Exclusive Interview With American Rapper Travius Kneadric

Travius Keandric understands the frustrations of growing up in a poverty-stricken community while facing the after-effects of the post-civil rights movement.

After attending and graduating from the University of Alabama as a registered nurse, Travius Keandric is embracing his path as an independent artist determined to reach the masses to shed light on one of the dimmest areas in the entire world.

1. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Travius: What brought me to this specific career path happens to be various factors… For one, growing up in poverty and etc helped shaped me as a human and instilled core values/experience that
allows me to create my lane of music. Secondly, my grandfather was the head of a band and I’d stay up 2-3 A.M. during school nights just to hear them play their instruments. Third, I’m from a place full of true rich history. Coretta Scott King blood still roams within my generation. History repeats itself. Many will attest to that soon after seeing my level of success. And last, being a first generational college student in my family, I didn’t want my accomplishments to stop there. I know music is essential for me to create generational wealth for me and my family.

2. Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started this career?

Travius: The most interesting story that’s happened to me thus far is meeting Kendrick Lamar in Atlanta and our conversation. I was wearing a custom jacket by Rovalf (make sure you shop) and it was
laced with my favourite Kendrick lyrics. Kendrick saw the jacket and immediately praised it. I simply told him “you’ll see it again.” So hopefully he sees this and reaches out lol.

3. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Travius: The funniest thing that has happened to me in my music career thus far was having the
premature mind of thinking talent alone would get me to where I need to be. Lol, that was
hilarious.

4. What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Travius: The most interesting project I’m working on right now is “The London Album”. It’s executively produced by my guy 6ixWest out in London with a few more UK producers on it. Definitely, a new experience for me coming from a place where I couldn’t truly see the world within an hour radius until close to my teenage years. Plus, we lacked the internet when most of the world possessed it. So, to go from that to create an entire album with peers across seas… it’s heartfelt personally.

5. Who are some of the most interesting people you have interacted with? What was that like? Do you have any stories?

Travius: Well, as spoken before, Kendrick Lamar definitely is on top of that list. The first performance/meet greet I ever attended was Big Krit. It was such a soulful environment and essential for me to
witness as a young artist not knowing the true rigours of stage performances. Krit taught me from afar. I met Young Thug in Birmingham, Alabama before a concert of his. He may hate me for
saying this, but at the time I felt as if he was one of the cockiest humans on Earth. He didn’t acknowledge me at all lol. But the more I grow in this industry, the more I understand his point of view. So it’s forever loving with Thugga Thugga. I also bumped into David Banner. He saw me in my nursing mode. Told me he was proud to see a young black king with my attire on and blessed me with an autographed “The God Box” cd. The stories could go on and on. But thus far, I’ve mingled with living legends. One day they’ll bless me with a collab or two or three.

6. Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”? 

Travius: What I’d recommend is being yourself. Staying true to the process. Not focusing on the progression of others. Loving yourself and your craft so much to the point where you love yourself harder during your hardships because you understand life’s shift in positive/negative moment. Never drown yourself in the hard times. Stay afloat and you’ll see the shore sooner or later.

7. You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?

Travius: To anybody wanting to embark on a career as a music artist, just understand that we have one life to give. Either give it all you got or stay in the bleachers. Just don’t look up 20 years from
now saying I would’ve or should’ve done this or that.

8. Can you share with our readers any self-care routines, practices or treatments that you do to help your body, mind or heart to thrive? Kindly share a story or an example for each.

Travius: My self-care routines actually come from a natural place in my life. Anytime I’m working in the hospital as a registered nurse, I see things that humble me mentally and spiritually. I look at it
as my spiritual exercise. I start to become so appreciative of the smallest of things in life and I also utilize everything God has blessed me with to the best of my abilities. I know he blessed me
with musical talent, so each and every day I aim to build on that blessing. Thank God for nursing.\

9. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

Travius: The five things I wish someone told me before I dived into the music industry are:
– 1. No one will ever believe in your vision like yourself
– 2. You could never make true progression without a team
– 3. Embrace yourself. It’s a maze without a map. Be long-winded.
– 4. It takes money to make money
– 5. Every move you make should be strategic, this is business.

10. Can you please give us your favorite  “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

Travius: My favorite life quote is “Close some doors today. Not because of pride, incapacity or arrogance, but simply because they lead you nowhere.” That quote was and still is relevant to my life to this day. I wasted valuable time and energy on those who weren’t geared towards my vision in life. I think many of us share similar visions, hence why there’s various groups/subgroups and/or
cultures/subcultures. I like to call them my soul tribe. Aligning myself with those who dedicate themselves towards the vision without you asking has helped uplift me as a young man and my
music career tremendously.

11. None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Travius: Crazy I just mentioned that you could never reach true success without some form of help. I would like to give a huge shoutout to my executive producer David L. I met him around 2012 in Atlanta after graduating high school. I was introduced to him through an OG from back home and it’s been murder she wrote since. I would call him the down South Dr. Dre, but he’s honestly the one and only David L and I’ll take all bets against him. You’ll learn more from him once we roll out the official movie of how things unfolded 10 or so years from now. But yeah, I thank God for David. Huge shoutout to his wife Ace and their platforms (TSA Network x Atlanta 9’O Clock Radio).

12. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

Travius: My movement has already begun. Just follow and tap in. It can’t be duplicated. So I’m not afraid to spill the beans, but I prefer action over words. Just stay tuned. If I make the one and only
the classic album from the Black Belt area (home of the civil rights movement), don’t you think it’s in my blood to continue being a pioneer?

13. We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might see this. 🙂

I’d like to have a private breakfast/lunch with anyone with a platform who has read this article thus far. No one individual is bigger than the next. But personally speaking, I’d love to sit with Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Andre 3000, Jay Z or anyone else who would sharpen my iron in
this industry.

14. How can our readers follow you online?

Travius: You can follow me on all platforms @TraviusKeandric or just simply visit my website www.traviuskeandric.com to have access to all other social media outlets. One last thing… Remember to remain safe. Blessed to say I was a registered nurse through this crazy pandemic and we’re claiming it comes to an end. God bless!