!["hey-day" album cover](http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large_lightbox/hash/d9/39/d939e28b6c44e19b91706b813c56e9df.JPG?itok=yLklaPFs ""hey-day" album cover")
His talent is undeniable, his style unique, his lyrics truthful and his music…full of passion. Kyle “kaywhy” Young is more than just a rapper, he writes, produces and sings his own hooks. At an early age Kyle found a love for music and decided to do become a connoisseur of the art form.
Kyle’s music is inspired by events that he experiences in his life; transforming the listener into his world giving them a front row seat on the “tour of his journey”. Kyle’s has a Kanye’ West, Lupe Fiasco, N.E.R.D sound in his work appealing to a very diverse crowd, which is great as an artist so that you are not placed in any generic categories.
Knowing that the key to making money in the music business would be to be in control of your work he taught himself how to make beats so that he would not get caught up in the industry's web. Now with the success of his EP, “hey-day”, Kyle has another huge accomplishment coming up. On November 28th Kyle will be premiering a video from a bonus track on his EP that he did in collaboration with Natasha Ramos, “Are you sleeping”, which will be held at the Bushnell Theater in Hartford, CT.
This video is a part of the “Diamond Ruff Project”; it originated from a book written by Joe Young and will be the first feature film shot in the city of Hartford. The song will on the soundtrack for the movie as well. With his chaotic schedule from making music, to music videos and working on the promotion of the “Diamond Ruff Project”, he found time to sit down to give the world an inside look at the man behind the vision before the big video premier.
___________________________________________________
What inspires your music?
The love of hip hop and life in general, I find it really hard to make music if it’s not from something that I’ve experienced. It makes it harder for me to write music now because, it’s like what do I talk about now that I have not already made a song about. It is usually from a bad time in my life that I make the best music, it seems like when I am happy I have a hard time creating.
How long have you been writing and producing your own music?
Since 2003, so 7 years now.
What was the first song you ever wrote?
The first song I ever wrote was a song called, “Me and my backseat queen”, with my friend Scatter Box. We were in our senior year of high school. I had started writing a little bit before that but this was like the first song we wrote and recorded that people could listen to.
What inspired that track?
It is just a song about a special girl in your life, more or less a song about an ideal situation to be in dating someone.
What categories would you put your music in?
I definitely always have a hip hop base. I am a rapper at the end of a day. I sing my own hooks so it adds some pop to it. I would say Indie-pop. I feel like a lot of my stuff has a reggae vibe to it. That is kind of where I write my base lines. I do a little bit of rock but that is more so on the newer stuff. Everything is classical, Frank Sinatra type stuff, but really whatever feels good.
You even edit your work?
Yes, I do it all. You have to that is like the biggest thing. I told myself I wasn’t going to use industry beats because it is a bad trap to get into because you can’t sell your music because you don’t own it. So I had to teach myself how to make beats because no one else was going to do it for me and I didn’t have the money to pay someone to do it.
Tell us about the CD you have out right now?
It is my first EP. Someone advised me a couple years ago to make one and I was a little against it. But when I put this together it was an accident because I got this new software that was a trial so I only had a month to use it. It was not so much an artistic venture as me just running out of time to do more. So I came up with the four tracks, just spun it and ran with it that way.
Is it available for people to buy?
Yes, it’s online. You can search “hey-day” or it is on iTunes as a podcast.
Tell us about the Diamond Ruff project and the video premier that is coming up.
The video coming out is called, “Are you sleeping”, featuring Natasha Ramos. We recoded it at Young! Studios. My father is the owner of Young! Studios and he came to me and said he wanted a song produced, so he gave me some lyrics and I made the music with the lyrics to fit. I was not even suppose to be on the track I just did some reference vocals with auto tunes so the notes would be right. I was never supposed to actually be on it but it just kind of happened. We shot a video for the song, I have a couple videos but this is the best one that I have been in. It stars Jim Noble from the show, “Benson”; it is about a minor trying to find a missing diamond and perusing your dreams. We have a premier coming up on November 28th.
What do we have to look forward from you in the future?
I am working on another album. I have some performances and more music coming out.
What is a quote that you live by?
A philosophy that I live by is, “Always try to be unique”. If someone tells me that something is weird then that is what I go with. I like to go against the grain.
**To find out more about Kyle “kaywhy” Young at www.kaywhy.com or on twitter at www.twitter.com/kaywhy
Comments