The resume indicates he might be right.
“Cool It,” the first single off King’s mixtape, Royalty Bound, is in regular rotation on B96.5 FM, as well as satellite radio. He has been invited to Atlanta to perform on an MTV2 fashion show, and at Club Mariachi, where last month he opened for national artist Young Capone and T.I.’s backup group, Pimp $quad Click, or P$C.
He now lives in Louisville, but Amore performs regularly in North Carolina, where he grew up, hitting up clubs in Fayetteville, Raleigh and Durham, and a string of performances in Indianapolis with DJ Iko is in the works.
Friday brings an electrifying combo of hip hop and fashion, as Amore performs at “Hypnotic Revolution,” a fashion show put on at the University of Louisville.
Ever since his first performance at J.B. Atkinson Elementary School in the Portland neighborhood, Amore says his passion for showmanship has never faltered. He’s reared on hip hop and rarely discriminates. “I love all hip hop,” he says, “whether it’s gangsta rap or underground.”
His list of idols includes Rakim, KRS-One, Bone Thugs & Harmony and especially Jay-Z, for his entrepreneurial talent. “Jay-Z is so business-minded,” Amore says. “He actually had a plan behind it.”
Amore honed his rhymes over the years relying on “smooth lyricism,” a skill he says distinguishes him from other rappers.
“I don’t want to be the toughest guy on the block. I’m gonna be the smartest,” he said. “You see me in the best threads. I’m a really ‘fly’ guy, people like to call it. A lot of people dumb (their raps) down lyrically, because they’re pitching their style. I’m actually gonna say a metaphor or a simile. If I reference somebody, you’re gonna have to look ’em up.”
Amore is in the thick of writing and recording an upcoming full-length album that his production company, Upper Level Entertainment, is hoping to shop to record distributors once it’s finished. He’s hoping to move units, and change stereotypes of Kentucky in the hip hop world.
“I really dedicate myself to the craft,” he said. “You can tell it’s a quality production. I want to represent Kentucky the right way.”
For updates on shows, music and other happenings, visit his Web site, www.amoretheking.com.
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