Digital Cover Story 30: KYLE

Before I get myself ready for my Zoom interview with LA-based artist KYLE, I think back to the first interview I’ve had with him a few years ago, when he had just starred in ‘The After Party’ movie on Netflix and released his album ‘Light Of Mine’. The artist has had an impressive journey since even before then, from releasing his hugely successful track, and instant earworm I might add, ‘iSpy’ with Lil Yachty that cemented him further into the spotlight, to collaborating with the likes of Kehlani, Miguel and Teyana Taylor, to name but a few.

Now, three years forward, a lot of things have changed for the rapper and singer.

“It’s so sunny, it’s a smooth 77 degrees, look at the window”, he greets me from his sun-filled house in Los Angeles, while I tune in from the usually rainy London - admittedly, I’d much rather be in LA now too, soaking up some sunlight. After the obligatory weather chit chat, we get straight into it. Recently, KYLE has undergone a huge change in his career and that is becoming an independent artist. “You know, I think, for me, I’ve always wanted to have that same feeling like the idols that I was talking about, right? Nipsey Hussle started opening my eyes a little bit through his music, which was always him talking about being independent in ownership. And he said something where he was like ‘we need community centers and teach the music biz’,” he tells me when I ask him why he has decided to leave his label, which he further clarifies by stating that he “was luckily informed of Warner going public, or Universal, and my friend Ryan Leslie sent it over to me just to have me understand it. And I realized that in the world of finances and the industry, music is a 100% generated industry by black people across the world.

Like, we make all the music and the music generates roughly like $90 billion a year. Yet, we’re still so impoverished in so many areas, in so many ways. And I started thinking to myself, there’s a reason for this. And then I realized, too, that whichever company was going public, earned about $4 billion a year in profit and spent about like, roughly $4 billion a year in expenses. So that didn’t sit right with me. Now I’m like, ay, there’s some other reason. There’s a reason that they’re just lighting all the money on fire because nobody does that. And then you see the master ownership of the songs. The catalog they honed in value went up about $2 billion.”

And he’s not wrong. Many artists in the past have left their labels because of exactly that, and many artists have had complications in gaining back their masters from a label. Either way, there’s no doubt that going independent can sometimes be a huge challenge for artists who have previously been signed to a major label in terms of lifestyle challenges - this has been the case for KYLE as well. “I had to change my lifestyle, you can’t afford what you could afford before. The machine is not as behind you. I think I have a really dedicated fan base that’s gonna support me and listen to my music regardless,” and gratefully declares that leaving his label hasn’t had any impact on his fanbase at all, as they are here to stay and have supported him for the past decade. “People are not fans of labels. They’re fans of the artists.”, he chuckles.

“People are not fans of labels. They’re fans of the artists.”

- KYLE

This leads us to the most important topic, new music! If you’re a fan of KYLE, you are probably aware that he has most recently sampled Craig David’s iconic hit song ‘7 Days’ for his track ‘Sunday’. While I do know that probably the whole of the UK knows ‘7 Days’ and can spot the signature melodies from miles away, I’m wondering out loud what inspired him to use that sample. “I’m having all these American producers try and do DnB. And then eventually one of them, my friend who produced the song was like, why don’t we just do the shit that you’re inspired by? And he ended up coming up with an interpretation of ‘7 Days’.”

We joke around that Craig David should actually jump on a remix with KYLE and remix his own sample. Turns out, KYLE and Craig are already way ahead of my thought process. “Craig David is a really awesome guy, and has been really responsive to me”, he says, and it actually turns out that he’s very much in touch with the British R&B singer, in fact, they have even been cooking up something together. “He might not be on a remix for ‘Sunday’. But on the album, we already have a little something for you”, he teases.

Yes, you read that right - KYLE will be releasing an album, out January 28^th, which will be the follow-up of his critically acclaimed album ‘See You When I am Famous’. When I ask him about his creative process for the album, he recalls that “as soon as I departed from the label, and I was really back to standing on my own two feet, I think it sort of made me reconnect with me for real. And I think what my fans can expect is a blend and most importantly, just that feeling of excitement again. My music is aimed to try and make you happy and make you energized, and make you awake. In 2015, I dropped the album called ‘Smyle’, that I feel captured that energy the most. And this album reminds me of that and reminds me of that time. It reminds me of ‘bright in your face, exciting, pulsating chords, electricity, It’s like this. It’s like this cup of coffee’.”

So, besides an album, what else has KYLE been cooking up? Only yesterday, he has announced his mega 24-date US tour with Col3trane and Leven Kali supporting.

“This will be the first tour in like, four years or so kicking off in North America, and I’m truly excited for it. Me without being able to do shows was the weirdest wrench in my identity. Like, what is the purpose of me making the songs and I’m like, I forgot that it’s helping people and then people are connecting to it in that it’s improving their lives. I did a show a couple weeks ago, it was my first show in a while and I immediately remembered what the fuck I was here for. It’s like, oh, this is what I’m on earth for. So, I’m very excited to go see the people that have been rocking with me for damn near close to a decade and remind us all that we’re here for each other.”

And if an album and a tour wasn’t enough, KYLE has got some acting projects in the works as well. Some of you may remember him from the Netflix film ‘The After Party’ where he starred alongside the likes of Teyana Taylor, Blair Underwood and Wiz Khalifa, to name but a few. “Acting has been one of my biggest and most exciting mediums because I really am learning a lot every single day because it’s something I really didn’t know that much about, you know, I acted like in high school and stuff like that.”, he tells me, and unveils that he has even dabbled in producing and writing.

“I’m very excited to go see the people that have been rocking with me for damn near close to a decade and remind us all that we’re here for each other.”

With all those projects in the pipeline, I can’t help but wonder how KYLE ever gets any downtime. “Real escape is when I’m just 80 hours into some sort of video game and forget that I’m even on it. That’s the best time for me,” he confesses, and a debate of the best video games follow, mostly with me admitting I’m not actually good at any, except the Sims of course. “You know it’s like clinically proven that playing video games is stress-relieving for sure. And then the other thing is, you got to be able to connect to your inner child, right? It’s almost like your restart button on your phone, you know, your software update, you got to go back and tap in with your inner child. And nothing else makes me eight years old again.”

2022 looks exciting for KYLE without a doubt, and I can’t wait to see where his career takes him now that he is independent.

Watch his most recent visual for single ‘Sunday’ below…

His album ‘It’s Not So Bad’ is out on Jan 28th - so stay tuned!

Stream his brand new song ‘Perfect‘ HERE

Keep up with KYLE on socials…

Instagram: @superduperkyle

Twitter: @superduperkyle

Website: http://superduperkyle.com/

Credits:

Words: Antonia Kuenzel

Art Design: Baris Ozdemir