THE EMPIRE KINGDOM

King David, king of “The Empire Kingdom Records” is a man you would benefit to know. Even with out speaking, King David is an imposing sight, standing 6’3 and weighing in at 280 pounds…the man is as solid as a rock! His physical appearance is impressive…yes, but it doesn’t at all compare to the talent he brings to the game when he gets on the MIC. Hailing from the infamous 7th Ward of New Orleans, King David has a flow you can’t quite put you finger on; you have to call it what it is…A STYLE ALL HIS OWN. The man has a real gift!!! I’ve heard people describe his style as a mixture of 2Pac & Fiend (former No Limit artist), DMX & Bun B, but the craziest comparison was Scarface & Outkast!!! With that said, I’ve proved my point; HIS style is HIS…his all by himself!!!
In the early years, there was no question where King David would ultimately end up: DEAD or in JAIL; and unbelievably… BOTH of those destinations came to be true…
“King David” was born, and raised in the 7th Ward of New Orleans to a single mother who gave him the name David Early. The rumor is; as soon as he was able to walk, he was running the streets!! Albeit, King David’s childhood proved to be one full of trials and tribulations. King David grew up like a lot of young black males; with out a father, and still to this day, he has never laid eyes on the man (or as he puts it…”the coward could be standing next to me tomorrow, and I wouldn’t know who he is…”). Coming of age in one the roughest cities in America, and not to mention…”the U.S murder capital” was challenging; listen to how King David explains it…”growing up in New Orleans bra’, you had to be bout’ yours… (I asked him what he meant, and without getting specific he said)…’you do what you gotta do, and sometimes what you gotta do is not what you want to do, BUT you gotta do it anyway ya’ dig, because in New Orleans bra’… even the cowards know how to kill homie, and they will”… After being in and out of trouble so much, fearing for his safety and the well being of her other two children, King Davids’ mother (Carolyn Early) moved her family to the city of OakCliff in Dallas, Texas. That’s where King David found the rap game. He states; “Scarface changed my life…Scarface influenced me, more than any other artist, to rap. I never was into that bubble gum rap, and when I moved to Texas and heard Scarface spitting that real shit, the shit I was living…I was hooked; he was the one who laid the blueprint for me”.
Though the talent was there to do other things, King David couldn’t resist the pull of his (as he puts it) hustler’s ambition. He states; “I had to get it bra’, my Moms was raising four kids on her own; I had to do something to lighten the load ya’ dig”. In 1994, those ambitions landed King David with three very serious charges: murder, attempted capital murder, and car jacking. King David escaped the police, but he couldn’t escape the snitches…he states; “the ni99as I was running with everyday ultimately were the ni99as who gave me up, and I can’t lie, at that time the shit hurt bra’”. After not being able to prove the murder, the F.E.D.S ultimately charged him with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, and car jacking. In 1994, King David, knowing the “ZERO TOLERENCE” law was in effect, and knowing his two codefendants were going to testify against him on behalf of the state, plead guilty and went before the jury. He states; “dog, I didn’t have a choice, they were trying to give me a life sentence. The D.A kept asking for the life sentence, and I knew if I didn’t do something, they were going to hide my ass for real…my back was against the wall bra’”. The jury gave King David seven years TDCJ time (he says; “thank GOD, because I could’ve just as easily had that life sentence bra’”) after many people speaking positively on his behalf showed up to support him, and in 2001 King David was released from prison after doing those seven years day for day. He states; “I learned a lot about my self in that bitch ya’ dig, that’s when my talent really helped me to escape, because to be in that bitch all day every day like that for so long, you can go crazy bra’. That’s where I started to take my gift seriously; in jail you don’t have no beats, sound effects, microphones, none of that shit, so when you spit, ni99as are listening to you as a man ya’ dig, and if your shit don’t add up, you’re not going to make it. Ni99as loved my shit, and that’s when I knew I had to do something with it”. The boy in him died when he went to jail, and he came home a man…a KING.
Five minutes after meeting King David, I too knew what everyone had already told me: “King David is a real ni99a”. I felt it. And in that moment, on that day, I too became a believer…THERE ARE STILL NI99AS OUT THERE WHO DON’T NEED A GIMMICK, BEING AS REAL AS THEY COME IS ENOUGH! In this day & age of RAP, and HIP HOP, it seems that would be an impossible feat, but that’s exactly what King David is shooting for. He said, in his deep south New Orleans drawl, and I quote: “Real is a gift you have to learn to appreciate…real doesn’t need to be dressed up ya’ dig…money, cars, clothes, guns…all those things are acquired, those things are accessories…strip those things away from some of these ni99as, and you’ll see a lot of frighten GROWN children dieing to be accepted…strip those things away from King David, and you’ll be even more impressed with who he is…I first stand alone as a man bra’…that’s all I know how to be ya’ dig”…end quote. My momma always told me; when you hear the truth, regardless of who or what is speaking it, you will know it… & with that said, after speaking with King David…she was right…I know it. Real ni99as all over the world will feel King David, I believe that…as for the fake, I leave you with a quote from the man himself…King David: “the fake can not & will not ever understand me…their comprehension does not go to a real level, but the real ni99as out there will embrace me like I just came home from doing a bid ya’ dig, and right now…Damn it feels good to be home”.