Kidd Kenn: A Q & A
A Lollapalooza Interview!
Taylor Hawkins speaks with Kidd Kenn about his upcoming music, dolls, clothes, and more!
TH: Can you describe for me and the readers, Kidd Kenn ‘s style/genre of music?
KK: “To be honest it’s hard because I’m always waking up in a different mood. And I like to experience with my music. I feel like since I’m the writer and I make my music, I always like to challenge myself, just to try different things. You know sometimes I’m into trap, sometimes I’m into pop, sometimes I’m into R&B. I’ve got so many different vibes coming, you wouldn’t even expect it”.
TH: I get that I feel like my music taste is so eclectic it’s always so all over the place.
KK: “And that’s how I am with my music. Like I wanna be able to like, reach everything. Say like if you wanna listen to an R&B song, you can call Kidd Kenn. If you wanna listen to a bad bitch song, you call Kidd Kenn. So I just wanna have a good balance”.
TH: What makes you gravitate toward those genres?
KK: “My favorite artists. Just seeing people master it, and do it so good! I like a challenge so”.
TH: Did you always know that music was something you wanted to do?
KK: “I did. It’s so funny. I remember the story when I was young and I was walking down the street with my mother one day and I was telling her ‘I wanna be a rapper!’ And she looked at me like ‘You seriously wanna be a rapper?’ Because she knew my father used to be a rapper, but he was in the streets so much he couldn’t really take it serious. But I’m like ‘Yeah I wanna be a rapper’, and she was like ‘Ok, when you get older let’s revisit the conversation’.”
TH: So she’s supportive of you?
KK: “She’s so supportive! She was at my set [Thursday]. She was crying”!
TH: What are some things that have inspired your music?
KK: “To be honest, life. I live my life being a bad bitch, so. You know I just wanna be bad at everything. Really day to day shit inspires my music. I could be chillin’, and some random everyday shit will pop up in my head that could be a song”.
TH: So it’s just kind of always going for you?
KK: “It’s always going! It’s a 24/7 thing”.
TH: Can you take me through the process of writing one of Kidd Kenn ‘s songs?
KK: “Yes I can! So most of the time I’ll go to the studio with a producer. He’s the engineer and the producer so he makes the beat and mix-and-masters the song. He’ll play his beat, I’ll pick the one I like or I’ll pick a couple. Go through the couple I picked and pick the one I really wanna start with. Go through the chorus first cause that’s the easy part. Well, sometimes it be the easy part, and sometimes it be the hard part because you gotta come up with something cute and catchy, but not something corny. So I’ll come up with that part first then I come up with the verses because that’s a piece of cake”.
TH: Do you always kinda have lyrics written down or is it more of an in-the-moment kind of thing?
KK: “Sometimes I write down cute bars, like if I sit and come up with a bar or something cute just pops into my head and it just something like so fire I’ll type it in my notes and save it for later. But most of the time I just make everything on the spot”!
TH: Wow that’s impressive!
KK: “It’s fun though, it be fun! I feel like that’s the best way to do it. I feel like I can just express exactly how I’m feeling in that moment. That’s why I do different types of music. Because sometimes I’m feeling in a positive uplifting vibe where I just wanna make something so positive that anybody could listen to. But sometimes I go in that bitch mad and I just want to talk shit about these bitches and that’s what I do”!
TH: So, this is Kidd Kenn ‘s debut at Lollapalooza! How does it feel to have made it here?
KK: “It feels so unreal! Me being from Chicago, like, Lolla was like a big thing. So it’s like now that I’m f****** performing at Lolla, on a Lolla stage? It’s f****** mind-blowing”.
TH: What has been your favorite Kidd Kenn song that you’ve released?
KK: “My new song “Coming”! ‘Cause I got ‘em comin'”!
TH: Can you tell fans a little about what they can expect from the song?
KK: “So, “Coming” is a song for the girls for real. It’s a song the girls gon’ play while they get cute to go outside, you know? When they with they homegirls. It’s on the hype playlist! It’s called “Coming” because the chorus is, “I got ‘em coming”. Basically, it’s when you got the boys coming in different ways. You got them coming physically, mentally, all that”.
TH: Can you tell me more about what fans can expect from Kidd Kenn in the future?
KK: “Of course, so I’m working on an EP called “Busy Being Bad”, ‘cause you know, we acting bad all year. Period! I’m gonna drop another EP at the end of this year. So, I’m tryna give y’all two EPs before the year is out. You know, I’m working or whateva. Of course, I just came out with the dolls. I just did a doll giveaway…” “And I’m working on a clothing line”!
TH: Really? Do you have a name yet?
KK: “Kloset with a ‘K’”.
TH: What kinds of clothing are going to be in the Kidd Kenn line?
KK: “So first I’m starting off with loungewear. Then I’m going into jogging suits and then, I’m just gonna try to work my way around and see after that. I feel like you guys are gonna love them. The material that I’m working with is so different, it’s gonna be a whole ‘nother vibe, it’s gonna be like no type of loungewear you see out”!
Listen to more of Kidd Kenn below!
Featured Image VIA: @KIDDKENN ‘s Instagram