PLATINUM-SELLING rap duo Krept & Konan urged Homerton students to use their “superpower” by combining academic prowess with a “hustler spirit.”
The South London musicians, who own and run a string of businesses and social enterprises, made the comments at a panel this afternoon, organised and chaired by HUS BME Officer and rapper Zain Kakooza.
The pair, who broke records in 2013 when their mixtape became the highest-charting unsigned act, combine writing and performing with running a community-oriented supermarket in Croydon.
Krept told the audience: “There are some people who are just smart, but they have no hustle. Everything is logical, and this doesn’t work so I’m giving up. But a hustler is like ‘I’ve come across this problem, I’m gonna solve this.
“You guys are in a perfect position. A lot of people are just on the ground hustling, and they learn along the way. But there’s a lot you can research. You guys have every ingredient ready to be successful.
“A lot of it is about going to speak to people and network. And I know, being an introvert, sometimes it is hard. But you have to come out of that shell. Go into a room and find out who is who and have a conversation.”
Krept recalled when he was performing to large crowds one day, and fixing piping in the toilets of a restaurant which the pair were starting. Konan said he focussed on tasks by “tunnel vision, and blocking out the noise.”
The debate – billed as a ‘barrier-breaking conversation discussing business, entrepreneurship and how a challenging past can be the foundation for a positive future’ - also featured Riki Bleau, founder and co-president of Since ’93, a record successful record label.
Riki said when he was setting up the label something was always going wrong. “All I think is, okay, how am I going to get around it and keep moving? If you go into a room and you’re the smartest person in the room, get out! You need to be around people who can teach you things, and don’t be afraid to ask.”
Krept, birth name Casyo Valentine Johnson, and Konan, named Karl Dominic Wilson, both endured tragedies of family and friends dying as they were growing up. Konan served time for an offence committed as a 16 year old, in 2007.
The musicians have been praised for their “emotionally-honest rap”, and have since been awarded New Year honours by King Charles, are signed to Virgin EMI, and performed at the MOBO awards earlier this year.
Homerton’s Principal, Lord Simon Woolley, told the gathering: “What I have listened to, in the last hour, has been a masterclass, of decency and entrepreneurship, and of how to seize opportunities.”
