Get Familiar: Reluctant Good Knight
Blurring the lines between comedy, acting, rapping and reality, now-LA-based artist Reluctant Good Knight has a compelling story he’s hoping to share with the world. His current project — overseen by actor, director and producer Adrian Grenier (Entourage) — meld documentary film and music to tell the story of an artist on the rise to fame. Through clever anecdotes and hilarious illusions of grandeur, RGK simultaneously documents his adventures while making a statement about the intense star-lust exhibited by hopeful artists and musicians.
Name: The Reluctant Good Knight
Age: My first passion is wordplay, but RGK also plays with Media & with Time; that said, I’m gonna speak to you from the future as well as the present, because it’s all part of my LORE. This is my introduction and also my warm return.
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Label / Group Affiliations: The Kingdom (with NY MC’s Crown Prince & The Majestic Ha Ha Ha)
Discography: Adrian Grenier has been executive-producing the on-going series “The Reluctant Good Knight” for his bomb TeenagePaparazzo.com website – thus far, my music has been released through the storyframe of RGK. However, I’ve been in the lab and Manuskriptz: The Mixtape should be wrapped this August. LORE, recorded with The Kingdom, should get out by October.
So you’re working with Adrian Grenier? How did that relationship come about?
My collaboraction with Adrian Grenier, our exec producer, began last summer when he and his producers were scouting content for their TeenagePaparazzo.com site. They were starting to drop short films online which related to the themes of Teenage Paparazzo: Media obsession, fame, narcissism, and the power of the moving image. Adrian’s colleague, filmmaker Gabriel Sunday, noticed what we were doing. That documentarian Aaron Freese was not only following me around, but actively creating the story of RGK with me. It’s like that Jay-Z lyric: “Then B.I. said, ‘Hov’ remind yourself/ nobody built like you, you’ve designed yourself’”. RGK is designing himself: Freestyling himself, writing himself, living anew, and capturing it on film – all whilst defying time (as you’ll see in later episodes.) Adrian’s crew was intrigued by the way that this RGK project, which is still unfolding and revealing itself and its purpose, is not only an MC creating his dream reality through the power of his rhymes mixed with the power of film – but a commentary on the quest for fame, and an example of the human struggle that defines us all – to live what we imagine… to be our best, most courageous self and do what we dream of.
How did you get started making music?
I was reading and acting a ton of Shakespeare through middle school & junior high – while getting schooled by Biggie, Big Daddy Kane, Nas, etc. – something about getting iambic pentameter, metaphor, heightened language & rhythm into your body at such an early age set me up for this hip hop compulsion. In college, I freestyled at parties & eventually formed The Kingdom – which has been my hip hop laboratory and home.
If you could do something over again in your life, what would it be? Why?
I was given the opportunity to headline the first ever live-feed music video shot on Mars and… well, as y’all know, I pulled some straight-up Kanye ish. Obviously it hurt my image, but it also nearly destroyed my relationship with my manager and best friend, Murray Mendoza. I like to laugh it off and say, “‘Ye took Ego-Rap to another level. I took it to another planet.” But yeah, I’d do things differently now if I could. I also wish I didn’t mess things up with Anne (Hathaway).
Obviously there’s a certain level of joking and over-the-top grandeur involved in what you’ve done so far (see: RGK II video), but I think you’ve got a larger, serious objective with your music and video projects. Is that true?
I am hitting the hip hop world from a whole new angle – developing as a rapper while creating a saga of entertaining documentary pieces – and using a combination of skills to write a new reality. I believe every MC is designing himself – and I am going about it by playing with images & time and creating a new world and story within which to frame my rhymes.
Speaking of the RGK II video, are you really working with any of those people you mention? Janelle Monae? Lady Gaga? Kid Cudi? Kanye?
If I was talking to you from 2013, I’d talk about my collaboractions with Kanye, Hova, Mos, etc.; but if we’re gonna go back to the Summer of 2011, I might talk about a relationship with Game and his encouragement of my work through twitter – or my first mixtape, Manuskriptz, loosely inspired by The Manuscript Found In Saragossa – an old novel which explores the themes of deception, secret societies, loyalty, and the search for truth. What I can tell you now and always – and what you are now only beginning to see – is that I’m dedicated to crossing boundaries, entertaining the shit out of you, making fresh rhymes that enlighten and compel while makin you dance in the club, and ultimately creating a better self – and by example, inspiring my listeners. Right now I’m gettin ready to go back in the studio with Wubi Wu, my producer, to make Manuskriptz a reality. And The Reluctant Good Knight Part III is currently in post-production… Get ready to ride with me.
Tell us about a great music memory that you have.
My last trip to NYC has 2 great memories. One was freestyling with the Majestic Ha Ha Ha on a subway – and him going so hard that everyone on the train was laughing, exclaiming, snappin photos. It was theatrical. It was so pure. Also, jamming with him and Crown Prince in a back room at Provocateur. When you rhyme with long time friends, it can get raw.
What’s next for RGK?
Next up is Part III & Part IV of The Reluctant Good Knight series, directed by acclaimed documentarian Aaron Freese, dropping on Grenier’s TeenagePaparazzo.com. These episodes chronicle the Mars debacle – and also show stock footage of my never seen-before first live performance as an MC! Like I say, I play with Time. Also, look out for RGK’s FunnyOrDie.com videos. At the end of the Summer I’ll finish my mixtape and then host The Kingdom in LA to finish our work on LORE. Then, of course, I’ll be re-teaming with the David Lynch Foundation & Paul McCartney to go on our world-tour promoting consciousness-based education!
To every reader out there, I put my 2 tics up for you! One tic for our collective struggle! Another tic for our collective dream! Dream, boy!
Watch exclusive video from Reluctant Good Knight below, as well as stream and download his single, “Alphonse” produced by Wubi Wu & DJ Gonzo.
Reluctant Good Knight – Alphonse
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