King Prince isn’t a typical teenager. At just 13 years old, he is a musical phenomenon who writes, arranges and records his own songs.
“I started writing when I was in elementary school, in fifth grade; and I started playing the piano when I was four years old”, he recalls.
King Prince would often grow tired of simply playing from sheet music and would compose and record his own original music while in piano class.
King Prince’s father, Anthony “Ant Boogie” Frazier, who is CEO of High Volume Music Recordings as well as the leader of renowned band, Collective Hallucination is an extraordinary guitarist in his own right. However, when King Prince is asked why he gravitated towards tickling the ivories, he provides a direct and honest answer.
“My sister had a piano in her room and I would go in there and just start banging on the keys. That’s when my mom decided to buy a piano book to teach me how to play and my dad signed me up for piano lessons.”
When sitting down to chat with King Prince, it is very clear that he is an old soul who is very knowledgeable of his craft. With influences like the legendary Prince (who King Prince was affectionately named after by his father) and jazz pianist, Ahmad Jamal, he revealed, “I listen to a mixture of everything. It’s not just one certain type of genre.”
King Prince is a piano and voice student at Meyerland Performing and Visual Arts Middle School (formerly known as Johnston Middle School) and is already an in-demand keyboardist. He recently played keys at one of his most high-profile gigs to date! King Prince took the stage by storm with R&B songstress Jaye Valentine at Houston’s Largest Entertainment Awards Show, the 3rd Annual Go DJ Awards at the NRG Center.
Although King Prince is a classically trained pianist, his eclectic musical taste reflects his wide-ranging style. He plays reggae, funk, jazz and a host of other genres. He is a part of the band, Jazz R Boyz, a group that features five multi-instrumentalist members who range from ages 13 to 16.
When asked about upcoming projects, King Prince shared that he is in the process of completing two CDs; setting up a church tour in which he will visit and play at various churches as a special guest; and he reveals that he has a show approaching this weekend!
The show, which is called “UnCut – An Evening with King Prince and Jessyca Rose” will be an intimate performance which features King Prince and pop vocalist Jessyca Rose. The show will take place Saturday July 30th at 5:00 p.m. at High Volume Music Live (8405 Almeda Genoa Suite K, Houston, TX 77075).