Kid Sister offers a fresh look at hip-hop

The rapper will be performing at MU on Nov. 6.

By Ashley Carman

Published Nov. 6, 2009

Chicago is the home of Al Capone, deep-dish pizza and some of hip-hop's greatest artists. Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West, Common, Twista and countless others have made their starts in the Windy City. This year, a new girl will be making her worldwide debut. Kid Sister, whose real name is Melissa Young, will be releasing her debut album, Ultraviolet on Nov. 17.

Kid Sister made her start in Chicago by rapping with her famous DJ brother from the group Flosstradamus. She debuted many of her songs by going on stage at some of her brother's shows and spitting a rhyme or two.

Although she made her public rapping premiere onstage, her actual rapping roots are very simple.

"I would always learn rap parts in songs and sing along," Kid Sister said. "(And I thought,) 'Man, this is not that hard for me, maybe I should try to do it.' I knew that I liked that kind of genre, and I found it easy to sing along."

In 2006, Kid Sister began her professional music career. Although she has only been rapping professionally for three years, she has made quite a buzz in the music world.

She made a cameo during her brother's performance at the über-hipster blog Pitchfork Media's music festival in Chicago three years ago. The music blog has been buzzing about her since January.

Unfortunately for most fans, the artist has yet to release a record and has only released two singles thus far. The album has been delayed multiple times and only officially received its release date a few months ago.

"They (the label) rushed me and I made a subpar album, at least, to my taste and my standards," Kid Sister said.

To feel good about her debut album, Kid Sister wanted to change many of the tracks. She tweaked the songs until the last second of her album's preparation time.

"I cut some slower tracks and added some faster ones," she said. "There's not another album out there that is like this."

She describes the album as "electronic hip-hop." The electronic influences are apparent on tracks such as her most recent single, "Right Hand Hi." Her tracks fuse traditional house techno beats with rap.

Kid Sister said this genre is something new.

"I guess I'm like a pioneer in that genre," she said. "There's not an album out that is an example. It's a genre-defining record."

With so much time and effort put into this recording, Kid Sister wants her listeners to have a good time and party to it.

"Get your ass up and shake it," Kid Sister said.

This message shines through in almost all of her songs lyrics as many of her raps refer to "juking," or dancing, and partying. The album will be featuring collaborations with artists, such as Kanye West and Estelle.

Although Kid Sister wants her listeners to party hard to this album, she does have one warning.

"I feel like you should sign a waiver if you buy it," she said. "I cannot be held responsible for sudden heart attacks, overheating or hyperventilation. I cannot be held responsible for any of those things, but please know that you're gonna shake your butt."

Kid Sister and The Cool Kids will bring their beats to MU when they perform Nov. 6 at Jesse Hall.