Originally from Philadelphia, PA, Big Suave is an artist and entrepreneur now making moves in Miami, FL. He and I discussed his latest single, “Rotation”, ownership of “Crisppi’s” restaurants and drive-thrus, “Crisppi’s Presents”, and more.
Let’s start off with a little bit about your background, man. Introduce yourself to us.
Oh, man. I’m Kirk. My artist name is Big Suave. I’m from Philadelphia, PA but I’m here in Miami taking over when it comes to the entertainment and food and beverage industry. I have a business called, “Crisppi’s”, which is one of the top businesses in Miami. I’ve only been here one year and we are taking over.
What made you relocated to Miami?
It is nice and sunny out here and I see that there is not a lot of successful African Americans here when it comes to entrepreneurship. There is a big market here. A lot of other nationalities are taking over this whole city and I think it is time for somebody of my color to come in and do what we do best, which is create the best things when it comes to products from the stoplight to everything else we created out here in America, you know?
Gotcha. On the music side, tell us about your current single, “Rotation”.
“Rotation” is a club record, a party record. Like I said, I’m Suave, so everything about me is cool, you know? None of that killing and drill music, or any of that type of stuff. Just real cool, smooth stuff for the OGs. I am not an OG, but I do it for the OGs. I make music for real people that just like to have a good time.
So, “Rotation” is out right now. That is one of many hit records that I have in the archives. I have been out of the music game for a minute because I was focused on entrepreneurship and I just came back because all of my entrepreneurial endeavors are flowing and everything is running itself. So now, I am coming to attack them on the music side and be the number one artist in the game outside of Drake.
How are you going about managing the two different endeavors right now with the single and with the restaurant as well?
So, I mean, it is pretty easy to manage both because I have a very solid team so I don’t even have to worry about “Crisppi’s”. I got it up and running and my team stepped in and took over. Now, it gives me time to really focus on my craftsmanship when it comes to the music and right now, I believe the music industry is missing realness.
It is missing real artistry and not entertainment. What I mean by that is that all these artists out here are just entertainers. Where is the real artistry? People get paid to be fake. People get paid to look a certain way. How about we bring out artists that are real, that are born with it. Born with the look. Born with the sound. You got me, “Big Suave”.
You mentioned trying to be one of the biggest in the game (not trying….not trying), and you said Drake is the other. How do you feel about the current situation with the music business as a whole and also with everything that has transpired with Drake, the label, and things of that nature?
I think Drake is the industry. I think everybody that is great gets hated on. When you are great and can do it in your sleep and at ease without having to even try, this is what they hate on. So, I think that Drake needs to continue to do what he is doing because I understand his pain and I get it.
People don’t want to see people like us be great. For example, I am opening up drive-thrus in Miami. I have only been here a year and I took off so quickly. The industry is so fake, they get made when real comes. That is what I see, what I experience, and what Drake experiences. We both go through the same thing.
Now, tell us a little bit about your restaurant, “Crisppi’s”. What do you guys serve and where are you located?
Crisppi’s is in downtown Miami at 2917 Biscayne. I have a drive-thru that is opening up July 6th at 7021 Southwest Eighth Street, Miami, Florida. I have two stands inside of the Dolphin Stadium, and I did all that in one year. I sell the best fried chicken in America. We sell chicken sandwiches, chicken and waffles, and chicken wings all at prime real estate locations.
Both the restaurant industry and the music industry can be tough and everyone has different experiences navigating them. What made you decide to go with chicken instead of pizza, for example?
Chicken is the number one product in America and in the world from Jamaica to Africa to China to Korea. Anywhere you go, chicken is sold. This is why they have all these Korean companies here in America that are selling Korean fried chicken like Jolly Bees. I can name a couple. Chicken is booming, but it is about creating that brand. This is why they are scared. They see Crisppi’s coming and that we do it with ease. It is like brushing your teeth in the morning. The logo speaks for itself so it doesn’t have to have a face. The logo is the face.
Break down how you go about cross promoting yourself as an artist and the restaurant.
You know, I am an artist for the company. At a time, I was invested into other artists but these artists are lazy. They don’t want to work. This is why you don’t have a lot of successful independent artists. They don’t want to work seven days a week. They want to celebrate holidays. They want to celebrate birthdays. They want to do everything that is not conducive to becoming successful. I’m not going to keep putting my money into artists that are not even willing to work hard seven days a week like I am. Those are Americanized things that don’t exist to me. This is why I’m in a position I’m in. I created the company and now I’m the artist of the company. That is how you do it. That is the blueprint. That is $1 million worth of game.
Ok, so that brings us to Crisppi’s Presents. Tell us a little bit about that.
What I realize in the industry is that there are too many gatekeepers. I don’t have time for gatekeepers. Everyone thinks they are somebody. Everybody thinks they are big and that they control the game so cool. I don’t need to go through you. I am going to go around you. I just created my own thing. I created my own Crisppi’s Presents concerts. I create my own “Torch the Mic”. I don’t need “On the Radar”. I don’t need none of them because at the end of the day, ain’t none of them on my level. Remember, I’m not a high paid ambassador. I’m a creator. These people are high paid ambassadors for companies. I create companies. I create them from the ground and I make them make millions. I have my own brand and my own customers so I’ll create the entertainment, I’ll get my own venue, and I’ll have my own concerts. This is why I have hundreds of artists uploading to crisppis.com because they understand that it is real, we give real opportunities, and I am not a gatekeeper. Period.
Now, while you are promoting yourself as an artist, is there anyone else on “Crisppi’s Presents” radar that we should be looking out for as well?
July 29th, people will see a lot of the upcoming artists that I selected for this concert. They are the ones you should be on the lookout for that aren’t getting the shine because they aren’t kissing ass or anything like that. They just have real talent and aren’t compromising their dignity to be an entertainer. Real talent doesn’t have to sell out to be number one so I’m building my own island.
So the concert is coming up July 29th. What else do you have in the works?
I have an archive of music but I know the next single I want to push. It’s called, “Upper Echelon”. I am doing a lot in Africa right now. I’ll be going over there to tour. My fan base is heavy in Africa. My next move after that is to open up a thousand locations across the globe. When it comes to Crisppi’s, I have a couple deals on the table, but I’m moving in silence so they see things in real time instead of just talking about it.
I was looking at your Instagram page and I saw you’ve worked with Relic Rhymes. What was that about?
I had a series, “Cooking Up with Crisppi’s” where I was bringing in celebrities like Relic, Bobby Lytes, and Tokyo Stylez (Cardi B’s stylist). We had a couple of people on there. They would come in and do a little intro, go in the back, and make a sandwich. It was something fun to do with different up and coming celebrities. After making the sandwich, they could name it whatever they wanted. Just fun activities, pretty much.
Lastly, let us know how to reach you on social media within all your endeavors. How can we keep up with your movement?
People can find me on Instagram @bigsuavemiami or online at www.bigsuave.com. If you want some good chicken, the best chicken, you go to crisppischicken.com Come check us out over there on Biscayne and check out our new drive-thru where we had Commissioner Rosado come out to cut the ribbon. I was excited about that and he gave is a 10/10. Politics. Not the wrong politics. The right politics.
Words + Interview by Tyrone Davis
Photo courtesy of Big Suave
