THE ORATOR

One Kahleo

Raised in Tacoma, One Kahleo makes hip-hop and spoken word. He writes and produces his music, performs it, and directs his own videos.

He chose the name One Kahleo at 18, when he was working with young people in his community. The name came from a statement about teaching, showing love, and speaking up. He connected with kids who, like him, had grown up without a father. They could come to him with what was bothering them. He calls that “fathering the community.”

One of those young people played him as a boy in “Untold Truth,” a music video from his first album, Book of Daniel. He began going by The Orator in his mid-twenties.

On his upcoming EP, 35, he shares what he’s learned along the way, including how raising his children helped him face his past.