Meet KILJ (Jelani Lofton) | Recording Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with KILJ (Jelani Lofton) and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi KILJ, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I feel like the most important factor behind my success is not giving up. There have been countless times where I doubted myself or was just unsatisfied with my growth as an artist. On top of that, I’m a senior in high school so there were many other obstacles I had to overcome. For example, there were a lot of times where I needed to travel for music, but I still had to make sure I didn’t fall behind on my schoolwork. It was very challenging at times but I always managed to pull through.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Well I started making music when I was 14 years old while I was in my freshman year of high school. So it was definitely challenging trying to juggle music and schoolwork at the same time but I somehow made it work. It was also a bit discouraging knowing that everyone I knew that tried music either quit or never seen the results they wanted. So I’d say I’m proud of the fact that I never quit when things got hard and I made it far enough to see the fruits of my labor. And with that being said, I want people to know that you 100% can accomplish whatever you put your mind to if you’re patient. Because if I can do it, so can you.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I probably won’t be able to name all of them but one of my favorite spots in LA have to be the Santa Monica Pier. I love the food, the views of the water, and really just the overall vibe there.

I also really like going to Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles, Rodeo Drive, the Commons at Calabasas, and Raising Canes.

And a place that I really want to go to that I’ve never been to before is Six Flags Magic Mountain. I love rollercoasters and I’ve heard a lot of great things about that theme park.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I could honestly go on and on about people that I would like to shoutout, but I’ll just name a few to keep it short. Firstly, I want to give a shoutout to Thekidszn. He’s an amazing artist and a really good friend of mine. If this is your first time hearing about him, I suggest listening to his song called “On & On.” That’s my personal favorite. Next, I want to give a shoutout to Tommy Ice. He’s one of the first artists that actually showed my music love and brought me out to my first studio session when I was 14 years old. If you want to check out his music, “Scars” is my fav.
Lastly, I want to shoutout Kody Lavigne. I’ve been listening to his music for 4 years and we recently just made a song together which was a surreal moment for me. I’ll probably end it there with the artist shoutouts but I just want to close out with a shoutout out to my parents, my close friends, and my girlfriend Khloe for supporting me. If any of y’all are reading this, you are deeply appreciated.

Instagram: xokilj

Twitter: xokilj

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@KILJ1

Image Credits
Spotify For Artists Other photos not applicable