Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: For sure, I’m originally from Chatham, Ontario, a small city about 45 minutes away from the Windsor/Detroit border. It’s a bit of a farm town that didn’t have much to do growing up aside from sports, skateboarding, or spending time running around doing stuff that probably wouldn’t really do you much good. So having any sort of creative outlet if you weren’t huge into sports or whatever was probably good to have. The city doesn’t really have a notable music scene but there are (and this is only really becoming clear to me recently) a good amount of talented people there who I think just need the proper platform or push to put their stuff out there.
I’ve always been into writing and music and wanted to do something creative. I’ve always been interested in the intricacies of words and how to use vocab. I couldn’t play an instrument well and I also couldn’t sing but I could write and always had a sense of rhythm. So once I got into hip-hop around late high school and really started studying the craftmanship and technique of it, I just got obsessed and it became my creative outlet. I’ve also had my dose of the 9-5 office type of life, and I got to say I’m not built for it, it burns me out quick even if the money is good. I need something that stimulates me and feels like I’m doing something cathartic aside from just being financially secure. So in other words, I’m really hoping this music stuff works out haha.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: Lately, I’ve been listening to a lot of Roc Marciano, Pharoahe Monch, Marvin Gaye, Cam’ron, Big L, Nas, Common and Shad, who I think is easily the best rapper to come out of Canada. That’s just a few.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘The KYD’?
A: I really gravitate to the sound of classic hip-hop, and the more lyrical cats. That’s what got me into hip-hop in the first place and to fall in love with it. My biggest influence as an emcee by far is Nas. Listening to him really got me to first understand what emcees were doing lyrically and got me to take my own writing more seriously. Then there’s guys like Eminem, AZ, the dudes from Wu-Tang, Rakim, Big Pun, Big L, Kool G Rap, Black Thought, and Lloyd Banks. You can probably hear bits of all of them in my stuff.
And got the name in high school from my friend Connor, who I first started rhyming with. He said it in a freestyle, so it was like “ok, that’s the rap name.” It was easy and I couldn’t think of a better name to be honest, so when it came time to start pursuing this for real and put my stuff out, we just rolled with it haha. There’s actually another dude people call The Kid within the same circle move in who I met after the fact. So I spell it with a Y haha. Maybe the name’ll change someday. You can fit the name into so many rhyme patterns though so it’s cool.
Q: You have just released your new album ‘The Overture’. Is there a story behind it?
A: I’m not going to try to intellectualize and make something seem deeper than it actually is like so many artists do but the album is technically my solo debut and there’s a lot of honest, personal stuff on it so it’s the best introduction to me as an artist since it delves into a lot. Hence the name. I decided on it probably about halfway into recording it. Plus, it sounded like a dope title. There’s no underlying concept to it but a lot of the tracks like Prozac, Apparitions, Peace or Pins & Needles can build off of each other in some way, though. Those were all recorded around the same time.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “The Overture”?
A: Not really actually, aside from locking features down, the process was really smooth, everything flowed out quick. Everything got done between around May and August last year.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I’d say probably the lyricism and the honestly of it, I guess. I really don’t care what the trendy thing is and I just do what feels natural to me. My sound’s definitely a product of my influences, which is more of the golden era, boom-bap sound, but I also try and have diverse production styles to add some variety and force me to do different flow patterns. Some of the recent stuff like the album and tracks I’ve done with my brother Jamie are to more modern-sounding beats but some new stuff I have coming out is more boom-bap too. But no matter what type of track it is, I got to do my job as an emcee, though. I’ll be spitting.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: I mean I’d obviously like to be “on” at this point but this is a grind and takes some time. I’m definitely fulfilled by the stuff I’ve made and put out and the response I’ve received for it, from fellow rappers and listeners. I’ve kind of resolved to not go in with any major expectations for anything, just shut up and put in as much work as I possibly can, and keep working, that’s all you can really do. I see artists all the time have a lot of grand expectations for something only to get disappointed and down when it inevitably doesn’t pan out like they thought it would. It’s a great recipe to really mess up your own headspace and self-esteem trying to get somewhere in an industry that’s not built to be kind to those two things in the first place.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: I’m always writing rhymes, so I always have somewhere to start to when it comes to writing a song for real. It depends on what kind of a track it is. I sometimes start with the hook first, especially if there’s a theme or topic that I need to stick to. That always helps me keep the verses around it on track. “Never Know” off the album actually started with the hook, I thought of it as soon as I heard the beat then went from there since it kind of established the vibe for the track. With a song like Apparitions, that’s really topic-focused and story-driven, I have to make sure each verse plays its part, it can’t be just random venting. It’s got to have a structure and the third verse has to feel like a pay-off and tie the verses together. If it’s just a skills-flexing track, I just write the verses and then tie it together with a simple hook I come up with on the fly while recording.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: Hmm, hard to say. Self-esteem issues maybe, but music’s helped sort those out though for sure. In the music thing, though, dealing with all the phony shit you’ll inevitably encounter even at the level I’m at is definitely annoying and only makes you more cynical.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: Might just be the last year and a half or so honestly. With this recent album and everything I’ve been working on, the growth has been steady and the response to everything I’ve put out so far has been gratifying. I’m really proud of my output thus far.
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