UNC student releases new hip-hop single ahead of next album

Senior music major K’mani Leonerio started making music with his friends during the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as simply “fooling around” with beats quickly led Leonerio to realize that he had good instincts for creating tracks. 

“It became something I did all the time,” he said. “The more involved I got with it, it became like — I just started rapping about my life and what was going on, so it was almost therapeutic.” 

Inspired by '90s era hip-hop, Leonerio focuses on structure and wordplay. Since he began making music, he has released four albums and nine singles. On Aug. 19, Leonerio released his latest single, “The Ocky Way (feat. Conway the Machine).” 

While the song took nearly a year to produce from start to finish, Leonerio said that the majority of the verses came to him within an hour of receiving the track. 

“You just take inspiration sometimes,” he said. “So you might not have it all the time, but whenever you get it, you just have to make sure you go off of that before you forget or before the feeling is just not as strong.” 

Since releasing “The Ocky Way,” Leonerio said he has been getting positive feedback, but he is not going to let that get to his head and distract him from what is to come. 

“I’m still trying to soak it all in, you know, keep my head focused and continuing to work and build from it,” he said. “But yeah, it just feels great.” 

Professor Suzi Analogue, with whom Leonerio has taken classes and worked with as a part of the UNC Hip Hop Ensemble, said that she has been excited about the project from its start. 

Analogue said that Leonerio’s choice to drop this track at the very start of the semester was a wise one. 

“It is such a strong move as he’s moving into his senior year, because it’s just establishing that he really believes in his artistry, and he’s going to go full-force with it moving forward,” they said.

Leonerio’s artistry is apparent to Analogue not only through his solo work, but also through his role in the UNC Hip Hop Ensemble. 

“He’s a great team player,” she said. “He comes in, he does what is needed. Always provides quality, thought-provoking verses and performances, and he just really holds it down.” 

Fellow ensemble member Quincy Griffin III said Leonerio is one of the best lyricists he has known and still has strong, successful beats. 

“You could just listen to him and just vibe out to his songs, or you could listen to his lyrics and be like, ‘Oh, he’s spitting bars,’” he said. “So I think he has a balance that a lot of artists don’t have.”

Griffin said that music comes seamlessly for Leonerio, making him a natural artist. Analogue mirrored this sentiment, describing Lenonerio as having star quality. 

For Analogue, Leonerio’s professionalism and commitment to his work has contributed to the success of the Hip Hop Ensemble. 

“I think through how thorough and solid his verses are, it encourages and motivates other rappers to come with something equally as solid,” they said. “I think he is just a solid motivating force within the ensemble and encourages people to take their craft seriously.” 

Leonerio is focusing on his upcoming project, an album featuring “The Ocky Way” and other songs about what he has learned in his life. While the album does not yet have a release date, Leonerio teased that it will feature many different sounds, including elements of trap and funk. 

“The Ocky Way,” along with the rest of Leonerio’s releases, are out on streaming platforms now.

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