KOVU Kareem Talks Healing Through Rap on ‘Freestyles’ Podcast
Musical artist KOVU Kareem sat down with DJ Remedy on the “Freestyles” podcast recently, opening up about his raw journey from incarceration to emerging as a new voice in conscious rap.
Born and raised in Lakeview, South Carolina, Kareem’s journey has been defined by struggle and self-discovery. During the candid interview, he spoke openly about fighting for his life—and his sanity—in the wake of serious legal troubles.
“Facing a murder charge, beating the murder charge, and then coming home with no therapy, it does something to a young black man,” Kareem reflected. “So in order to not hurt myself, in order to not result back to the drugs that helped me cope while facing that time. I recorded on BandLab.”
Kareem described his time behind bars as transformative and at times devastating.
“When I was incarcerated back in 2018, 2019, I took a lot of drugs. And on them drugs, I found a me that I didn’t know I had,” he said. “I just started trying to find me again.” That search for identity is woven through his lyrics, grounding his sound in vulnerability and realness.
He credits his music’s impact to his unique delivery.
“When I spit, I want to put you in the mind of, like, a battle rapper getting on the beat,” Kareem said, emphasizing the heavy metaphors and storytelling that shape his conscious rap. DJ Remedy echoed that sentiment, describing Kareem’s work as “conscious” and precise with “little Russell vibes.”
But success hasn’t been a solo mission.
“To keep me going, what has kept me going was people like my manager, Bri, like my best friend Rizzy, and my family from City, Soul Juice…when I presented them with my sound, they seen my vision more vividly than I seen it,” Kareem said, crediting his support system with keeping him driven and centered.
With a notebook full of verses from his time away and a community behind him, KOVU Kareem continues to share his story, using music as a way to heal and empower both himself and listeners.