KiDi: Enjoying life as The Golden Boy
/
Image Credit: Brian Gray
As an artist, KiDi is known to many Ghanaians both at home and in the diaspora. His breakthrough moment came with his 2017 hit ‘Odo’ (meaning ‘Love’ in English'). This song saw KiDi become a Ghanaian crooner of sorts but naturally over time, his sound began to change to reflect his growth as an individual.
When asked who he draws inspiration from, KiDi mentions some of the Ghanaian greats like Ofori Amponsah, Daddy Lumba, and Kojo Antwi who undoubtedly paved the way for him and fellow Ghanaian singer and close friend, Kuami Eugene.
But as a ‘90s baby, KiDi is also influenced by a lot of western music, particularly R&B. He listens to the likes of Usher, Chris Brown and is a big fan of R&B newcomer: Giveon. When listening to his highly anticipated second album: “The Golden Boy”, these influences are clearly evident.
On the topic of R&B, 2020 saw KiDi start to make serious strides to crossover into markets outside Ghana with the release of the “Blue” EP. It included songs like “Say Cheese” which now has almost 5 million streams on Spotify and featured on Spotify’s Who We Be playlist upon release last year. Standout track “End In Tears”, definitely draws from his love of R&B but fuses English and Twi so as not to be too far away from his Ghanaian base.
In other words, this is when I started to notice KiDi’s evolution as an artist. His aim is to crossover but not to alienate his home (Ghanaian) fans; and it’s a challenge he says he’s gladly accepting.
With the imminent release of his 2nd album “The Golden Boy” and the world recovering from 2020, KiDi is walking around with a new mindset to embrace and enjoy life. It seems as if he’s ready to make his move for worldwide domination.
I sat down with KiDi a month before the album release and he was a mixture of nervous and excited for his fans and a wider audience to hear what he’s been working on.
Read more below as we talk more about his growth as an artist over the last 4 years and how the tide is turning for Ghanaian artists ready to go global this decade.
—————————
‘It’s time for the world to hear of KiDi, not just in Ghana but beyond Ghana and beyond even Africa.’
WFA: This past year has been a mad one, how has 2021 been for you so far?
KiDi: Like you said, it was tough for everybody no matter what you do; everybody went through it last year. But the work must go on [and] I still have to put out music, I still have to entertain my fans. Music is my only outlet. So my mindset entering 2021 was to focus on the music, no matter what else was going on in the world. The music must flow.
WFA: How was it living in Ghana during Quarantine? Were you able to focus on things creatively or was it quite difficult to do that?
KiDi: It was good and bad. The good side was, I was able to spend hours in the studio making records, unlike a normal day [before the pandemic] where you’d have so many places to go. During lockdown, there was literally nowhere to go so I was in my home making music; that’s why I brought out the ‘Blue’ EP. But then the negative thing about that is you don’t get to go around and do promo like TV and Radio interviews and I need to emphasise: shows; because we get a chunk of our money from shows.
WFA: Let’s talk about your latest single “Touch It” and your upcoming album “The Golden Boy”. Why do you think now is a good time to release this album?
KiDi: I feel like you can never be truly ready for anything; I don’t feel like I’m really ready. It feels like maybe the Universe is aligning for it to come out now. Before I even speak about that, a perfect example is the ‘Blue’ EP. We didn’t plan to release any music in 2020. But how things were going and with everything happening around the world at the time, everything aligned for ‘Blue’ to happen the way it did and at the time it did. And then boom, see how great it did?
I feel like it’s the same thing with ‘The Golden Boy’. We’ve signed new deals with International Publishers, Distributors etc, so I feel like the system, the universe is aligning for ‘The Golden Boy’ album. It’s time for the world to hear of KiDi, not just in Ghana but beyond Ghana and beyond even Africa.
‘While we have life, we have to live it.’
Image Credit: Brian Gray
WFA: Aligning, interesting. You talked about working on the album, how are you feeling that it’s almost out?
KiDi: Listen, everyday I’m nervous. I’m excited, nervous, anxious — all the emotions. You know, albums are like babies: it’s like my little baby that I’ve nurtured and put together, so I’m nervous of how people are going to receive it. But I know within my soul that it’s a great body of work. Sometimes when I’m driving, I listen to the songs over and over to try and imagine how people will feel when they listen to them. So I’m definitely nervous and I just can’t wait for it to be out for people to start vibing to.
WFA: For me, I listened to it last night and this morning, and it’s a lot of summer vibes and I think we definitely need that coming out of Corona.
KiDi: Yeah a lot of summer vibes. This summer is going to be a very dirty summer (laughs). I can see the vision; because people have been locked up in their homes for so long and now everyone’s walking around with a YOLO mentality. So many of us have realised that you can “go” any day so while we have life, we have to make sure we live it. So this summer, Oh Dear God….(laughs).
WFA: Very exciting.
Now, I want to know, what headspace were you in when you were conceptualising the album? What main themes did you want to explore? and did it come out the way you wanted?
KiDi: So I recorded so many songs for the album and when I’m making an album, at the start, I’m just putting out the vibes that are coming into my head. Then midway through the process to the end of making the album, I begin to think of how I want the album to sound, collectively; I start to think of the themes. The album is there to tell you how special of an artist KiDi is, like how he can pick a beat and really give you emotions. Even the songs you can “jam” to, they’re still speaking to your soul in a certain way. If you listen to the album: it’s going to speak to your soul and make you a bad B*tch, make you lose your home training, it’s gonna make you happy, sad, it’s going to make you horny.
WFA: Hahaha yeah the album is a very good time. Now I want to talk to you more about the collaborations you have on it. You have Patoranking, Kuami Eugene, and Joey B. How did you choose those people to be a part of the project?
KiDi: I made songs and heard certain people on it so I just asked them to do it. At the same time, I was also trying not to have too many artists on the album because I want people to hear KiDi. But all the collaborators are bringing their [own] essence to the album.
WFA: Do you feel like you have a favourite? And what was the most fun to make?
KiDi: This is really tough to answer. I love all the songs in different ways. I love “Bad Things”, I love “Dangerous”, I love “Send Me Nudes”. Listen, this is really tough. I really cannot pick one.
WFA: Okay, how about this: was there one which was difficult to make? Or was everything pretty easy?
KiDi: Everything came [easily]. It flowed the way it was supposed to flow. When I conceptualise an idea and decide which direction to go in with a song, everything just falls in place so this album was made with so much ease, so much inspiration and so much soul; it just fell in place.
‘If you listen to the album: it’s going to speak to your soul…’
WFA: It sounds like you were having a lot of fun; I was listening to it was thinking “this guy is really enjoying life.”
KiDi: You understand? You see, so many things have happened over the last year so right now I’m walking around with a new mentality. Like have fun and enjoy yourself. As long as I’m not hurting anyone or doing something to offend somebody; enjoy your life and live it to the fullest. That’s just my M.O. right now.
WFA: So, I want to rewind to when I was first introduced to you through your massive hit in Ghana and within the Diaspora “Odo” and the development of your sound since then. How important has it been for you to explore different sounds in the last 4 / 5 years?
KiDi: It was a very tough space I was in because I was stuck between “yeah stick to this and do this, let people know you for this and this alone” and “nah you shouldn’t be boxed in to one thing”. And my inspiration is: when I’m in the club, people don’t just jam to one type of music; the DJ switches it up. And personally, I feel so jealous when a DJ switches from one genre to another and I don’t have a song in that genre and I know I can do it, so I just let people understand that “yes, this is who KiDi is but given any opportunity, KiDi can ride on a beat in any genre.”
Growth is really important, you don’t have to stick to the same thing people knew you for 5 years ago. Every great artist I’ve known has evolved over time; they change their sound etc. So growth is very important for me.
WFA: When you first started making music, who were you influenced by and who are you influenced by now?
KiDi: Still the same ol’ g’s man: Ofori Amponsah, Daddy Lumba, Kojo Antwi from Ghana. And then people like Chris Brown, Usher, Bruno Mars. I’ve taken inspiration from the West and taken some from my home and I mix it all together. So anytime you hear a song of mine, there’s an R&B influence in there, a high life influence in there and it all comes together to make it a great sound.
WFA: I’ve got to say, your song with Kwesi Arthur: Don’t Keep Me Waiting, when you came in on that track, I was like: is this Kojo Antwi or? And then when you came out with the Blue EP last year, I understood what you were trying to do in terms of crossing over. What did it feel like to you when the EP came out in terms of the reaction?
KiDi: Again, I was really nervous because I know my people, I know Ghanaians. Sometimes when Ghanaians set their minds that they know you for something, it’s hard for them to accept you in any other form. Even people on my team were a bit hesitant; saying this isn’t what people are used to from you. But we believed the songs were great songs. We don’t mind putting it out there because we want people to embrace change. So I was really nervous but God is so good; when we put that EP out, the reaction was crazy. It means that people are definitely open to accepting new sounds [from me] and that’s encouraging.
WFA: ‘End In Tears’ from that EP, for me was the track which made me go “wow” — like where did this come from? I wasn’t ready for that at all. And I think Ghana is ready to have that crossover artist/ breakout star who is also mentioned in the same way that Nigerian artists are mentioned (DaVido, Wizkid, Burna Boy).
Hopefully you, King Promise, Gyakie and others can make that a reality.
KiDi: And I think this is one of the top things as artists right now. You see, if we were supposed to make music for it to be big in Ghana, that’s okay we can do that. But now the challenge is crossing over and having people from different parts of the world enjoy my music and love my music; at the same time, I’m still trying to have that home relevance and essence. So that’s the challenge i.e. making songs with not too much crossover that your home people cannot relate to, but at the same time finding the balance that both your home people and those outside can enjoy [it]. And that’s a challenge, I’m gladly accepting, because I want to make records for everybody.
WFA: I can definitely see the vision and hopefully it comes to pass on this second album.
KiDi: Amen.
WFA: On the topic of the tide changing for Ghanaian artists, how do you feel about the major labels in the West signing the likes of Gyakie and King Promise, with you now having a distribution deal with EMPIRE. How do you feel that’s going to change things this decade, going forward?
KiDi: It’s very important because I keep telling people that talent is very important but talent is not everything. Like it’s literally show business. No matter how much of a beautiful song you have, you need legs to carry the music. You need experienced people in the industry who are smart about the business. So it’s very important that these Western Labels are paying attention to us, they’ve heard us, they like us and they want to work with us because this means, the songs we’re making will no longer just remain in Ghana, it will be carried to the outside world. And that’s the goal. I believe I’m speaking for everybody when I say, we want our music to be Global. So it’s a very important phase that we’re in right now.
WFA: When did you learn that the music industry was also about the business and not just about being talented?
KiDi: I hate to use this example but, I have so many talented friends who also sing. They’re super talented. Like every time I hear a record from them, I feel goosebumps. But they don’t have the team to market the songs the way some of us do. So that’s why I make the distinction like listen, these guys are making songs as amazing as what we’re making but for some reason, people don’t mess with the songs, or even hear them. So it tells you, as talented as they are, as great as the songs are, you still need a good team around you for promo, marketing, branding and all of that. I realised that talent is not all you need (you need it) but you also need a serious team.
WFA: I watched the video for your latest video “Touch It’ and I said “wow, there’s a lot going on here.” It seemed like you had a lot of fun. Tell me more about putting that video together, releasing it. It has over 1 million Youtube views. How do you feel about the reaction to that?
KiDi: My DJ was telling me “KiDi, I like what you’re doing because every time, you’re coming up with something new but people will still like it. You can’t always predict what KiDi’s about to do.” And I love that about me.
Nobody has ever heard KiDi do something like this and the video, shout outs to the whole team for putting together this video; we spent hours and hours working on it.
And another thing, the initial vision I had for the video: I wanted it to be explicit, tastefully explicit. I wanted people to see the video and be like “Oh My God!” But again, the place we’re from, sometimes you have to tone things down a bit. So we found a balance to keep it friendly.
WFA: Things are starting to open up in terms of International travel, do you have plans to do any shows outside of Ghana?
KiDi: This summer, yes. This panasonic, panoramic, has really sat on our necks. So this summer, if everything opens up: God help us — I hope to be in Europe this summer and maybe I might be in Amsterdam and London too but that’s not confirmed yet. Once all the travel plans fall in place, listen, this summer: I’m everywhere. I told you it’s going to be a dirty summer. If I get the chance, I would even go to Asia and give them enjoyment (laughs).
WFA: And, who are you listening to at the moment?
KiDi: I’m listening to a lot of Giveon — the songs I listen to are very different to the ones you hear me put out. I listen to so many different artists like Maxwell, Anderson.Paak. In Ghana I’m listening to Yaw Tog, Kweku Flick, Malcom Nuna, Kofi Jamar, Gyakie and loads of others.
WFA: This is my final question and it’s one I like to ask everyone: what does success mean to KiDi, the artist?
KiDi: The day I reach a stage in my life where I can hit my chest and say yes, I have made it. It has nothing to do with awards, or views or streams. The day that I know whether I’ve made it will be when I’m able to sell out a stadium in a foreign country. And have the people/audience not just show up but show up and chant my music. It’s all about the music. I could be singing Twi and Chinese people will be chanting Twi like they understand Twi and that day, I could lie on the floor and that’s the day I could beat my chest and say: listen — I’ve made it. That’s not to say that I would not like the awards (Grammys, BETs etc), I want all of that but, the day I sell out a stadium would be it for me.
And it’s all about the impact for me; I want to make a huge impact on the world. One day when it’s my time to leave this earth, I want people to celebrate the impact I made; that’s really what I want.
———————
Listen to “The Golden Boy” out on Spotify now.
SOCIALS:
Image Credit: Brian Gray