Today we’d like to introduce you to Kid Static
Hi Kid, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I grew up on the South Side of Chicago on a street next to train tracks. Rode the bus to school, played football in vacant lots with my friends, pretty normal. When you heard gunshots, you ran. When a kid with a gun asked for your bike, you gave it to him. I started making mixtapes with my brother over radio beats and taking them to school. We rapped in our room for fun because we wanted to be like our heroes, Biggie, Jay Z, Tribe Called Quest, all of them.
My pops and I had a strained relationship after my brother left. He had different ideas of the level of freedom a 17 year old in Chicago could handle and enforced it with his hands. He never approved of any of the girls I dated. He finally told me if I graduated he would leave me alone. I ended up moving out that year. I graduated and never used the degree. I wanted to make music.
When I got out of school, nobody knew me. I went to parks and rapped in freestyle cyphers, I rapped at open mics, I rapped at random parties in industrial areas until someone let me on a show and that was pretty much it. Once I got booked and I performed and felt the crowd with me and saw people feeling the music I was hooked.
For 5 years, I was throwing shows, performing and promoting at 2am when the bars let out. Made a little bit of a name for myself to the point where the medium sized venues would let me book nights. Me and 5 guys from the scene started a band and entered a battle of the bands. Ended up getting second place and a spot at Lollapalooza. Went from playing in front of 150 people to playing in front of 3000 overnight. This was the point where I knew that this was something that was just in me. Honestly, If it wasn’t music it was nothing.
I moved to LA with the intention to do it all over again. If I could do it in Chicago, I could do it there. And I did. I played anywhere and everywhere until I got approached by a record company that was based in Chicago. It felt like fate. I was in real studios, touring, funded and playing gigs everywhere from New York, NY to Lawrence, KS
Then, I met a girl in Brooklyn. I lived in LA and we had no idea how to make that work. So I moved. I settled down. I got a day job. I did all the things that they tell you you’re supposed to do to make a good life. What they don’t tell you is that life isn’t necessarily for everyone. The music never left.
By this time we were living in Austin and one day I was at my job, I looked up and said “This isnt it.” What was my lasting contribution to the world going to be? What was I going to say to the people around me before my last breath? That I regret not working more? No.
So October, 2023 I left it. I went back to the lab, I wrote new music, I picked it all back up and it feels so good.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I lost my brother a few years ago. Right after I lost my dog. Those hard hits are the ones that fuel your art though. We all have loss in our families. It’s really about what you do with it. Hold the ones who are still here even tighter.
Taking time off from a creative career kills momentum and starting over is hard. But I’m not starting from scratch. I have knowledge from the first time around and I have the wisdom that being a little older and living life gives you. I also did everything in a time before social media was so prevalent. Now it’s non-negotiable. I had to figure out how to live that life in a voice that matches my own.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My name is Kid Static, I’m a rapper, producer, artist, performer, and general creative. I can make pretty much anything then put it to music.
I’m known for having really solid lyrical flow, and having a really high energy stage presence. My beats and my humor set me apart. I’ve been writing music since before I could rap.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
First and foremost I want to mention my mom. She’s been my biggest supporter for my entire life. She’s a rock and the most understanding and beautiful human on the planet.
My brother Stefen Robinson also known as Yea Big has probably had one of the biggest influences on me. We’ve been making music together for over 10 years now and he constantly surprises me with his ability to change up, be a virtuoso at instruments he picks up, and sets the bar for what true musicianship is.
Brad Breeck from the band the Mae Shi and one of the most talented musical composers I have ever met. In the tour van, and to this day, he has always opened his doors for a conversation about the industry and has just been the most solid individual.
I was a hype man for Open Mike Eagle for the blink of an eye in Los Angeles. In that short time I got the opportunity to play venues and be introduced to names in the scene that I would have had a hard time meeting on my own. He really opened doors for me.
In Austin, Ben Buck was one of the first people to put me on one of his nights. I have never met anyone who works harder. He gave me a shot because I asked and because I freestyled in front of him and he realized I wasn’t playing around. He’s fam and I will always have his back for that.
Also have to mention every musician, promoter, bartender, club owner that I ever bothered with infinite questions about how the business works.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kid_static
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KidStatic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2P0VKiT29jdGtvB5GPSRMT
Image Credits
Aaron Wharton (microphone photo)
@vandalthesavage (studio photos)
