Kedryck James shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Kedryck, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
The most recent moment for me came from being selected for a panel at Anime NYC. In no way shape or form did I ever think I would have a panel at the biggest anime convention in the northeast, and it is a testament to the hard work I have done while building this podcast and platform.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Kedryck James (like Cedric but with a K) and most of my friends and family will refer to me as Kay Jay (my nickname) or Ked in other spaces. For my brand and podcast, I use the moniker Ked the Pro (stylized as K3DthePro) to establish myself as a professional in every thing I do. I am a podcaster and aspiring voice actor and I am currently a part of two active podcasts: Inside the Mind of a Blerd and my own creation, the Khaotic Kulture Podcast. The Podcast is unique in that we try to cover modern day African-American/ black culture and the multiple ways our society is affected in general. However, we also focus on Black Nerd culture and do interviews with young Black professionals in every industry be it content creation, finance, law, music, etc. We just finished conducting a panel at Anime NYC and are getting ready to host another panel at another convention in March. The current goal is to be able to do more panels at more conventions while simultaneously continue to grow on social media and market the name to other outside sources. This way, Khaotic Kulture can be as big and influential as other podcasts such as the Grits andEggs Podcast or the Joe Budden Podcast. Ambitious? Sure, but we won’t know unless we aim high!
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My family. I think my parents and grandparents saw the kind of man I could be and my grandparents would be proud of the man I am today. My parents always saw me as a kind-hearted young man and as I became older, I hope that vision of me still rings true. I make plenty of mistakes as any person does and I know my emotional intelligence sometimes falters when faced with an extremely difficult obstacle or barrier. However, my family knew I would always hold myself accountable before I even knew what accountability was, and I believe this describes the kind of person I am and who they see.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Plenty of times. Especially this past year. I had recently lost my grandmother at the end of 2023 and abruptly quit my 9-5 in the beginning of 2024. I was ready to go back home to South Carolina and start over. I was certain I was going to put the pod on hiatus until I could get my act together. Instead, I received another opportunity and was able to move to the Baltimore area. This opportunity afforded me the chance to continue doing what I loved and included some upgrades to the look and sound of the pod. However, there were still some lingering doubts. Even to this day, as I navigate finding ways to connect to different audiences and trying to get more exposure, I often find myself in pockets of capitulation. But I ultimately finds way to overcome those pockets whether it’s finding reassurance through my family or faith, and I use this reassurance to re-energize my passion for this podcast and other projects of mine.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
I use to believe that people could sit down and understand the struggles of others if they took time to know them or know the history of their people. What I now realize is there are people who are absolutely okay with being ignorant and refuse to admit as such no matter the amount of teaching, pleading, or fact presenting we try to do. There are people who are willing to wallow in their hatred in order to feel good about themselves and their actions.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope my story is one where they say I was ultimately kind to everyone and showed the world not only my gifts but the gifts of other young African Americans who help contribute to society and to Black Culture.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://beacons.ai/khaotickulturepod
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/khaotickulturepod/
- Twitter: https://x.com/khaotickulture1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063477101518
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@khaotickulturepodcast
Image Credits
Alexander Hamilton
Huey TJ
