King Pin of Raleigh on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with King Pin and have shared our conversation below.

King , so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day is me waking up at 5:30 AM to get to the radio station Hot 97.9 FM at 7:00. I’m the Marketing Manager at Hot 97.9 In Raleigh & Board Op for “The Streetz Morning Takeover” with Yung Joc. After I get off air at 10:00, I start planning my Marketing & Sales duties for the day, to get radio advertisers. Some days I go out business-to-business and some days I’ll do cold calls. Once I get home around 5:00 PM I’ll either write songs, practice producing/engineering, or listen to some of my favorite vinyls on my record player to wine down.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is King Pin and I’ve been rapping since 2013. This past year alone I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Wale, Rapsody, J. Cole, Marlon Wayan, and DC Youngfly and I’ve also been able to interview Nicki Minaj, Gorilla Zoe, Dondria this year. God has been blessing me all year. I also just submitted my latest mixtape “Coronation” for the GRAMMY’s, so I’m praying for a nomination next month.

I’m currently working on my own internet station called “Palace Radio” and building my record label “The Don Empire”. I’m also working on my next mixtape “Heavyweight Champs” with my producer homie Big Cam Da Bully and I’m hoping to drop it on Halloween.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
My Dad used to own about 5 or 6 investment properties, while running a Church, and opening different kitchen supply stores. I saw him balance a lot but make it look easy. He would be making money in his sleep. My Mom also ran her own daycare simultaneously. So I’ve always aspired to be an entrepreneur watching them run businesses. My goal is to take my music empire to the next level in 2026.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
There’s so many lessons in failure. You only “suffer” if you take a lost as a lost. Every time I fail I ask myself what could I have done differently in that situation? What was the biggest lesson so that next time I’m in this situation I will succeed? There’s always something to take away.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
That influencers deserve record deals just because they are popular. That’s why the quality of music isn’t the same as it was during the 1960’s – 1990’s. Also, bring artist development back & that could help some of the influencers-turned-artists.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
I’m definitely doing what I was born to do. I’ve been in arts & entertainment my whole life. In Elementary school I used to do magic in the talent show & sing in my church’s choir, in Middle School I joined the band and learned how to play clarinet, and in High School I joined Theatre and learned more about acting. Once I got to College I was ready to start rapping and performing at all the events on campus. That’s how King Pin was officially born.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://thedonempire.com/
• Instagram: @KingggPin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kingggpintv
• Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/kingpinofficial

Image Credits
Denzel Flemmings

Toure Shiver