5 on it: kyd rexx

The sun is in high rise, 103 degrees on the the temperature gauge, and the place chosen to escape this heat is none other than the SoundPony bar. It was here just 3 days ago that I was here listening to some of the local artists, when a new Kyd stepped to the mic and began to tell his story. Fast forward back to 103 degrees and some rock song playing in the background, and bar patrons telling stories about who knows what. A guy in a green shirt walks in and judging by the other patrons in the bar isn't apart of the regulars. As he approaches it gets clearer and clearer that it the same Kyd that was just rapping here 3 days ago named Kyd Rexx.

When did you start rapping? I started rapping about 16. Like me, brother, and my and sister would flow at the table, like at dinner and stuff. I started taking it serious at 16. I wrote my first rhyme at 16.

Why the name Kyd Rexx? Who inspired me to rap was Kid Cudi, that's where the 'Kyd' comes from. And 'Rexx' because I use to have a Mohawk, so my friends would be like you ol' T-Rex lookin ass nigga, so  I was like fuck it, and that's where the Rexx part came from

What was your first rap album? Let me see, when I was 16 I got my ass beat by my daddy for over drafting his card on iTunes for about $600. I had about a thousand songs in my iPod Touch, thats when the iPod Touch first came out, but I'm gonna have to say me remembering....I'm gonna have to say the Marshal Mather's LP. 

When did you know you wanted to be a rapper? I always loved music, when I was growing up I always loved music, but the most I just wanted to entertain, I just loved being in front of people, just like making people happy. I say I know I wanted to be a rapper at 20. at 20 I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life.

Was there some kind of experience when you were at the front of the stage performing or something, that made you know you wanted to be a rapper? I started writing raps at 16, me and my homies we had this group called 'Off the Wall', I was really kind of the main guy in the back, we was putting on for my homie Marquise Flixx, I was just the Engineer cause I know how to mix and master. So I was the engineer, but he needed someone else, he was going to be the singer but nobody else wanted to step up, so I said fuck it, I'll rap, so thats when I just started really rapping, about 20. That's when I wrote my whole first mixtape about 20. Is that the $treet $toner Vol 1? Yea

Who are your musical influences? Musically wise, like I said man, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, and Jay-z, and Kevin Gates and Gucci Mane. Yea I saw that you posted some Gucci Mane (on your Facebook). Thats all I listen to right there (Gucci Mane).

Do you have a Top 5 as far as rappers in general? My Top, excluding me would be Steph Simon, Wiz Khalifa, Gucci Mane, Top 5...Top 5....uh Earl Sweatshirt and I'm gonna have to give the last one to Biggie man. So is it Biggie then Pac? Thats a hot topic right there. He (Pac) is nice with the words, but he is not my forte, and how I grew up in life.  I didn't grow up Black Panthered out, I didn't grow up shooting people. Biggie talked about that, but Biggie more of like a hustler.

How do you feel about the Tulsa rap scene right now? I love it, but I hate it. Cause like Tulsa, we have some great musicians, its just egos getting in the way of people coming together. People like Steph Simon and what you seen Wednesday (referring to the 'The Brother and Me' held at SoundPony) I love that, but I don't like how people throw events just to better themselves, and to make money off themselves. Steph Simon did that event for free for the love of the music, but there's other people trying to come up off Tulsa music, I understand you wanna come up but don't do that to your people, go out of town and do all of that. If people support you why charge them? If this is what you say you love to do then do it for free. That's what I think.

I saw on one of your songs you used auto-tune ("Holding it down"). Do you see yourself keep using auto-tune? I like auto-tune, cause it just bends your voice, I like singing but I don't have the best voice, so I like auto-tune to do like my hooks.

So you rap, produce and you song write? Yes Sir. What's the hardest part of writing? For me its not coming up with words or stuff like that, but for me. I'm my own engineer, so I gotta like write rhymes, record it and then stop it. It's just so much going on at once, thats my problem, I can write music all day, but recording it is my problem. cause I gotta press play, hurry up and run to the mic and try to rap, then hurry and press stop. But I can write music all day, especially hooks.

What's your process for writing? Process for writing...It's how I'm feeling at the time. Like one day I could be mad and write some fuck shit, then the next morning I'm regretting it and writing about regretting it. That's how I do shit.

I also noticed in some of your music you have a lot of references to God and some of the representations of that. Is there a story behind that? Uh, you know, I just got some questions I wanted to ask. Like how do people have this and that? And why are my people still struggling?  To me, thats why I have questions. What makes him better, if I'm doing right? But it's a lot of shit to it, but I just wanna know. I probably won't ever know, but I wanna know.

So 'Never On' I really liked the production and the vocals behind it. What was the inspiration behind that song? It was funny, I was chillin wit my homeboy Flixx one day, and I was on YouTube and I just heard that beat, and we were just tag teaming on the mic, then I heard that beat, Me I'm weird, I let the beat speak for me, I say the words the beat wants to say, and thats what the beat was telling me to say. "I be on some shit that you never on." And that was what the beat was telling me to say. Actually that was just a freestyle, like I wrote the 2nd verse, but the hook and the whole 1st verse was all a freestyle, I was just on the mic, I was just feeling myself then.

What do you see as your goal in music? Really my goal in music is that I want to provide for my family, while doing something I love. Thats really just my main goal. If I gotta travel, I'll travel, but thats really why I do it. I love doing it, and once I had a family, I was like OK, now I gotta start going harder, and like make money for my family, it ain't just for me no more. You gotta take risks or you don't know what will happen.

How do you feel about a record deal? Do you want to stay independent? It depends, It really depends, but I would sign a deal if I could keep my Masters. The Masters I'm thinking of longevity, if I stop rapping then I still want money coming in, but I wouldn't sign for like a million, maybe 3 million, but a million, I couldn't capitalize off, But 3 million. But me personally if I get signed, I want Tulsa to get heard. Help somebody shoot a video or help somebody press CDs, thats how I look at it. Just signing over everything naw, but I will sign a deal if, If its right.

So where do you see your music going next? The world, you see I have so much music in store, I still have a story to tell. Right now I'm just making songs, but when I tell my story, it's going Global, but I don't want to tell my story too quick and I ain't on, then what I'm gonna rap about when I get on. But I still got shit to rap about, I'm just making singles now. But pretty soon that legit studio album, it's gonna be nice.

Do you have any plans of collaborating with somebody? Me and my homie Nino just finished up an album, it's called Vibes. We just got a whole different vibe. We got street vibe, we got $treet $toner vibe, druggy vibe. Something for you to just chill out and vibe to, and rock out. Me and Nino been rockin since shit... He used to be apart of 'Off The Wall', wit us. It's 3 of us, but one us is locked up right now, his name is C-Nasty, and we called High Time Low Mics, but we part of OTW "Off The Wall".

Whether it be rocking shows in Miami or giving back to his city at SoundPony, Kyd Rexx has shown the potential to be one of the best in Tulsa. And the next time you see him may be on the BreakFast Club chopping it up with DJ Envy and Charlamagne. But for now on this 103 degree day in a crowded SoundPony bar, Kyd Rexx stays grounded in his music, his family, and the city that he calls home.

Thanks to Kyd Rexx for the interview. Check him out on SoundCloud, Twitter, and Instagram.

https://soundcloud.com/derrick-harperkyd-rexx