Ah, high school. The place where you can reinvent yourself after middle school, screw up, then graduate and reinvent yourself again. But for St. Louis musician Thelonius Kryptonite, University City High School was where he started out strong and just kept going.
It began with a little tabletop musical improvisation. Soon Kryptonite, known then as Corey Williams, began living a dual existence: joining marching band and becoming the king of hip-hop. Before graduation, he was already signed to the Soul Tide record label.
We talk with Kryptonite in this new “Cut & Paste” arts and culture podcast about his journey, which now includes teaching kids, and being kind of a fashionista.
Here’s some of what Kryptonite told us about himself.
- On making music in high school, not with real instruments, but everyday items: “I always had in my pocket, in high school, I had a pen and I had Carmex. You got Carmex because if you see a girl, you can’t have dry lips.” Tweet #cutpastestl
- How participating in what some see as a “nerdy” activity helped him in pursuit of his career: “Being in marching band definitely helped my creativity.” Tweet #cutpastestl
- Why he’s interested in clothes and how styling can be a fountain of youth: “Whatever you have on, it’ll make you look ageless.” Tweet #cutpastestl
Look for new "Cut & Paste" (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also subscribe to “Cut & Paste” through the "View all Podcasts & RSS Feeds" link.
Follow Willis Arnold on Twitter: @WillisRArnold
Follow Nancy Fowler on Twitter: @NancyFowlerSTL
Follow Thelonius Kryptonite on Twitter: @TheloniusKrypto
Please help St. Louis Public Radio find artists to feature on "Cut & Paste." Click here to become a source in the Public Insight Network and share what you know.
