I grow, the factors will remain and expand based on my experiences. Connectivity is key and to have the guys I have on my team be cut from the same cloth, that, I can’t express enough, is an additional factor to my success.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a rapper/songwriter and creative director.

What sets me apart is my ability to speak on topics in a relative manner that enables my audience to both bounce and reflect. My records are a solid balance between introspection and turning up for the moment, like reading a dictionary in the club. I’m very proud of having a company with individuals I consider as brethren; to have ownership of our content and the services we offer to assist independent artists and entrepreneurs. That I was able to build all this without compromising on my morals and values, that’s something worth mentioning. I’m excited to release the first album I’ve been working on this album, conceptualizing it for the last 2 years and look forward to bringing it to life.

I got here by adapting, working hard, learning and just trusting God with my purpose as an artist, as a creative. I wasn’t always able to write songs so well, songs that would connect to an audience. Having a solid team to provide me with honest feedback and critique helped me adjust to where music was at and where it was heading by incorporating the essential ideas or concepts that would differentiate me from the mould. That continuous repetition helped me as well as learning the different parts of the music industry and what I would need to properly establish myself, our company as a necessity for the people who were ready to embark on the same journey I did years ago.

I learned that you should:
– “Know enough to know that you don’t know enough.” There’s always someone smarter or has more experience than you, learn from them.
– Comparing yourself to others stunts your growth
– Don’t compromise if it means relinquishing your values or morals
– I could die tomorrow, so appreciate the journey

I want the world to know that I plan on being a household name and making valuable art for you all those who can’t and being a voice for those who feel silenced. Though you see my successes, there are always failures that helped me get here. As for X10, we want to break the traditional established model created by record labels. You are the brand, you are the product, understand your value and understand that you can’t do it alone. We want to offer guidance and services that will help future entrepreneurs and artists to be what we are today and what we will always be. A platform for the people by the people.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’d eat at Pat’s Homestyle Jamaican Restaurant. It’ll be the Jerk Chicken spot to hit up for sure. If it was to go for a quick bite/drink and such we’d probably hit up Warehouse or Dime and we’d visit most of the stores downtown to shop. Can’t be letting y’all know too much, need to keep the locations secret [laughing]. Definitely would hit up the Art Gallery of Ontario and depending on the day we’d probably wander around and see what feels intriguing.

I mostly enjoy walking to grab snacks and the walk is part of that experience as well. I’m a simple guy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to thank Yahweh, my Lord and Saviour, my wife Vieve, my parents, my siblings: CK, TG, Yanks, Jae Body and Kevo; my cousin BB; my partners/team: Troy, Gold, OGA, my community at Viens et Vois la Cite des Merveilles, my neighbourhood/community mentors at Alexandra Park, Spadina Avenue, Downtown Toronto, Mixbylmm, my homies who started X10 with me: Ace, Prime Time, Big Mike, Gordo, Tommy 2Fours, Blanch, JT, G Smoove and the rest of the boys; Coalition Music, Unity, Lex Leosis, David Boot, Kri$ the Spirit, Ty, Nate Husser, Mabika my sensei, Cousin Joe, Sean Smallwood, MTLPLUG, Mizy, Jackson Daniel, Jake HW and to anyone I’ve crossed paths with who helped me continuously grow into the creative entrepreneur I am today.

Website: https://patrikabongo.com/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/x10pk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/x10pk/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/x10pk

Facebook: https://facebook.com/x10pk

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/PATRIKX10

Other: https://foundation.app/@x10pk https://www.soundcloud.com/x10pk

Image Credits
Sean Smallwood & @woes.jpg