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The Gray Kid's self-described "trunk-wobbling anthems and ballads of love and lust," have been setting off clubs from N.Y.C. to his adopted hometown of Los Angeles with merely an iPod, a wireless mic and his larger than life personality. This one-man army takes charge of the crowd like a gladiator, dripping with sweat and smiling all the while. Plus, The Kid can sing. His solo musical debut, 5, 6, 7, 8... is verification.
The self-released, self-produced and self-recorded long-player was a labor of love constructed late at night over a year and a half in his apartments. Mixing clever witticisms with soulful crooning, a mish-mash of Outkast, Beck, Prince and Eminem if you will, the songs run the gamut from high-falsetto jam "Lonely Love," showcasing his impressive vocal range, to "Styler," a hard-hitting, innuendo-filled romp.
Full-court acclaim ensued, including features in the Los Angeles Times, URB, Anthem, YRB, Billboard and the LA Weekly. An accomplishment for any musician to be sure, but for one without a record contract, it's remarkable.
"I definitely want to get a label and get that support," Gray Kid explains. "I can ultimately become a catalog artist. But I'm willing to finish this route that's been taken. Changing the game has always been a huge goal for me so I'm staying the course."
He plays this game with an ever-evolving, post-millennial career approach, befriending YouTube, licensing an unreleased track to NBC's prime time show, "30 Rock," and reaching across media with his hot-button art collective, People-Food. But at the core, it's all about his music. "I just think that there's a lot of room for music to be more interesting," says Gray Kid. "The idea is to forge art and entertainment, intelligence, cool and commerce. That's the way I look at my records."
This sentiment may explain the thought behind overnight sensation "Paxilback," a hilarious take on Justin Timberlake's ode to sexy that Gray Kid and the People-Food collective conjured. The accompanying video, replete with outrageously clever couplets such as "I'm bringing Paxil back/The platinum bottle with the childproof cap," was posted on YouTube's homepage and quickly acquired 650,000 views its first weekend. (It is nearing the 2 million mark to date.) It wasn't long before HBO came knocking to extend an invitation to perform at one of their events.
Raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside of D.C., Gray Kid started to get serious about music after receiving a beat machine from his parents for high school graduation. "We used to rap in high school at lunch... but I wrote my first EP while a freshman in college."
Previously entrenched solely in the hip-hop world, he discovered some eye-opening music after his CD collection was stolen that same year. "I was introduced to Tricky and Radiohead by these kids at Columbia," he affirms. "I was like 'wow' and went out and bought a bunch of that." While Radiohead isn't an obvious comparison, Tricky's experimentalism is evident in Gray Kid's compositions. Jittery beats and layered arrangements provide an eerie, emotive backdrop to many of his songs.
Never one to be pigeonholed, Gray Kid's extensive repertoire spans a wide spectrum. "I'm just trying to have a good time," he proclaims. "I want to make party records - heavy beats, very dancey. I try to mix the things that are easy to hear and present them in new ways without bastardizing them or making them uninteresting to people who like hearing things a certain way. I'm trying to recombine all that stuff we grew up on with that not giving a fuck attitude that is hip-hop."
This finding common ground theme continues even in his moniker.
"At first it was a pre-emptive strike," he confesses. "There was some insecurity in it probably. You know, try and make [rap] records like this and just face the stigma. Now it refers to that beautiful middle ground where everyone can relate to each other. The Gray Kid is theoretically able to harness all that in that middle."
After returning home from college he joined a group, eventually opening for Black Eyed Peas and Wyclef Jean. However, he soon realized he wanted to be a solo artist and left in 2004 for New York. He was signed by World's Fair management, home to the Flaming Lips, Devendra Banhart, El-P, and Beans, after his very first show. Four months later he hosted the PLUG Independent Music Awards, sharing the stage with Aesop Rock, Rjd2, Ted Leo, Saul Williams, and Sufjan Stevens. With barely a break, he was headlining the 2005 XBOX Big Day Out Snowboard Competition in Val D'Isere, France, where he joined two of Europe's premier DJ's and stole the show in front of 10,000 people.
Gray Kid headed to L.A. in 2005 for a change of scenery and to experience the much-talked about thriving music scene. "LA has always been the hot bed for some of the more groundbreaking things," he explains. It was here he met Daniel Stessen, and People-Food, a brash, young art collective known for their multi-media pieces, was born. The group has been showered with national publicity (Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, The New York Times) and continuing devotion on the West Coast.
This summer The Kid and his People-Food brethren will give Los Angeles a taste of what they are truly capable of - their biggest installation yet. A theatre production of "Phaedra's Love" will unveil at downtown's Hangar 1018 with Gray Kid providing the score, to be digitally released through The Militia Group label in Summer 2007.
It's possible the LA Weekly had a crystal ball when they penned: "Stardom's inevitable."
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
THE GRAY KID: www.graykid.com |
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