The first time Colombian artist Kapo received a call from Juan Diego Medida, Nicky Jam’s manager, he thought it was a joke.
Today, Juan David Loaiza Sepúlveda, 25, known in the music world simply as Kapo, is an artist signed to La Industria Inc., Medina’s artist management company.
“I said: ‘How so? That man may be looking for another man. What are you doing looking for me?’ That was negative energy and pessimism. [que estaba en mí]”Kapo commented in an interview with La Opinión, where he shared how his mental health status influenced his current success. “I was always a pusher and I told that paradigm to shut up. And I went after what I wanted. I made Juan Diego come because I wore a La Industria cap a month before in a video.”
Kapo celebrates with Grupo Niche
Right now, Kapo is enjoying the achievements of his hard work and passion for music as an emerging artist in the urban genre. Currently, he is celebrating the warm public reception towards his viral hit “Ohnana” and his recent single, “Uwaie,” released on Thursday, August 15.
On Wednesday, August 14, Kapo, named Amazon Music’s 2024 Rompe Artist, kicked off the show at Amazon Music’s “City Sessions” event in Colombia, an event that was broadcast globally through the streaming platform Twitch.
At the concert, Kapo performed “Ohnana” along with other popular hits from his repertoire, such as “Mochilera,” “Algarete,” “Pelinegra,” and “Bulevar,” and his next single, “Uwaie.” The Colombian singer’s performance was followed by a presentation by the night’s main artist, Grupo Niche.
“One way or another, I say that coincidences are beautiful. But these kinds of coincidences don’t just happen. The artists are giving me their blessing, my idols are giving me their blessing.”said the artist, expressing his excitement at being part of the event with Niche, in addition to recalling other past experiences that left their mark on him. “We were at the Atanasio stadium with Nicky, we were at the Bernabéu opening for the Bichota that Ovy brought us, and now being here with Grupo Niche is something fantastic for me. I feel very happy about that.”added the Colombian.
The premiere of the Rompe program and Kapo’s performance on Amazon Music took place in a renewed format adapted for Colombia, within a global initiative promoted by the company. With the City Sessions, Amazon aims to highlight emerging talents like Kapo, while honoring the legacy of established artists like Grupo Niche.
“We are two legends from Cali”Kapo said jokingly.
A dream that began at a gas station
For Kapo, for a long time, his dream of working in the music industry felt far away and almost unattainable. Before being part of the same company that manages artists of the caliber of Nicky Jam, Manuel Turizo, Sky Rompiendo, and ChocQuibTown, among others, Kapo worked in Bogotá’s nightlife.
During an interview with El Tiempo, the artist recounted that before arriving in Bogotá, at the age of 17, he lived in Cali, Colombia, under challenging circumstances for him and his family. “I grew up at a gas station, among truck drivers and people who walked to go to another destination, to leave their country. […] And what I was talking about on the dark side was the nightlife that marked me, involved in drugs, in everything that has to do with darkness. That hit me hard. I come from a family in which I didn’t have a father. I lived with my mother and my two sisters. I didn’t have a paternal voice. My mother gave me values, but when I left and arrived in Bogotá alone, I put aside the values that she taught me. It was something that I had to live with. But I overcame the setbacks.”the artist commented during the interview with El Tiempo.
Hard work pays off
Despite the difficulties, fame begins to smile upon him, and Kapo looks back and feels that everything was part of a perfect plan.
“A lot of divine things happened. Fantastic. My plan C. Plan A is what works for you. Plan B is what will work for you if you do this, this and that, and plan C is what I have in my head.”explained the artist, remembering little Juan David who had so many dreams and thanking him for everything he did. “I would tell him thank you. May God bless him. That, even if fame and money come, which at that time there was none and in the future there was going to be some, that he should not lose his essence and thank him very much for not having given of his creativity and of what his heart told him.”said.
Regarding the audience’s reception and the viralization of “Ohnana” on social media, Kapo believes that each song is a treasure for him, but that the honesty of his recent music is what has made people connect and turn his songs into hits.
“They are children, because one creates them and one is meticulous with one’s music and loves one’s music and loves who one is, and that is why one takes such care of oneself and that is why one takes such care of what is so personal and more so this type of music that comes from one becoming daring and saying what one feels. So people indirectly know where you are going through, what you are going through, so it is like, a risk, but when I hand over a gun it is because I know that they are not going to shoot me. And I give them my heart.”Kapo shared when talking about his musical process and reflecting on why his fans love the music he has recently released.