Experimental beats take center stage with Jim Swim, Kay Killa for Englert's local showcase

It's no secret that some of the world's most talented writers, from best-selling authors to award-winning screenwriters, have called Iowa Cit home at some point.

The eastern Iowa community boasts plenty of impressive songwriters as well. This weekend's installment of the Englert Local Showcase highlights local wordsmiths backed by experimental and eclectic beats.

Founded in 2023, Englert's Showcase Series spans three different weekends, giving local bands a chance to perform on the historic stage.

The showcase's second iteration, on Jan. 27, will feature Jim Swim, Kay Killa, and The Zeffster.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen spoke with Swim and Killa ahead of Saturday's performances.

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Kay Killa takes center stage: Liberty High School junior makes debut at Englert

Makayla Bryant, better known as Kay Killa, is making her stage debut at the Englert Local Showcase. Bryant is a junior at Liberty High School and has been surrounded by music her whole life, taking inspiration from two of her uncles.

She first started taking music seriously as a freshman, gaining a bit of notoriety in her first live performance.

"Our school has a yearly talent show called Hear My Voice," Bryant said. "I tried out with the talent show, and I performed for the school, and now I am performing at The Englert."

Bryant discovered inspiration and parallels in her life through the music of her favorite artist, Flau'Jae. Flau'Jae excels as a rapper and as a women's basketball player for the LSU Tigers. Flau'Jae carries on her father's famed rapper Camouflage legacy, who died shortly before she was born.

Bryant has also dealt with family tragedy. She keeps her late uncle's memory alive through her music, invigorating her youthful perspective with empowering lyrics and delving into social issues she sees at school.

"Some Black kids don't like to use their voice or whatever, and that used to be me," Bryant said. "When I started making music, letting it out in a song was easier. I think it is important because I am speaking for myself, but I'm also speaking for other people has been in the same situation as me."

Bryant is much like any high schooler, involved in a myriad of extracurricular activities like cheerleading, basketball and preparing for college. She's dreamed of becoming a lawyer since the first grade.

Despite those dreams, she's focused on making a good first impression on the Englert Theatre stage.

"I want to make sure that what I'm saying is heard and make sure the message is getting out and being an artist that people want to hear," Bryant said. "And maybe people don't want to hear the stuff I say, but I want them to understand where I am coming from. It's happened to me or happened around me."

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From classroom to concert: Jim Swim's dual life as a language arts teacher and alternative Hip-Hop artist

Jim Swim leads a Hannah Montana lifestyle, a language arts teacher at West High School by day and an alternative hip-hopper by night.

Swim is a word person, claiming he has "the worst visual brain."

"My students would laugh at me for saying corny stuff like this, but I feel like trying to be a language artist in teaching language arts is like mutually informative," Swim said.

Swim has been making music for about a decade after graduating high school, inspired by the push and pull of the psychedelic sounds of the 1960s and the unconventional flows and lyrical depth of Lupe Fiasco's music. Swim eventually taught himself how to play guitar and he started finding beats online to put his spin on.

Swim now produces his own beats with collaborators to make music that he said "feels like sinking into a comfy couch." He struggled to initially find his lane, exploring the musical landscape until settling on a persona he felt fit him.

"The discovery of voice in music is a lot like finding your personality when you're growing up; some four- and five-year-olds are them, and they're that way when they're 25," Swim said. "(With) other people, I think it takes time, and you have to do some emulation of others to find your way to you."

Swim describes his music as conversational and in the pocket, finding the emotion he wants to embody and riding the wave of "authenticity synchronized with cohesion and expressive feel."

"I like stuff that's a little bit pretty and a little bit like achy or melancholic, adding tension to an otherwise pretty arrangement to make it feel sweet," Swim said. "I feel like that is the throughline through all of my stuff."

Swim said performing on the Englert Theatre stage is not a personal milestone but an active demonstration of the collaborative nature of the Iowa City music scene.

"We punch above our weight as a creative town, like we are for the size of the place. I would have moved a long time ago if I didn't have collaborators," Swim said. "The Englert is different from most of the places I usually play at, like standing-only venues. There is a classic quality to the Englert Stage, and there is a lot of tradition there. Many people have been on that stage. To be a part of it is really cool."

Saturday's show begins at 7:30 p.m. with general admission tickets costing $15 and student tickets $10.

Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and business reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at [email protected] or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Englert's second Local Showcase features Kay Killa and Jim Swim