Kirbyupnext, “wya Kirby”
Kirbyupnext is an online content creator and musician from Rochester, New York. His upcoming album “wya Kirby” is set to drop soon following a run of 3 projects released already in 2024.
The "Ladies Man Kirb" EP from late May 2024, along with the "Been supposed to drop" album and "Solo Act" EP from June, have set the tone for Kirby's next work. These tapes released alongside 12 additional Kirby singles that have already dropped so far this year, with the latest being “Pull yo card”, a punchy 1:39 rap track that debuted on September 6th.
Kirby’s personality shines through his music, with one of his greatest passions, basketball, being a central theme to this summer’s single releases. In an interview with RSO Underground, Kirbyupnext describes his lifestyle of “hoop all day and just make songs”. Four of his newest tracks from the summer, “Klay and Curry”, “Bucks jersey”, “2018 harden”, and “Og anunoby”, all reference NBA stars with their titles & cover art and were published on July 7th, 8th, August 12th and 23rd respectively.
Alongside being a musician, Kirby is also a YouTuber who has achieved over half a million views by focusing on short-form “reaction” content. As of late, Kirby has been on an online hiatus, with fans noticing a lack of online videos and social media posts after releasing his "Solo Act" EP months ago. The most recent example of Kirby’s video content, his reaction to a Sidemen “20v1” clip, was posted as a YouTube short to his channel on May 4th, 2024. Since then, there have been 2 unrelated clips with the artist’s sister posted to the @Kirbyupnextchannel, but fans have been missing his typical reaction commentary content style. His channel’s bio reads, “IM THE NEXT RON SUNO📝🤣”, referencing the 24-year-old fellow New York rapper who gained a fanbase through comedy and content creation.
His latest project, “wya Kirby” addresses this online hiatus situation and reaffirms to fans that despite his mysterious disappearance from YouTube, he has been at work cooking up bangers and evolving his musical sound on the mic. Kirby explained to RSO during our recent interview, “This EP is going to be sum to let them know I’m still around making hits.”
YouTube has played a huge role in the artistic and creative journey of Kirbyupnext. He explains in an interview with RSO, "I got into music in 2020 when I dropped my first song steppin on YouTube my school was jackin it that gave me the motivation to keep going".
During this next period, Kirby found himself homeless, staying with a friend who also had a deep passion for music. The two would spend time recording together on FL Studio, improving their flows and rhymes with each take. While both were inexperienced with audio engineering, they experimented with different mixing and mastering techniques to discover and evolve their signature sounds. The early support from friends and peers on his 2020 "Steppin" track & other initial releases provided Kirby with the initial motivation and inspiration to keep improving and build his rap career as far as he "can take it".
In an exclusive interview with RSO, Kirby recommends his "Solo Act" EP as a good starting point for listening to his discography, talks on his inspirations and behind the scenes on his upcoming "wya Kirby" album, alongside a message to the world of "whatever you wanna do in life do it don’t let nobody talk you out of what you wanna do it may be a long road you gotta take but it’ll be worth it all in the end".
RSO Underground Interview with Kirbyupnext
Who are you?
I am Kirbyupnext
Where are you from? (How is the music scene there?)
I’m from Rochester NY the music scene up here fake litty as of right now
Why did you get into the music/creative industry?
I got into music in 2020 when I dropped my first song steppin on YouTube my school was jackin it that gave me the motivation to keep going
Who and what inspires you?
Inspiration to keep going just me getting better and improving makes me wanna keep going to see how far I can take it I don’t rap full time I’m a content creator but rap is what I grew up wanting to do so I enjoy every bit of it recording and just getting better and reaching my peak is what keeps me making music
Do you have any stories of your artistic journey to share?
I was homeless at one point and I used to stay with my friend and we would record on fl not knowing how to mix and shit and we kept evolving learning how to mix and master and flow and bars got better and now we lit now
What song/project are you currently promoting and what is the story behind it?
Project im working on right now is going to be what i start promoting it’s called “wya Kirby” backstory being that I haven’t been posting no real content on YouTube with my reaction videos what I do primarily or any music on the side just been going through motions this EP is going to be sum to let them know I’m still around making hits
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I kap a lot in my rap I’m really cool nigga in real life and hoop all day and just make songs
Where can we find your music and art?
Make music is on all platforms as of right now we dropped a couple songs this year and an EP called the “solo act” if yall wanna go listen and see what I’m hitting for
What is your message to the world?
My message to the world is whatever you wanna do in life do it don’t let nobody talk you out of what you wanna do it may be a long road you gotta take but it’ll be worth it all in the end and also don’t trust these hoes and chase a bag
Check out Kirby Everywhere!