A coming home show

WARWICK — Keith Michael Whitehead, popularly known by his stage name of Koncept, is an American rapper, emcee and songwriter who is a graduate of Warwick Valley High School and who also worked at Pennings Farm.
Koncept will perform at Pennings Farm Cidery this Friday night, July 13, at 10 p.m. Tickets are $10 (doors open at 9 p.m.)
Koncept has a long history in the music industry, breaking into the business at Fat Beats Records in New York City.
His first album, Awaken, was discovered shortly after by Red Bull, resulting in the release of "The Fuel," recorded at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles.
MTV aired two music videos from "The Fuel" and the lead single from this album hit No. 1 on College Radio and received global praise.
In 2016, Koncept followed a calling by Miller & Jameson Whiskey to go on a two-week tour of Seoul, South Korea.
An immediate partnership with Sony Music Asia led him to extend his stay in Korea to two years.
During this time, Koncept released his latest album worldwide, "14 Hours Ahead," which not only signifies the time difference between Asia and his home town of New York, but also reflects how he envisions his future and his dreams and how he manifests them into reality.
"It's learning, growing, and believing in yourself every step of the way," said Whitehead. "Koncept is a living example of achieving this."
Having the typical teenage experiences of many who grew up in Warwick, Whitehead worked at Pennings Farm, which makes him feel strong roots with the business, it's owners and staff.
"I've always been into music," he said. "I grew up in Queens before I moved to Warwick and my neighbor was a graffiti artist who was into hip hop. He got me into hip-hop music at an early age and gave me the name Koncept when I was seven years old. I got a set of turntables when I was about 11 and started DJ-ing as a hobby. I always liked writing and started writing my own rap songs when I was in high school. Once I started, I just got hooked on it, and by the time I was in college, living in Vermont, I realized enough people liked it and I was good enough to make a career out of it."
This will be Koncept's second performance at Pennings Farm with his 2016 show at Pennings Farm Market just before he left for Korea.
"I have traveled and lived all over the world," he said, "but my home will always be in New York."
Pennings Farm Cidery, 4 Warwick Turnpike, is located directly behind Pennings Farm Market, 161 Route 94 South.
For additional information call 987-9922 or visit www.penningscidery.com
"14 Hours Ahead" Full length-album is available for streaming/purchase on all music platforms worldwide.
Site: www.iamkoncept.com | Instagram: @champagnekonny | Twitter: @koncept
- Roger Gavan