She Will
KenTheMan pursued her vision and achieved success. After a major tour and the release of her debut album in 2025, she continues to build on her achievements.
Interview: Georgette Cline
Editor’s Note: This story appears in the Fall 2025 issue of XXL Magazine, on newsstands now and available for sale on the XXL website.
Forget about Las Vegas—the real high-stakes game is betting on yourself, and KenTheMan just hit the jackpot. The Houston native recently completed a summer tour with nearly all sold-out dates. After navigating the challenges of the big label industry over the years, her choice to pursue a solo career as an independent artist has clearly paid off, as evidenced by the strong demand reflected in lucrative ticket sales.
The loyal supporters at these shows—stylishly dressed fans of all ages, races, genders and sexual orientations—eagerly recite KenTheMan’s songs word for word, including her recent anthem, “First.” Watching the 31-year-old rapper perform her empowering, reality-based lyrics feels like having a page ripped from their own diaries, as if she wrote the tracks just for them.
The Texas spitter, born Kentavia Miller, has been writing rhymes that resonate for over a decade. Projects like Kenny’s Back (2015), 4 da 304’s (2020), What’s My Name (2021) and Back to 304’n (2023) highlight her power with the pen—in all its sexually charged energy.
While her journey hasn’t followed a traditional blueprint, that’s exactly how she likes it. Ken has dipped in and out of label signings; however, she ultimately decided that the deals were not the right fit for her. She insists that by independently promoting her music and investing in herself, she has achieved greater success. Her debut album, Kinda Famous, which arrived last March, was born not from label deadlines or calculated rollouts, but from creative momentum sparked by the viral success of singles like “Crazy Bout Me” and “First.” Ken is currently in a distribution deal with Imperial Music, and as of late, has been building on the impact of her debut LP and playing her hand with confidence. Her Kinda Famous (Deluxe) dropped in November.
Chilling at home in her Texas abode, after getting her 12-year-old son ready for his first day of seventh grade, KenTheMan has a candid conversation on Zoom about finding fuel in being discouraged, listening to Lil Wayne and Eminem to get in her lyrical bag, holding friends accountable, getting rich off rap and more.
XXL: First off, how are you feeling today?
KenThe Man: I feel amazing. I feel so happy. I’m feeling more blessed than I ever have, so I’m in a really good spot.
That’s beautiful to hear. So, what’s been keeping you smiling lately?
Well, I’m happy that I’m back from tour, but I was happy that I was on tour. I just love the fact that I’m back to get my house in order and just living. I love the normal life. I love my day-to-day, just chilling, working out. So, I’m happy to get back to my roots—being a mom, all of that.
Has working out always been part of your life?
I started September 2024, and I stuck with it for a long time, but of course, I was kind of like bullshitting with the eating and all of that. So yes, it was very, very heavy until tour. And then it was like, I couldn’t mess my hair up, so I didn’t work out all tour.
Now, I just haven’t worked out in so long. It’s so hard to get back in the field, and I gained so much weight, and I’m just like, Oh my God, I gotta start over. Because at the beginning of
the year, I lost 15 pounds by myself. I know how to work out. I was an athlete. So, I’m just trying to get back in the groove. I just put a bet in my group chat, ’cause I said it takes a village. I said, “Everybody needs to help me. I need to lose 15 pounds.” I said, “Matter of fact, I’m gonna give $1,000 to the first person that lose 15 pounds.”
You mentioned you were an athlete. In what way?
I ran track in middle and high school. I jog a lot, so I do between two to three miles, I would say, a day or every other day. I always have to stop and walk, so I didn’t think that I had the best endurance. But when I went on tour, it did help me. So, the miles are working.
And the tour, congratulations on that. Fourteen out of the 16 stops were sold out, right?
Yes.
When you’re out there performing, what kind of message do you want your fans to receive?
I think they’re receiving confidence and manifestation, and durability and arrogance, a little bit. Sometimes we beat ourselves up, and it’s like, you can go put on a sad song, or you can put on something that makes you feel like a bada*s bi**h. That’s the energy. It’s like, “You
make me feel like I’m that girl.”
Are you that same type of person in your personal circle?
I’m the friend that you probably tell last because you don’t really wanna hear the truth right now. I’m the last stop. If you’re part of your problem, I’m not gonna be like, “No, everybody’s wrong.” You have to be accountable and like your piece in it, and how you can be better. And sometimes it might come off a little bit harsh, but you don’t need a group of yes-men. So, I am the “Pick-your-f**king-self-up-bi**h” friend. Get the f**k up.
You’ve really become a solid representation of the independent artist. Is that how you see yourself?
Yeah, absolutely. This was my ultimate end goal—to be independent. So many people told me it was impossible. I almost believed it because it was so challenging to be this person. But I knew I had a calling to be this.
What do you find is the benefit of your journey on the indie route?
I love having the smaller team because it’s less noise and less opinions. It’s more vision. These are people that are doing it with you versus people who say, “This is how it’s done.” I like to have creative freedom. Labels didn’t try to make me not be who I am, but they just wanted it a certain way. They wanted who I was to roll out this way, had to be perfect. And I’m not perfect at all.
Sometimes I just wanna drop a song when I wanna drop it. I didn’t want people telling me why I shouldn’t versus people to tell me why I should. Help me figure out the should, not the shouldn’t, you know? So, that’s why it feels good to me. Being able to stand on a moment when you’re ready versus when everybody else think you’re ready.
Rewind a bit. In 2023, Back to 304’n was your last project before Kinda Famous. Between 2023 and 2025, you were still active and doing things, but before this album came out, did you have a certain experience in that time—positive or negative, setbacks or otherwise—that motivated you to make Kinda Famous?
I would say no. The motivation is because I had no intent to make Kinda Famous. I didn’t plan, like, I know I’m working towards this project. I began working on a project, but then it was so much going on. I didn’t put it in my forefront. I was like, OK, I’m just gonna drop singles. The singles became big as f**k, like “Crazy Bout Me” and “First.” So, it was kind of like, OK, those singles kind of put me on a creative path.
Then I just started making good songs and I was like, I should probably make a project ’cause these songs are fire. And I always tell people, like, “I have songs on there that’s a year old, I have songs on there that was a week old, I had songs on there that was a month old.” So, it was just kind of me doing it unintentionally.
Then I realized, I got some bangers that can create a project. I was so hesitant to call it an album because I wanted my first album to be special. And it came out, and it showed me why it was my first album, and how special it was, and how good it made me feel, and how much I believed in it.
You mentioned that there was a lot going on when you first started thinking about the project. What did you mean by that—like, life stuff, business-wise?
I’ll say it was a lot just with my business, kind of trying to branch off. Just reground and focus, and just like, you know, get back in a positive space. ’Cause in 2024, I had a very slow year. A lot of stuff changed. It was just a big waiting game. And it was a tad bit discouraging. But I always say, when I’m discouraged, it gives me ammo. It gives me fuel. It’s not like a, Oh my God, I’m so discouraged. I wanna stop. It’s like, I’m about to shit on everybody.
You’re a student of the game when it comes to lyricism. Do you do anything to sharpen your pen?
I used to listen to battle rap. They’re the wittiest of anybody because their job is to break their opponent down. I also listen to lyrical people like Lil Wayne, Eminem. That type of lyricism. Not like an easy peasy, you know, like fun song. It’s like I go and I dig and I’m like, Lemme put on some Meek Mill. He be spitting. People that actually have that pain and that passion in they voice, you know?
You and Kaliii are proof that the rap girlies can be friends, be BFFs, and make dope music together like “I Got Questions.” What do you enjoy about your friendship with her, especially with both of you being rappers?
I think it’s cool because she’s actually very normal. She’s always really sweet. It’s such a breath of fresh air because she don’t have to be sweet, you know? A lot of girls aren’t sweet. Like, they’re just kind of like whatever. But she’s actually one of my favorite rappers. She is tough—and I’m not saying it ’cause we friends.
From the outside looking in, this seems like the year where everything’s falling into place for you. Why do you think you’ve been able to get to that place now?
I guess just consistency. And doing what I love. And just staying sure about myself and having a great team. I’ve been rapping—it’s my 11th year. So, next year will be my 12th year of rapping. I’ve put in a lot of work. So, I’m so happy that I’m still confident enough to do it. It’s been a very long journey. It feels good to finally be like, Wow, I’m really chilling. Like, rapping is really my career. That is so crazy.
That’s a major milestone. Is there something you’re most proud of or feel really accomplished about?
One big one is that even my friends are like, “Wow, we never would’ve thought you would be a rapper. Like, you are a rapper. We’re going to your concerts.” Another big accomplishment for me is, I got out of Texas. Texas is really big, and a lot of artists are like, locally popular. I started off like that.
And now, I’m being booked in multiple states. That’s amazing to me. It feels different than your hometown booking you. When I’m in random places like Minnesota, Indianapolis, Kentucky, even L.A., New York, it’s like, people know me. And people go to New York to change their life. That’s crazy. Also, buying my first house with my career, that’s super lit. Just getting rich off rap is crazy.
What’s your vision for the next era of KenTheMan?
I think it would be that visual aspect, and just like more of painting the picture. I wanna tell the story a little bit better. I drop music, but I don’t prioritize selling the story. So, I would just say being more visual because a lot of people know my name and not my face, you know? So, that would be something.
And I don’t know. I could never predict. My life is just so random. It’s like I could say I want this, I want that, but it’s always unimaginable. I’m just looking forward to whatever is for me.
Listen to KenTheMan’s Kinda Famous (Deluxe)
The fall 2025 issue of XXL magazine featuring KenTheMan’s interview is available to purchase here. The issue also includes Joey Bada$$ and J.I.D’s cover story interviews, conversations with Chance The Rapper, Rob49, Curren$y, Hit-Boy, Wallo267, Bay Swag, Hanumankind, Babyfxce E, Ghostface Killah, Hurricane Wisdom, Conway The Machine, Pluto, TiaCorine, Isaiah Falls, comedian Josh Joshson, Vice President of Music at SiriusXM and Pandora Joshua “J1” Raiford, a look at the change in album rollouts over the years highlighted by Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out album and more.
