Kwame On Name Change: 'thatboykwame Is A Creative Experience'

Australian hip-hop rising star thatboykwame (formerly known as Kwame) has changed his professional name and released a new single called Anecdote.

Telling The Music about the inspirations behind the name change, he said, “thatboykwame is a multifaceted moniker of mine that I've used for all things within the creative arts.”

Comparing his journey to warrior characters in Dragon Ball, he continued, “Similarly to how Goku turns Super Saiyan God in Battle of the Gods, I feel I've reached that point in my career. For where I'm about to take things, my entry to the world needs to be unique. There's only one thatboykwame, and that's me.”

The name change also helps to remove any confusion – since 2016, thatboykwame was mixed up with Queens artist Kwamé, who found popularity in the 80s and 90s. To celebrate and commemorate the name change, thatboykwame has dropped the slick new single Anecdote.

Here’s what he had to say about the new track: “Anecdote showcases all the components that make up thatboykwame. It's all been bigger than the music. thatboykwame is a creative experience.”

Last month, he teased that 2024 would be the year he would “present a masterpiece”. Not giving much away, thatboykwame added, “A masterpiece is coming; be across all my socials to follow and join the journey.”

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Last year, thatboykwame dropped the standalone singles Vices (in October) and Daydream (in December) and landed collaborations with 1300, Benson and Holy Holy.

On his collaboration with Holy Holy – he has a stunning feature on the indie rock group’s track Messed Up – thatboykwame told The Music, “Shoutout Holy Holy. Messed Up is one of those collaborations I'll hold close to my heart forever.

“For me, that record is a testament to my creative abilities. I'm not bound by genre; it's all art at the end of the day.”

Last March, he shared his Bars Of Steel freestyle that highlighted the missed competitiveness in rap music.

Purple Sneakers’ Parry Tritsiniotis remarked at the time:

This delay in appreciating the competitiveness of rap is deep rooted in Australian popular culture. Tall poppy syndrome is a stalwart quality of being "Australian". Humbleness in the face of success and quality is what we expect from Australian artists, but why?

As the tide shifts on what the mainstream pushes as "true" Australian art, the mainstream narrative of larrikins and "all credit to the boys" in the face of excellence will change and must change.

[thatboykwame] proved that. You can, for lack of a better phrase, talk your shit, while knowing you're the best and still bigging up the scene and community.