Kings will perform in Tauranga in August as part of his first nationwide tour. Photo / Supplied
Kings will perform in Tauranga in August as part of his first nationwide tour. Photo / Supplied
When you're streaming Kiwi hip hop star Kings' music, he sees it.
This is how Tauranga became one of the five cities included in his first nationwide tour, which will be the first chance fans will get to have a real Kings experience.
"This is the first time I guessI've been able to control the entire show, from like the visuals, I'm actually behind everything now. I guess I'm giving the fans Kings ... being in full control of the show I'm able to give the fans a true Kings experience."
The Flex Tour will visit Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, Tauranga and Auckland and coincides with the release of his new single Flex and audiences are guaranteed to hear new music, unreleased music and of course, his first releases - including Don't Worry Bout' It, which this week was revealed to have reached more than 10 million streams.
Realising that potentially millions of people have played his records is something special, he says.
"I had a bit of a moment. It's kind of emotional just to think that jumpstarted my whole career and it was literally my first single," he said of finding out the news at 5am on Monday.
"Part of me's like 'do you remember when royalties used to be a dollar a play?', imagine that, that would have been exciting," he laughed.
Kings' tour has been a long time coming, admitting he probably should have toured after his first single, so there is no doubt he is looking forward to performing in the five cities he's chosen to be part of this milestone.
"I can't wait. It's been a while, I've been in the game for about 2 and a half years.
"I've been trying to get a tour together for a while now. To see it come to fruition is pretty sick."
The locations he's included have been based on where his music is being played most often - and Tauranga is among the cities where fans are streaming his music most.
"I'm an independent artist and I have to be quite savvy in the way that I pick things.
"Spotify have an app called Spotify Artists and it shows analytics of where my music's being streamed the most."
And that's how he selected the venues.
He says Australian cities such as Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are big fans of his music too - but a tour across the ditch will have to wait, for now at least.
"Its so weird trying to be the business guy and the creative guy. The creative part of me just wants to shut up and play the songs but then the more business side of me wants to make sure that I'm playing to people who care and want it. I love my whole job."
Both parts of him seem to be doing a good job, though. The Auckland-based producer, rapper, singer and songwriter has smashed the Kiwi music scene, winning countless awards, racked up millions of streams for his many hit singles, with 6 Figures reaching gold status just three months after being independently released, now certified platinum.
New Zealand hip hop star Kings is getting ready for his first headline tour. Photo / Supplied
Getting ready for the Flex Tour, he genuinely says he wants to be playing music to people who want to hear his music - and will do all he can to ensure everybody has a positive experience.
"I think I'm at a point where I can have a bit of fun too," he says.
Kings has performed in front of Tauranga crowds in the past and being from Whakatāne, he regularly calls in to Tauranga on his way down to the eastern Bay of Plenty. He's unable to perform in every town and city so he's expecting fans from areas that have missed out to head to their nearest gig - and he can't wait.
Joining Kings on tour will be The Katayanagi Twins who will be opening at the shows. The Kiwi DJ duo - identical twins Rain and China - are fast making a name for themselves on both sides of the Tasman in the music and fashion scenes.
Flex Tour dates: August 16 - Christchurch at Blue Smoke August 17 - Dunedin at Starters Bar August 22 - Wellington at San Fran August 23 - Tauranga at Totara Street August 24 - Auckland at Tuning Fork (all ages) Tickets are available from ticketmaster.co.nz
