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BKTHERULA Reaches New Dimensions on LVL5

With over 172 million global streams, BKTHERULA seems to be creating her own genre. The Atlanta rapper who combines rap, punk and alternative, is a master at stealing the show— just look at her recent Boiler Room and Rolling Loud performances. Whether it's tour energy, building relationships or getting in touch with her deeper self, BKTHERULA is all about going up.

 

Although her music and appearance have darker elements, don't let the tattoos and dark clothes fool you. BKTHERULA is devoted to her spirituality and her relationship with God and Jesus. In addition to her religion, she emphasizes the genuine relationships she forms with her fans and how they treat her back. Her authentic and transparent demeanor shows in LVL5, and she knows it will reflect in her future stardom.

 

 

Are you excited for LVL5 to come out?

 

I'm extremely excited for LVL5 to come out. I feel like I've been waiting for this to form for some years now into this beautiful little thing... it's very exciting. At first I was nervous to release it to the world because of how long I've held onto it. I'm ready now.

 

What does LVL5 mean?

 

It's a way of thinking. It's a headspace, a mindset. It's the happy medium of life. A lot of people try to be on a positive wave, but you can't be 100% positive, you know what I'm saying? As things go on throughout life, LVL5 is taking the ego and pride out of life, being tapped in and understanding what spiritual warfare is. It's a team against the dark side, angels versus demons and LVL5 is a small group under angels.

 

How are you able to tap in to these concepts and break down these realms?

 

By living it. I've been saying 'level five' for years before I even knew I was gonna turn it into an album. The third dimension is where we live, the fourth dimension is the astral realm with our dreams. The fifth dimension is when you're at war. You practice your way to get up to that. It's the things that aren't seen but matter the most.

 

How long did it take to complete LVL5 and what was the songwriting process?

 

It was about three years. Some songs I already made, but others were definitely made from experience and others were made just for fun. Every single song on the album is a completely different point of time in my life. I'm not making music for the fame or the bread (money), but I'm making it because it's my source and it's something that I love to do...the reason I love this album so much is because it's many different people in the same body of work. That's why it's called a 'level' because it's just different levels, same game.

LVL5 is taking the ego and pride out of life, being tapped in and understanding what spiritual warfare is.

How do you see yourself evolving?

 

I see myself becoming more disciplined. I'm more tapped in every day. I think I'm maturing in that way, too. 

 

What do you want listeners to get out of LVL5?

 

I want them to see themselves in it. I want them to really feel the music, dance and apply it to whatever aspect it relates to. 

 

Why do you think you're blowing up so fast and have such devoted fans?

 

I think it's because I'm genuine. The way you talk to your fans means a lot. I pray to God every day and I'm going up because of how close I am with my fans and how much they can relate to me. Your fans should definitely know more about you and that has a lot to play with how fast you grow.

 

Because you're so young and getting so much attention recently, do you feel like you're representing young Black women in the music industry right now?

 

Definitely. The older I get and the deeper I get in the music industry, I realize how much it matters. It's important to remind Black women and the community that we need to stay 10 toes down on what we wanna do, what type of music we wanna make, what type of clothes we wanna wear and just what we wanna be in life. I can tell when I'm going through something because I'm a Black woman...if that makes sense. Especially in the music industry, as I get older, I'm seeing more. I would say it was causing me to be angry; the way Black women are treated differently because of three-dimensional things that don't exist. I started to have a lot of rage and hold myself with a lot of ego because of that.

 

How did you overcome that?

 

The more I started growing, I realized it's important to remain true to yourself because regardless of how hard it is, it's not gonna change anything. They can't change who you are or what you do. They might try to change some shit up in the third dimension because of industry authority. If you're tapped in with Jesus Christ, there's nothing that can defeat you. I started stripping away my ego and pride and looking in deeper. 

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