Avery West Interviews Khafre
There are so many things that could be said about how amazing this ambitious spirit is, but many may not know his story through his own words. Private and sometimes extrovert, Khafre has planted his seeds throughout the six years of his career as a curator in the entertainment industry. Rather it's being the genius behind a company’s tweets, creating a groovy playlist for his audience, or simply coming up with brilliant marketing ideas for some of your favorite festivals, events, or businesses, Khafre tends to remain a mystery to many of us. Raised on the east side of Atlanta, Khafre packed his bags during the pandemic and decided to conquer the west coast to pursue his dreams in Los Angeles. However, Khafre never officially closed the chapter of his alter ego, Avery. Although I am a best friend of Khafre, I must say it’s because of Avery that I (or anyone else for that matter) may not know everything about Khafre as Avery has kept many of us wondering what is next for Khafre. Luckily, I was able to get Avery and Khafre in a room together and somehow, Avery finally got Khafre to answer a few questions that people have been dying to know. We may never know how he got Khafre to talk, but we’re ready to find out what he’s been up to during his quiet time away from social media.
AVERY: So what made you want to do an interview? And to do it as Avery interviews Khafre?
KHAFRE: Maybe it’s my way with words, but I love interviews. I’m at a point in my life where no one knows me better than I know myself so if anyone gets to question me or tell my story I think it should be me. There are a lot of questions about me that people have and usually, I like to leave them guessing but I’m ready to answer them as my authentic self.
AVERY: Would you say you’re not an authentic person and what questions do people have about you?
KHAFRE: Hmmm, I wouldn’t say I I’m not an authentic person, but I know there are areas of my life that I’ve been very open about and other areas I have not. If you’ve been following me since the Panel ATL days you know I’ve always been open about my sexuality and sex life, but you never knew a person I dated. You knew about the relationship I had with my dad, but you never saw a picture of him and rarely saw any family members outside of my sister and cousin. For me, the things I don’t show are private to me. I think that’s where my pseudonyms like Avery, K-Jo, and KJ came from. I never knew who I was, but I knew who I wanted to be at that moment so that’s where those online personas came from. I’m just at a place now where I no longer want to be anyone but Khafre. As I continue to discover who I am, who I want to be, and what I like and don’t like, I want to showcase that through my true authentic self.
AVERY: What’s one thing you discovered about yourself that blew your mind?
KHAFRE: I’m a nerd! I never knew that, but if I’m passionate about something like sharks, the music industry, climate issues, or even cars, you’re gonna hear me geek out about it. I always looked at nerds as being a book worm and that’s never been me.
AVERY: Is that why there’s no more The Panel ATL? Did you stop being passionate about it?
KHAFRE: [Laughs] Wow so straight to the point huh? Ok, so I was producing and co-hosting the Panel ATL from 2017 to 2020. We originally started recording every week and then moved to record bi-weekly towards the end. I built that show to be what it was — with the help of my amazing cast — but I was becoming burnt out. I expressed to the cast that I wanted them to step up more, but at the time I didn’t feel like I was receiving the help I needed to keep the show going as well I don’t believe I really communicated what I needed help with.
AVERY: Got it, but to keep moving let’s get to the question I’m sure you get asked a lot…will there ever be more of The Panel ATL?
KHAFRE: I was just talking to a few people from the show about the possibility of bringing the Panel ATL back, BUT NOT in the capacity that you all think or would want. The reason is, every person on that show has grown or I hope has grown over the three years. Some of our viewpoints and most importantly our chemistry have changed. I don’t believe if we were to get back together the show will be as great as it was. Furthermore, we started the show in 2017 when about 46 million people were listening to podcasts. Currently, there are about 89 million people who listen to podcasts today. I’m not saying the podcast market is saturated, I’m saying there are thousands of other shows that picked up where we left off at. My goal with the Panel ATL was to provide a platform for different voices to speak on sex, love, dating, and current world issues. I can proudly say I accomplished that.
AVERY: Ok, I get that, but –
KHAFRE: Sorry for the rant, this is my first time publicly and hopefully last time answering this question. I just want to make sure I address everything.
AVERY: Everything? Well, why take down the website and remove the episodes from streaming sites?
KHAFRE: That was not me being malicious, I didn’t want to continue paying to host the website and content online. Plus, as I started growing and my viewpoints on sex, dating, and life changed I wanted to remove the content to be sure I wouldn’t be judged on something I felt three plus years ago without the opportunity to explain. With that conversation I was having with a few people from the podcast, I was discussing the possibility of one day putting the episodes back online and some other things, but I want to make sure it makes sense.
AVERY: Are you still friends with everyone from the podcast?
KHAFRE: I never was friends with EVERYONE before or during the podcast, but I am still cool with majority of the cast. There are a few people I did believe I would still be close with post the podcast, but we eventually grew apart. Overall, I wish everyone who was a part of The Panel ATL great success and thank them for helping bring my dream to reality. Anytime I can, I will always support any of them.
AVERY: You spoke earlier about questions people have about you, care to share those?
KHAFRE: [Laughs] Top, bottom, or verse…that’s one question. But nah seriously a lot of people wonder about what the hell I do for a career, money, or why I moved to LA. There are a lot of other questions, but we don’t need to address those.
AVERY: Well…are you going to answer them?
KHAFRE: I moved to LA to become a Music Supervisor. A Music Supervisor is a person who oversees all the music and sound in a movie, tv show, video game, or advertising as well as the contracts for those. It’s something I didn’t discover I wanted to do till like 2018. Career-wise, I’ve always done a lot. I got my start in the industry by doing social media for festivals like A3C and AFROPUNK to get in for free then eventually working as an Artist Liaison and on the Production team. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to work for the Atlanta Pride Festival, and SXSW, and even created and managed a music and arts program for MARTA. Most recently, I did Brand Partnerships for the Sundance Film Festival. When I’m not working as a creative, I’m Bartender Bae.
AVERY: Yes! I remember you going viral for being in that picture with Pink at the American Music Awards.
KHAFRE: [Laughs] Yes. I’ve served a lot of y’all faves over the years.
AVERY: You moved to Los Angeles during the pandemic. How’s that going?
KHAFRE: If I’m being honest, moving here has been the worst and best thing for me.
AVERY: Really? You look like you’re enjoying LA.
KHAFRE: Don’t believe everything you see on the internet. [Laughs] BUT real shit I am. I love LA and I’m glad that I moved here, but I’ve been dealing with a lot of loss since moving here. My whole support system is or was in Atlanta. Friends that I thought I would still be close to I no longer am. My dad died the first six months after me moving here, my mother’s health became a concern shortly before that and recently my great aunt and dad’s brother died about six months ago. I’ve just been dealing with some much change and grief that I fell into depression without even knowing it. And those are just a few things I feel comfortable sharing. I just feel like I gave up so much of myself and the life I once knew to chase my dreams.
AVERY: Yea that’s a lot for anyone to deal with. How are you managing?
KHAFRE: The natural thing for me is to retreat into myself and cut the outside world out. I did that for a minute, but then I decided that I had to get past it. I’ve been working on being a better friend to those who are still in my life, meeting new friends in LA, deciding to get back in therapy, visiting my mom more, and honestly learning to take things one day at a time.
AVERY: Is that why you haven’t been on social?
KHAFRE: That’s part of it. I hate to use “empath” because I think so many people overuse it today, but I do absorb a lot of emotions and energy. I just knew that the things I was seeing on social media weren’t helping my mindset and my feelings about myself. I needed to take a step away from the madness and work on the energy I was consuming and putting out into the world.
AVERY: Have you been working on anything creative?
KHAFRE: Yes! I’m super excited about what’s to come this year.
AVERY: Are you able to tell us what it is?
KHAFRE: I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but just know I’ll be coming back to your headphones and speakers very soon. To hold myself accountable, I will say the news should be out by the end of this month.
AVERY: Wow, so this is coming soon! Are you nervous and what can we expect to see from you moving forward in the creative space?
KHAFRE: I’m hella nervous, I haven’t put out a project in three years, but I think this new project will give people a chance to see how versatile I can be and to showcase how much knowledge I know about the music industry. A lot of things will be centered around music, culture, and travel.
AVERY: I’m excited. Seems like you’re in a much better space. What’s something you’re afraid of while on this current journey of life?
KHAFRE: First and foremost, I’m scared to lose my mother. With all the other people who’s been influential to my growth as a person dying, it’s really scary to think I could be out here alone. To those who don’t know, my mom has memory loss. It’s something I’ve been dealing with for a few years now and patience has been my main challenge. Although I feel like our relationship has changed from her being the parent to me being the caregiver at times, I feel she’s still teaching me things I need to know. Next, would be me losing myself and not walking in my purpose.
AVERY: You’ve yet to mention if you’re dating or not.
KHAFRE: I did meet someone. I know they say I move on too fast, but this one gon’ last cause his name is Khafre! [Laughs] I feel like for the first time in my life I’m dating. I’ve met a few amazing people and although it wasn’t a match, I’m still open to finding someone I like being with as much as I like being alone.
AVERY: One question I know people have that you haven’t answered is, what is your type?
KHAFRE: That depends on who you ask cause a lot of people will have different things to say. There’s also a TikTok about that, BUT to answer another one of y’all questions…I don’t really have a type. I’m an equal opportunity lover, I just ask that you be honest about who you are, and what you want and be working toward something in life. Everything else we can discuss in person.
AVERY: Let me just say I’m proud of you and I’ve learned so much about us during this interview. I want to wrap this up, but before we go, you turn 31 this year, what’s some advice you’ll give your younger self?
KHAFRE: I’m actually deciding to celebrate my 21st birthday again this year. Aside from not remembering shit about my 21st besides twerking on a toilet. [Laughs] I feel like I’m at this point in my life where I’m in the unknown, yet I’ve been given the tools to see things through. I associate that with being 21 for some reason. So, the advice I would give my younger 21-year-old self and the 21-year-old self I feel this year is to remember how amazing you are, trust yourself more and know everything will work out. You got this Khafre.