Kid Genius are an unsigned Hip Hop act from Brighton via Littlehampton. Originally comprising producer Naïve and rapper Dilla, the group are expanding into an impressive live act – bolstered by the line-up of ex-Ordinary Boys drummer Charlie Stanley and The Streets’ long time keyboardist Chris Brown. Now the group have released their six track demo which presents just a few of the original recordings made by Dilla and Naïve.
The CD opens with Rappin Don’t Pay The Bills a superb bouncy offering which producer Naïve samples up nicely and Dilla gets busy explaining how hard it is when MCing don’t bring in enough money to live on.
| Tracklist: 01. Rappin Don’t Pay The Bills 02. Racking My Brain 03. Outrockedanotherone 04. Dig This Beat 05. Take A Break, Take A… 06. I.T Dave |
2006 brought the first taste of exposure for Kid Genius as Racking My Brain was voted by listeners as ‘Unsigned Track Of The Week’ twice in a row on Ras Kwame’s Radio 1Xtra show. It opens with a gentle piano riff which sounds so sweet when the drums kick in. Dilla’s lyrics are meaningful as he details some of the subject which touch him personally.
Outrockedanotherone is an altogetherly different offering with harsh metal guitars and a rampant beat largely made up of drum rolls. This has a mammoth amount of energy and would surely make any live show go completely mental. Dig This Beat starts with a lengthy snip from the Happy Side Of The Street. This has a great light hearted feel and is definitely one of their tracks with the widest appeal with the positive lyrics Dilla delivers.
Take A Break, Take A… flips the styles again as Naïve drops a track with the feeling of a Tango. Dilla lets off quicktime for a freshly original offering. The CD finishes off with I.T Dave for which Dilla tells a story rap about a spod named Dave who after being hated on at school decided to get his own back by writing a computer virus. I think Naïve flips another part of the Ill St Blues piano riff for a tremendous head nodder.
In November, out of the blue, journalist Chris Salmon stumbled across their myspace site and was so impressed he profiled them in his weekly column in the Guardian, exclaiming the duo to be ‘…enormously promising stuff’. I would have to agree with this opinion, except to state that the stuff is great all ready and you should definitely get over to their myspaces and listen to what they have to offer.
With unashamedly poppy hooks, lyrical diversity and an energetic new live show, Kid Genius are at home rocking Hip Hop clubs and indie gigs alike. Like artists before them who have bridged the gap between the UK Hip Hop scene and the mainstream (Roots Manuva, Plan B, Lethal Bizzle), they are not afraid to take risks with their sound or the crowds they play to. Previous support slots (in a solo capacity) have included, Sway, Terra Firma and Klashnekoff, Phi Life Cypher and Skinnyman.
- http://www.myspace.com/dillakidgenius
- http://www.myspace.com/suavedebanairhiphop (extra KG tracks)
- http://www.myspace.com/naivehiphop
