CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) – At the VAPA Center in Uptown Charlotte, musicians can tune out the noise from the outside world by making their own racket.
“You’re able to make really good beats,” a young musician said, introducing himself.
“My name is Kingston Price, and my stage name is Drummer King Price.”
At 8 years old, he feels at home surrounded by sound, at music venues like Friday’s Dope House.
“I felt like I was just born to drum. I just came out of the womb ready to play,” Price told Queen City News.
He’s not exactly exaggerating.
Price has loved being loud from day one, and that might be the ticket to his musical dreams.
“When I was one, I started banging on the drums,” he remembers. “Started playing with my dad on tracks, and I started doing my first show when I was three.”
While he makes a ruckus behind the drums his mom LeKcia Welch hears something sweet at play.
“His drum resume, to be 8 years old, is insane,” says Welch.
R&B is his jam, from Michael Jackson to Bruno Mars.
King’s mother is also his manager.
“For me, when you see that your kid is good at something you should invest into it,” she said.
Her little drummer boy stands out every time he sits down at local events.
“I’ve played in the Charlotte Knights baseball field, played Taste of Charlotte, Charlotte Kids Fest,” says Price, naming just a few gigs.
“I always tell him, ‘Play as if someone is watching you for another opportunity,’” his mom-ager stresses.
University City Partners booked Drummer King Price to appear at this year’s Juneteenth celebration. In the fall, he’ll perform at CLT Kids Fest.
“At first, it’s kind of scary,” her son says. “It’s like, ‘Alright, there’s a lot of people.’ But when I start playing, I be like ‘Alright, it’s good, we’re chillin’.”
Drummer King Price has a chill personality and his drumming is bangin’.
“It is such a good feeling as a mom to see people come and watch your kid,” his mom said. “They’re taking out their phones, and they’re recording, and they’re tagging him on Instagram.”
He dreams of performing all over the world and working as a music teacher one day.
“Like if [students] want to play the drums but they’re not as good at it, I can teach them what I started doing when I was a kid,” Price said.
Even when he’s in the spotlight, he understands who the Most Valuable Player is.
“My mom,” the boy said, pointing toward his mom.
“If this is what he wants to do, I just want to be able to push him into that great place,” she says.
“The one thing that I really love is that if I’m playing, and it’s really loud, she won’t tell me to stop or nothing,” said Price.
That’s what happens when you just let Drummer King Price cook.
His mom’s encouragement is the heartbeat of every drumbeat.
“To watch him play, it’s amazing for me as his mom to see how coordinated he is,” Welch says.
