When rapper/producer Kid Static first broke onto the Chicago hip-hop scene, he showed what happens when rap combines with the layered electronic textures of classic synthesizers, dark rolling basslines and drums that would be at home on any early 2000’s electronica record. His witty lyrics and penchant for deconstructing the humor in the every day covers topics of love, loss and optimism in the face of overwhelming odds.
He released his solo debut, Have You Seen This Man?, joined the instrumental hip-hop band The Cankles and played Lollapalooza with that project soon after. Kid Static immediately teamed up with producer Yea Big and released their self titled, experimental electronic hip-hop record, Yea Big + Kid Static, a full-length album with a frenetic glitch hop feel on Jib Door. He toured nationally with Yea Big for the release of their album and the The Heavy 7″ EP on Metal Postcard, a 4 song vinyl release including one of their most famous songs “Heavy Catamaran”. The duo notably played Pitchfork Music Festival with the Mae Shi, opened for Rhymefest at the Metro in Chicago and GZA at the Englert Theater in Iowa City. Their stage show wowed with choreographed dance moves and covers of the unexpected, like the Golden Girls theme. They released The Future’s Looking Grim, a dark record with production reminiscient of early Neptunes, and lyrics that veer into the sarcastic, the dire and the paranoid when they returned home from the road.
Kid Static’s sophomore release, It Gleams, was on Cobra Records out of Chicago. Solo, Kid Static has recorded with Del the Funkee Homosapien, opened for Kool Keith and for a short time served as hype man for Open Mike Eagle. Now based in Austin, TX, Kid Static is playing shows around town preparing for the release of material in mid 2024. His Instagram series “Random Bad Rap Ideas” has octupled his social media following since the end of last year and has shown a couple breakout hits with the song, Rapping, a play on having lyrical bars to spare and Aggressive Body Odor, a song built on commentary of how the music industry “stinks”.