Kenosha, Wisconsin’s own Alexander Kain — a rising hip-hop musician and entertainer — performed at this years Freakfest, opening for Lil Yachty at the Capitol Square Stage. He caught up with The Daily Cardinal’s Megan Girod and discussed his experience performing that night, as well as his current projects.
Girod: How was it being on the stage at FreakFest?
Kain: I was nervous all day until I walked up to the stage for soundcheck and saw the crowd. Then all the worry went away and everything just felt natural. I brought out members of my rap group [from] back home — SASO (Stand Above Society’s Opinion) — out on stage to help me perform their respective parts on ‘Khronicles II’ and ‘Weatherman’ (Jay Dot), ‘Elevate’ (Joe Kotten) and ‘Do the Right Thing’ (Marques).
Were you able to meet any of the other artists?
I met DJ Mando once before at an LÜM meeting, but I saw him again before the show and in the pit during [Lil] Yachty’s performance. We were hyping up the crowd together, it was fun. I met up with my homie Lucien Parker, an artist from Milwaukee, and I hung out with the other opening artists in the tent before the show. I also got a huge opportunity to get the contact of [Lil] Yachty’s tour manager. He wants me to send him a video of my performance!
That’s amazing, Alex! Would you like to comment more on your production team or your old rap group from home?
Yes, the group that was with me for the performance was our production group [called] CTB productions (Chase the Bag Productions). It was [myself], our photographer Kam Kurosaki, our co-founder Henry Gustafson, and three members from our New York branch there to film and shoot a documentary for the festival. We’re releasing the performance documentary and FreakFest content [in] early November on the “CHASE THE BAG PRODUCTIONS” YouTube channel and on @ctb_prod on Instagram.
So, what is your role in CTB Productions and what are you guys working on?
CTB Productions is a production group my roommate [from] last year Henry Gustafson [and I] started. We are currently producing music, video content and vlogs for my music and the music of my group SASO and we plan on expanding and producing all types of creative content (art, music, dance, film, photography, etc.) as more members join our team. My group SASO includes me, Yung Sum, Jay Dot, Joe Kotten and Marques and again stands for Stand Above Society’s Opinion.
Thanks so much, Alexander!
Megan Girod is a writer for The Daily Cardinal. To read more of her work, click here.