KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s been a whirlwind few months for a local artist whose popularity continues to spike since uploading his song “Lowkey” onto Soundcloud.com.
An incredible stroke of luck made artist “Rory Fresco” a viral sensation. Although “Lowkey” is its title, the song is now anything but.
“At first, it was kind of surreal. I didn’t believe it,” said Fresco.
January 8 started out as a normal day for him.
“I woke up, and ordered some lunch to my house,” he said.
Little did he know, his life was about to change.
“Then, I just started getting all of these notifications on social media and Soundcloud and stuff,” said Fresco.
Soundcloud uses an algorithm for recommended songs. It turned out to be the formula for success for Fresco, who creates his songs in his bedroom. The site ended up playing his song “Lowkey” right after “Real Friends” by Kanye West.
“It was just weird because that’s one of my favorite artists, and it’s just like how did I get notoriety off of being right after him?” said Fresco.
The pairing made “Lowkey” go viral. It has now been played more than 2 million times, and earned the artist national published interviews with Fader and BET.
Fresco created the song December 31, 2015 as an ode to the new year.
“I’d just seen everybody was going to New Year’s Eve parties and stuff, and everybody was talking about they need new songs to bring the year in. So I made that song in like three hours,” said Fresco.
“This is his bliss that he’s finding, and I’m happy to support him in that. I’m very proud of him,” said the artist’s father, Terrell Johnson.
Johnson has stepped in to manage his son’s career, and says he’s been at since he was 11 years old.
“He started playing on my work computer making beats, and kind of got good at it,” said Johnson.
He says his son then started making beats for others. With his new found visibility, Fresco has turned his attention to his next music project.
“It’s like super fun and super bright and inspiring. It’s going to inspire kids like me,” he said.
He plans to hit the road this summer to promote his music, and try to take his talent all the way to the top.
“I want to win a Grammy. If I win a Grammy I’ll be happy,” the artist said.
Fresco plans to perform live at the Grenada in Lawrence May 20. You can check out his music by clicking the links throughout the story, or check out his Facebook page.
