He no longer refers to himself as just a member of the new Black media; 19KEYS is now a global thought leader. Keys again hit the road this fall, including Boston on Nov. 11, for his “Highest Level Tour.” KEYS’ events are unlike anything else touring, to be frank. At past events, he’s featured poetry and musical performances, with intelligent conversations with other Black geniuses as the night’s headlining act. On the Highest Level Tour, KEYS said he even busted out an impromptu freestyle for the audience. As he and his 856,000 followers continue to grow, he keeps the main thing the main thing.
Recently, rolling out spoke to KEYS about his mission and shows.
What should people expect on the Highest Level Tour?
Man, we’re back outside to lead people into the future of the world. We just did L.A. We only had a couple of weeks to put it together, and it came together beautifully. Everybody was enjoying it. We had a great audience. I did something I’ve never done on tour before; I came out freestyling with the legendary 1500 on the piano. On tour, you never know what [you’ll] get because it’s an experience, No. 1, but it’s that God-body experience, and then it’s like nothing else on planet Earth. It’s sucka-free and high-level; you get to tap in and enjoy history in the making.
I went to one of your shows last year, and there was so much foreshadowing on your part, specifically bringing up UFOs months before somebody brought it up on Capitol Hill. Where does that come from?
It comes from observation, man.
You’ve got to be a high-level observer in this world. If you take the time to pay attention to reality, it will let you know what’s happening. It’s a lot of things that are on the horizon for this world. World War III. The world is fighting for a piece of territory in this age of consolidation. When you look across the board, especially when you can look at global affairs, Global Affairs let you know what’s happening. And what [will] happen in local affairs, [because] what happens on a micro level affects the macro.
We see what’s going on in global wars. You’ve got Israel trying to wipe out Palestine [completely], China [wanting] to take over Taiwan, and Russia [fighting] to grab Ukraine. That’s consolidation of power. When this recession is over, and this new world structure is [revealed], then people [will] have the spaces of power they are claiming for the next 500 to 1000 years. We are in a race for the next 500 years because we’re focusing on what the new world power will be. America’s power is waning in occupation and influence.
We start to see that happen on micro levels, [with companies] buying other companies. We see that happening in local areas, as well. It’s all about consolidation of power. People need to start doing mergers and partnerships and bringing more power in-house so that whatever you have right now [can] survive.
