I.K.P. is back with PSYCHE, an ambitious and soulful project born out of pressure, healing and discovery. Beyond songwriting, PSYCHE is a testament to years of personal development, spiritual exploration and transforming difficult times into opportunity. The project delivers a new phase in I.K.P.’s career, driven by raw emotion, authenticity and vision.
The songs were written organically and naturally, not forced. Each song, such as LOVE ELEMENT, has been in the making for several years, and the project as a whole reflects an artist gradually learning to listen to the timing, intuition and intention. With the help of a strong network of producers, mentors and collaborators, I.K.P. has delivered an album that is targeted, relevant and relatable.
PSYCHE has a heart. I.K.P. shares candidly about survival, grief, recovery, and the determination to pursue art in the face of adversity. Even with injuries, creating art as a vehicle for freedom and a way to affect others was the goal.
Looking ahead, I.K.P. is taking steps forward with more visuals, a future visual album, and the next project (FLOE STATE) already in process. We chat with I.K.P. about the themes of PSYCHE, the creative process, growth, and the next steps.
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I.K.P., “PSYCHE” hits with this intense, mind-bending energy, what’s the core vibe you’re dropping on listeners with this one?
If you’ll indulge me a little – at the core everything is cosmic, spiritual energy. It’s always been bigger than me and bigger than rap. I’ve seen my fair share of demons and I spent a lot of time questioning my own path, why my circumstances feel like they are filled with so much tension.
In astrology – and PSYCHE is as much an astrological reference point as well as a psychological one – there’s a thing called aspects. The planets and bodies in space which represent different parts of ourselves, have relationships with each other. The moment you’re born, everything is in a specific place awaiting your discovery. Your astrological natal chart offers a glimpse of that snapshot and aspects are part of that snapshot. An example is my Sun sign (Aries) with my Ascendent (Cancer). That’s 2 parts of the main three of my core identity. The Sun represents the ego or the front facing self to the world – how you see your world. The Ascendant, the sign the Sun was rising from when you were born is basically how the world interprets you, in short. Sometimes how you feel about yourself is exactly how the world sees you. Sometimes the world sees you differently than how you feel about yourself.
In my chart, Aries was square with the Ascendant in Cancer – meaning the signs were about 90° apart the moment i was born. A square aspect is known as a challenging aspect, meaning there is tension, particularly between how I see myself and how the world sees and interacts with what I present. Some aspects are favorable and bring ease. Some are challenging and require reframing to overcome.
And that aspect means you have to evolve ways to overcome moments when what you want is at odds with what the moment brings. It’s tough. It builds pressure. Sometimes you need to release the pressure and the tension for your own sake, because you won’t always win or even understand the moments of tension. You have to live with it and you can learn from it. The learning is the reframing. That’s my perspective. So in PSYCHE, I’m really releasing years of tension and confusion and showing that you can use that as a tool for understanding yourself and being okay with it. Pressure is good when you can harness it to something invaluable. That’s the vibe.
Spill the tea: what real moment or feeling ignited the idea for “PSYCHE” in the first place?
When i learned that there is an asteroid called Psyche. If you’ll indulge me some more – my natal chart shows a stellium (a concentration of energy represented by the planets, asteroids and points in space) all in my birth sign Aries. Imagine all the major parts of you aligned the moment you were born and slowly show up in your life. A stellium can help explain that. It’s why astrologists and astrologers may get excited about it.
Psyche – a major asteroid between Mars and Jupiter representing the actual human psyche, the soul, the mentality, the spirit – is one of the major bodies in my Aries stellium. So how i think about my own spirit is part of how I think about my life. Once that came together for me, that was the final piece of the puzzle for this project. The songs already existed. The foundation was already building. That’s the divinity at work.
Your sound always grabs you, how did the creative magic happen, from rough ideas to that killer final version?
The oldest track on this project is LOVE ELEMENT. It took years to gestate. But the Cali/England-based producers King Wizard and LX Xander sent me that track in 2020 and i didn’t touch it until 2021 for a demo. But that point in my life i was suffering from burnout. So I put it in the vault. That track was always mystic to me. It felt gothic. I started brainstorming how the video might look once i finished it. When my brain goes like that, its a clue that the music is stirring me. So my intention was always to finish it. Just didn’t happen until about 2025 when the evolution came around.
The other songs also happened in a similar organic fashion. Nothing was forced. The track would arrive in my inbox. If I woke up compelled to write and record something, i did it. Because I had been through processes where I’d toil for hours on ideas and many times you can tell I’m missing the mark. But then I had mentors that basically taught to me to relax and lean it the magic. That showed me to pay closer attention to how my influences held their magic. Biggie – natural storyteller. Brooklyn energy. Missy – playful, inventive. Natural Virginia energy and southern bounce. Jay-Z, Kanye West – say more with less. Gangsta Boo (RIP) – direct, fiery, sovereign. GloRilla who I mess with crazy – natural evolution of that. Her album was required listening when i was making shit like OFF TOPP – thats where the “hollon hoe” line came from.
I was also deep diving into people who showed any inclination to spirituality and self-assurance. Things they would say. Certain lines like “allow me the latitude of completion” in KILL OR B KILLED. Came from a character in Law and Order, Special Victims Unit. It’s a show I’ve been watching for decades. When bars catch me by surprise, i do my best to jot em down in the moment. But like…. sometimes I’m doing 3 things at once. So thats how fragments get collected. Through living, through time, through growth, through revelation.
Who’s the crew that brought “PSYCHE” to life, producers, collaborators, or influences that added the spark?
Shoutout to P.A. On The Track. We’ve been building our relationship remotely for years. He’s based in Argentina and always working. And he’s always been encouraging me along the way. So he’s been on my team. Shoutout Mndcft, one of my mentors and best friends rooting for me all the way. I’d always be bouncing ideas off him. He’s the one to help me go with the flow and accept the imperfections. Shoutout Zach Sorgen and LX Xander who just had that fire at the right moment. Shoutout Dj Swanny River. Another of my great mentors who always has time to check in with me and supported me for years.
“PSYCHE” screams deep emotion, what’s the story woven into the lyrics, and what do you want fans to feel?
I make the music because it helps free parts of me that felt trapped. It’s music for survivors evolving into people who thrive. My journey into music is lasting way longer than I expected and because my spirit wakes up every day wanting to do better while using it as a tool for that freedom, its why I keep going. It’s not because I’m trying to impress anyone. It’s art for me. Art is my life. My life is art. It helps me survive. And I hope it helps others see their own value. The healing and the process is the win for me. I hope it helps others heal too.
Production highlights? Any wild beats, effects, or “yes!” moments that make it pop?
I actually have quite a few demo versions of me trying the LOVE ELEMENT beat before I settled on the final version.
Shoutout the fam Iz Hoffa for inspiring part of KILL OR B KILLED. Thats my cousin. I met him when I was a teen. Soon after, he did a 20 year bid and got out in 2020. While he was in, he always kept in contact with me, calling me out the blue. I was staying in shelters when we would just randomly call my phone. And I’d be so happy and he would encourage me to pull through when i felt like I was rock bottom. That perspective was powerful. So when I said “or whenever niggas get through a whole bid, chains collapse and they get to know a new motion…” that was for him. My mom died recently and he came through to support me and my family without question. I’m always watching those who show that kind of consistency, showing up when it counts even if we can’t always stay in touch. Some of those types of people form the cornerstone of my deepest connections. They show me the difference between those with an agenda and those that do not.
Where does “PSYCHE” land in your world as I.K.P. a game-changer, or the start of something huge?
I feel like this is the start of a new era where the resources and effort are in sync. Its one of the shortest projects I’ve made. But its foundational to the world-building. Usually it would be my effort going and the resources lacking to make a project. I’d put my whole self into creating the music. Then when its time to reach the world, things get in the way that drains the momentum. The momentum of this project is the biggest I’ve had. The next music video i have ready is for LEAD WITH LOVE. It’ll come in the summer. Plans in place to finish the KILL OR B KILLED video. Then I’ll have my first full length visual album. That’s a huge milestone.
Keep it real: any roadblocks during creation, or did it all click like perfect timing?
PSYCHE was perfect timing in that it developed with a sense of divinity and purpose. But it did not happen all at once. I had to do the shadow work and embrace those shadows as part of the picture and not hide them or hide from the shadows.
I went on a trip with a really good friend of mine, named EarthTone. I think my love for them was supercharged by the experience. I was there for their engagement and we already had a deep bond through music. But him wanting to include me in such a life-changing event meant the world to me. I’ll never forget it. I wrote LEAD WITH LOVE inspired by the experience. Then I had him be in the video to help me channel the mysticism that the song conjured. And that video shoot was epic. We did it at Madame X in Manhattan and everything was so on point in an inevitable way. It all made sense. The video director Aleksandar Kostic gets big props for it. So does Mz. Gabore, my godsister who did my make up. So even though it was a journey to get PSYCHE done, I’m proud of that journey.
This track’s a standout, why should everyone hit play on “PSYCHE” right now, and what’s its secret sauce?
If you’re talking about LOVE ELEMENT, the secret sauce is that the stars put it place before I even came through. I just walked into the zone. And because so much positive reception for that track, it feels like its worth it.
I had broken my foot just weeks before I was originally scheduled film the video and so it had to be postponed. I was in the middle of the recovery process when I decided the time was right to move forward with filming, delaying by about 6 weeks. And i made the choice to show the CAM boot in the video to highlight the scars that I endure in my real life. The injury is a culmination of years dealing with conditions that came from military service. Despite it, I make the music to continue to access my personal freedom. And I work through healing. Its the type of dedication I have to deliver my message.
What’s bubbling up next? Tours, visuals, or more fire from I.K.P.?
Gonna do the other visuals to finish building the world for PSYCHE. Then I invite you to join the FLOE STATE. It’s how the world-building will continue, and you’re always welcome. If you see something like that going around, tap in.
