SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, Calif. — What do pots and pans, a treehouse and a toy koala bear have in common?

They are all part of the playful, creative world of an 18-year-old producer, songwriter and rapper who goes by the name KOAD. 

The treehouse is what he calls the studio he set up in his parents' garage, but there is also a real treehouse in the backyard.

"This is the real treehouse, which is like the coolest thing in the world because I never had a treehouse growing up. And I always wanted that," KOAD said, wearing a vibrant green outfit, holding Benjamin Kogo, the koala.

KOAD is of Indian descent, but he said that is just part of who he is, not a music-branding thing.

"My culture is heavily ingrained in this body whether I like it or not," he said. "I was told by all the white kids that I wasn't pretty just because I had a different nose than them. Being Indian, growing up in that household, but being born in America, it made me who I am today, and so I don't have to go out of my way to make it part of my brand to be an Indian artist or not. I am an Indian artist. That's just how it is."

KOAD's treehouse is not just a physical space; it is also his creative play space. It is where he dreams up tracks called "Pots n' Pans," where he plays drum sets made of real kitchenware.

KOAD said defining his creative world was a necessary step in setting out on his nascent musical journey.

"I created 'treehouse' because I needed to escape after dropping out of high school," KOAD said. "I'd see all my peers at school and everything, so I needed to create a world for me to just kind of lose it."

KOAD was inspired by everything from Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and Kanye West. His new track, "Jaunty," just dropped, and the video solidifies his trademark frenetic style. 

"Bringing magic to an audience, I think I can pull that off and do that in the same way that hip hop comforted me," he said.

Comfort KOAD said he needed growing up feeling like an outsider. 

"The goal for the video is it goes zero to brown," he explained. "I took samples from genres that I am not accepted in, creating it under the realm of hip hop — the most accepting genre in the world. I pulled it off, and it's gorgeous."

These tracks are part of what KOAD calls the ultimate mixtape, which he said he hopes will comfort the 13-year-old version of himself who might be out there somewhere.

"I'm just myself, and I would not be doing anybody else justice, or myself justice, if I was doing anything else," he said.