Pardyalone Finishing Off 2021 With A Bang

When I first spoke with Pardyalone, real name Kalvin, a native of Edina, Minnesota, earlier this year, it was over Zoom. Neither one of us had been to a live concert in ages. As the pandemic’s grip has loosened, and live music has come roaring back around the nation I got another chance to speak with Pardyalone, this time in the dingy parking garage underneath Minneapolis’s own historic First Avenue Theatre. “This is the first time I have ever gotten a glimpse of this unfamiliar experience,” explained Pardyalone. “So I am out here working on how to perform.”

Since that most recent conversation on September 23rd, during a Minnesota talent showcase performance at First Avenue, Pardyalone has headlined his own show at the Whiskey A Go-Go on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. “I think getting out of this hometown mindset was the biggest thing for me,” Pardyalone said. “You don’t move to a place, let alone make connections in an unfamiliar place like California without the intention of working on your craft.”

Since then Pardyalone has done nothing but work, releasing a steady stream of popular singles including the track “Mission.” “It was one of those songs that I had a different feeling about it, a different kind of vibe,” Pardyalone elaborated. “It was an unfamiliar vibe and it was just one of those things where I was like ‘people can get lit to this.’” In addition to “Mission,” Pardyalone has released four new tracks, “Say So,” “Addict,” “Miss Her F**k No,” and “Vampire.” Two of the tracks contain features.

Making his live performance debut, as well as filling out his discography, Pardyalone is just getting warmed up. “I have a new song coming called ‘She Likes My Tattoos,’” Pardyalone explained. “It is an absolutely amazing song, it is really just about a girl who parties.” With a distinctive voice and lyrical style, Pardyalone’s music does more than sound good, it tells a story. “She drinks Malibu mixed with Coke, it’s just one of those songs that paints a country-like picture in your head,” Pardyalone elaborates. “Like what a good country song can do, except it is indie-pop and like punk… I am just creating a new genre, that is what I am trying to do,” says the 22-year-old MC with a laugh.

In addition to his regular pilgrimages to the golden state, something else has changed about Pardyalone’s creative process: he is building himself a team. Consisting of a large camp of California-based friends, management, and creatives, Pardyalone supplements his crew with the Minnesota-based DJ Tommy Boy. “Me and DJ Tommy Boy actually met realistically like eight months ago, well within the year,” Pardyalone explains. “It was him who kinda forced me to get comfortable early in the stages of my career when I needed to.”

“The first night we hung out together was at the studio,” DJ Tommy Boy explained. “I didn’t even know this until we got done but he told me afterward ‘yo I have never recorded with anybody else in the room before, I have always recorded alone.’” “Our connection is stellar bro,” said Pardyalone with a laugh. “If anybody thinks they can mess it up the message is simple; try harder!”

As his camp grows, so does Pardyalone’s ability to create and touch even more people. “It’s been like crazy love so far here on out it’s really about how I can relate to you, or to him, or to her, to the point where they just want to be my friend, and through being friends we can all grow together.”

Out in California Pardyalone has been growing his content inventory, stocking up on footage for future music videos. “Oh yea we are shooting visuals,” Pardyalone said with a laugh. “The visuals are f**king crazy bro, I am going out to Cali and we are shooting more than just visuals we are shooting,” Pardyalone trailed off looking for the correct word. “We are shooting movies, I hate to be cliché, but we are shooting movies, f**king documentaries bro.”

With a few more months to go before 2021 is a wrap, Pardyalone is planning on making this his year. “As of right now I am going to try to end 2021 on a very high note, not only streaming wise, not only impact wise, but cohesively I am gonna do it,” Pardyalone explained. “So how can I grow realistically? How can we grow? That is the question and I am still trying to figure that out.”

As Pardyalone figures out how to continue to grow, one thing is for certain, substantial progress has been achieved. Whether you listen to his music, watch him perform live, or just track his streams and social media engagement, Pardyalone has had one hell of a year. It is not an accident. “Don’t wait on people to create the environment that you crave,” the rapper explains. “Go get in your bag and go run that s**t up, sprint until you can’t breathe.”