Thursday, March 25, 2010
Stik Figa’s lanky appearance isn’t a sign of weakness. This raw-boned rapper uses his lyrics as ammunition to stand out among the abundance of commercially sold music.
“I don’t make things up,” Stik Figa says. “I’ve never shot anybody. I don’t sleep with 88 exotic women in one day.” From making social commentaries to figuring out his path in life, Stik Figa describes his music as honest and passionate.
Stik Figa was born in Fort Campbell, Ky., as John Westbrook Jr., but spent most of his adolescence in Topeka. As a child, he heard LL Cool J rapping “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” on a videocassette tape. “That’s when hip hop got a hold of me and didn’t let go,” Stik Figa says.
At age 19, he got his rap name from his mother, who said he resembled a stick figure.
Stik Figa says the art of writing lyrics is a poetic outlet for him. His other musical influences include Johnny Cash and Andre 3000.
The 27-year-old took his rapping from the halls of high school to the stage of 2007 KJHK’s Farmer’s Ball, the station’s annual music contest. Stik Figa says he was terrified being the only rapper among a sea of bands. “I thought they were going to throw tomatoes and cabbage at me,” he says. But he won the competition, which helped him gain confidence to pursue a career in rap.
He also won the 2009 Pitch Music Award for best hip hop act in Kansas City, Mo. His most recent album is Hello Goodbye and his follow-up album, Alive and Well, will be released later this year.
You can hear Stik Figa’s poetic lyrics at 9 p.m. this Saturday at The Bottleneck, 737 New Hampshire St.
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