My past years writing for Weekly Music Commentary have been quite eventful. As I have said before, I listen to music all the time. Every style of music you could imagine and maybe more find my ears. Most of what I hear I like, or at least appreciate the work of the artist. This week approached this post after about a solid year of listening – and watching. Weekly Music Commentary would now feature the rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor from Ventura, California named KYLE.
Even though Kyle Harvey (better known as KYLE (formerly known as K.i.D, an acronym for Kyle is Determined) is rather new to the hip hop scene, he does have a large following. As I write this post I’m sure many of you are familiar with his work. However, you might not be too familiar with his background.
First of all I must go back and mention again that KYLE was born in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Reseda, but grew up an hour away in Ventura, California. Not known as a major place of origin for rap artists, the area is known for a lot of seismic activity. It is also now well known for fires.
Following a late-fall Santa Ana winds event, a fire was sparked about 15 miles (24 km) north of Ventura in Santa Paula, California, at around 6:30 PM on December 4, 2017. Winds had peaked in the overnight hours causing major spreading of the fire over thousands of acres in a short time. Early on December 5 the fire had quickly spread through the western portion of Ventura County causing mass evacuations and power outages. The winds swept through the Ventura area, causing the fire to spread through the downtown area nearing California State Route 1 and causing major delays on the highways as well the destruction of homes and buildings. The Thomas Fire was part of a series of at least four major fires caused by this prolonged wind event. Mass evacuation orders were prompted and US Route 101 was shut down. The fire burned over 281,000 acres in total.
I mention the fires in this post because it was that event that prompted a friendship between KYLE and super model Bella Hadid. KYLE spoke of the conversation and explained how Hadid was looking for ways to help people who experienced loss throughout the area. The event caused a great deal of damage and affected many people, and also brought folks together. Disasters have a way of doing that.
KYLE’s early life was like so many young artists. Raised primarily by a single mother with two siblings, he struggled to find his way through his childhood. In an interview on The Breakfast Club radio show, KYLE explained that growing up he had a speech impediment, a lisp. His speech problem made him the object of derision and he was often bullied. He started singing at the age of six and was writing and performing his own songs by elementary school. Harvey started rapping when he was about 13 years old and began recording music after hearing Kid Cudi’s Man on the Moon. Harvey’s first songs were recorded on PreSonus’ Studio One recording software using his aunt’s computer while in high school. He regularly took part in drama classes which helped his confidence.
As I listened to KYLE speak about his speech problem, and subsequent bullying by his peers, it took me back to my own childhood. I had a few friends with speech impediments who also were the subject of a lot of teasing and some bullying. However, I never joined in such behavior. My parents always made me aware of the feelings of my fellow students and others. It helps me now to understand that with education and empathy, we might be able to avoid widespread problems that likely stem from bullying. Nevertheless, many overcome childhood bullying to accomplish great things. KYLE has done so and looking to build upon his success.
Kyle started releasing mixtapes such as Senior Year, Second Semester, FxL, Super Duper, and K.i.D under the moniker KiddKash and K.i.D. starting in 2010, and in 2013 released Beautiful Loser. In October 2015, he released his follow up commercial mixtape Smyle. Kyle’s first music video to reach one million views was Keep it Real, which was accomplished later that year. Then in December 2016, he released the single “iSpy”, featuring Lil Yachty. The song gained widespread recognition for Kyle. The song peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the Canadian Hot 100.
In February 2017, Kyle signed a deal with Atlantic Records. The kid from Ventura with the speech impediment had made it to the big show. It seems that from about age 19 or 20, KYLE consistently delivered music that pushed him toward the top. Once he hit the Billboard charts he was ready for a major move forward. That’s exactly what happened.
In March 2018, alongside the release of his single “Playinwitme” featuring Kehlani, Kyle announced that Khalid would be featured on a track titled “iMissMe”. Kyle’s debut studio album Light of Mine was released on May 18, 2018. The album debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200.
In his review, Russell Dean Stone of Highsnobiety wrote that “At best, you could say that Light of Mine is optimism as cultural rebellion – at worst, it plays things too safe in an attempt to be liked by everyone (in Kyle’s defense, at least it doesn’t feel he’s ever trying to be anything he’s not)” Stone really seemed to hit it on the head. In preparation I listened to the album and was delightfully surprised. KYLE said one of the features of his songs is that they are all in major keys. He mentioned that his songs are bright in tone and lyrics. Yes, that is different from rap artists who tackle heavy subjects in a way to shock, or awaken listeners socially.
KYLE is not trying to be anything he’s not. In that interview on The Breakfast Club, KYLE was very upbeat, humorous and entertaining. At one point the hosts mentioned how they loved the energy he brought to the studio. Even when he spoke about his fight with depression, he seemed quite insightful and self-aware. Much more than the average twenty-five year old.
The reason I am excited to feature KYLE this week is another major project. He appeared as the main character in the Netflix original film, The After Party which debuted on August 24, 2018. Like many, that was the first time I noticed KYLE. If you have not seen the movie, I encourage you to see it soon. It is very funny and KYLE delivered a great performance. There were cameos all over the place. If you are a fan of hip hop music, or not, you will like The After Party.
Will there be more music, movies or both? If I had to guess I would say both. Definitely music, as the now twenty-six year old artist is just hitting his stride.