New track is ‘Net’ gain for Richland rapper

Karma wanted to make a song that got people moving. That made them feel good.

With In the Net, the rising Richland rapper — who’s had a breakout year, with several high-profile gigs and an growing online presence — did just that.

The track is clever, thoughtful and a whole lot of fun.

It also has an inspiring message. “It’s to show people that throughout all the bumps and different challenges you go through, you’ve got to keep smiling, keep dancing, keep motivated,” Karma said.

“Whenever I hear certain songs out there, they make me want to get out of my bed and do something. I wanted to have that message with this song,” he said.

A video for In the Net comes out Friday. Watch it at youtube.com/karmaknows.

It’s directed by Richland native Justin Frick, an acclaimed and prolific Northwest filmmaker.

Like the song, the video is all but guaranteed to make you smile. Frick dreamed up a fake retro video game and plugged Karma into the middle of it.

The video features 8-bit animation by Isaac Eaton, a Tri-City game designer and developer, plus work by artist Kyson Cartwright, who goes by Bone.Fork.

“Karma allows me to bend the boundaries. When I have these weird ideas, I’m never like, ‘Karma probably won’t want that.’ He allows me to really steer that creative steering wheel,” Frick said.

In the case of In the Net, the result is something unique, original. “It’s refreshing that we can create our own lane,” Frick said.

Karma was born Kyle Schmoetzer. The 22-year-old moved to the Tri-Cities from Montana when he was a sophomore in high school.

He was raised on a musical diet of classic rock and The Beatles, but he found hip hop in middle school and never looked back.

He’s had a whirlwind several months. Since December, he’s opened for Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne in Kennewick and for Jarren Benton in Seattle.

He’s also played plenty of other dates, from gigs in Walla Walla to Kalispell, Mont.

His EP, called Insecure, is expected out later this year.

Karma frequently performs with fellow Tri-City rapper Nobi. He worked with producer As_Is on In the Net.

Karma said he aims to make good music, and he also hopes to inspire with his words and songs.

“(Several years ago), I didn’t know what I was going to do in life. I was going with the flow. Now, I wake up every single day super excited. The excitement level is high and never goes down,” he said.

“I know that my purpose is more than to be successful. It’s to build a platform and spread unity as much as I possibly can. We need that in the world right now,” Karma said. “I love music. I want to do something for the universe. I want to make great music with a message that doesn’t have a bunch of negativity. It has positive vibes to it.”

Find more on Karma on Facebook and Instagram under KarmaKnow. He’s also on Spotify and YouTube.

This story was originally published August 24, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "New track is ‘Net’ gain for Richland rapper."