Olympic hopeful Keegan Palmer hails from the Land Down Under and brings a thunderous sound when he hits coping. In a recent interview, we phoned up Keegan to see how he’s keeping sane at his home away from home in Encinitas, California. This time around, we tap into what Keegan has playing in his headphones. Check out his rap influenced music playlist.
What type of music do you listen to?
I kind of like the new school type of rap I would say. I like listening to Lil Uzi Vert and Pop Smoke. Those two are the main artists I like listening to. Also, Travis Scott, a little bit of Drake, Lil Mosey, and throw in a little bit of Soulja Boy.
What lead you to listen to that new style of rap artist?
I don’t exactly know how I got into it. I used to be full-on rock-n-roll. I loved Iron Maiden, Black Flag, and stuff like that. Then all of a sudden, I completely just switched. I think it was around my sixth or seventh trip to America when I lived in Australia, and I heard a couple of my friends here [in the USA] listening to it [rap], and I was just like ‘wow.’ I thought it was really good. The first rap artist I listened to was Lil Uzi Vert.
What music do you throw on to hype you up before a skate session?
Pretty much the people I just named. Lil Uzi Vert would hype me up to skate. I liked his new album that he dropped, Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World 2. Travis Scott’s new song, The Scotts, is really good. Dior by Pop Smoke really hypes me up to skate for sure, that song is really good.
Do you listen to music while you compete?
I don’t listen to music when I compete. Whatever the DJ is playing. I can listen to anything because I’m so focused on skating that I don’t hear the background noise. I’ve never been the type to listen to loud music with headphones in at a contest.
What about when you’re traveling? Do you have something you like listening to for that 19-hour flight from Australia?
When I’m walking through the airports and going through security checkpoints and stuff, I’ll be listening to music. But really when I get on a long flight, I’m just watching movies and trying to sleep.
What was being played around the house growing up?
When I lived in Australia, growing up, it was rock-n-roll stuff. It feels like so long ago that I can’t really remember, but a lot of rock bands like Iron Maiden were the main ones I would listen to because everyone I learned how to skate with was way older than I was. They were like around my parent’s age, and where I grew up, there was no real big skate scene.
What’s your dream song for a video?
For a video part, I would probably say rock-n-roll or punk rock. I definitely wouldn’t have a video part with like a new school rapper. If you’re putting down some gnarly tricks you want to have a really good song to go with it. Putting down super gnarly tricks, you need to have a gnarly song to go with it.
Sound off in the comments below!