Ahead of his highly-anticipated project coming later this year, London based/ LA-native Kuma Overdose chats to VIPER about ducks and why you shouldn’t eat chillies before hitting the stage…

What five words define your sound? 

Wet, A5 Wagyu, Retro-futuristic, Sensational, Butter

Tell me something unique about your creative process 

It always starts with a round of golf, a heavy glass of Yamazaki, oh and some thoughts that kept me awake at night.

Which song of yours would you like people to hear first? 

‘Can’t Afford Me’

What inspired you to make that song? 

My credit card debt from last month.

What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music? 

I really dug deep into my problems, showing people that I am a very, very sensitive person, which most of my friends don’t really see on a daily basis. I get made fun of a lot, but it’s all good.

What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage? 

You know the struggle after you kill a whole bowl of Pad Thai full of those tiny chillies? I had that right when I was about to go on stage, it hit my stomach straight up. Powered through the gig, told the crowd about it, and we all just had a good laugh. Was it embarrassing? Yes. Will I do it again? Oh Yes.

What is your favourite song to perform? 

Hands down ‘High BG’, it gets the people going.

Which artist/song/album made you want to make music? 

D’Angelo. I still cry to ‘Voodoo’ today.

What’s the meaning behind your name? 

My friends gave me that name when we got super high, so I just went with it.

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?

Feeding ducks at the park.

What’s success to you? 

Feeding ducks at the park whenever I want.

What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction? 

When people said I actually wrote some damn good songs that helped them going through some dark times. I was like “dang, I got some meaningful skills in this world.”

Where can people keep in touch with you?

Probably Starbucks. I go every day. Or y’all can just dm me on IG @kumaoverdose, more than happy to go for an iced americano or a round of golf with you.