Kid Sister has been in the game longer than you might imagine. Having grown up during the house-genre takeoff in Chicago, she was fed dance grooves at an early age. Combined with the talents of her DJ brother (half of group, Flosstradamus), Kid Sister began to MC monthly parties in 2005. She later was signed to Fools Gold Records and her first single ‘Pro Nails’ featured a contribution by Kanye West. Yes, Kanye West was on her very first single. That is quite a statement, really.
I was able to chat with Kid Sister last week before her debut at Club Avalon in Los Angeles. After talking with her, it made me reinvest faith that a person who has so much attention directed at them all the time can really be as humble and sincere as we’d all like to imagine. Her most recent mixtape, Kiss Kiss Kiss, combines both new works and some old favorites and remixes. Her latest single ‘Gucci Rag Tap,’ featuring Gucci Mane himself, has been on heavy club rotation recently. If you have not heard this yet, you’re partying at the wrong clubs. It is a free download on her Facebook, so what’s stopping you?
ALEX: First off, I’d like to congratulate you on the success surrounding your newly released Kiss Kiss Kiss mixtape. It is a beautifully crafted mixtape that seems to have positive support throughout the entire community. Don’t think I’ve seen one bad thing, now that I think about it!
KID SISTER: Well thank you! It is pretty awesome.
ALEX: Tell us a little about your favorite moments leading up to the formation of the now, Kiss Kiss Kiss mixtape.
KID SISTER: I really liked doing all the new stuff. ‘Gucci Rag Top,’ ‘Click Clack’ and ‘Work Them’ were all new. I just love writing new songs, and get excited having new songs to perform. So definitely being able to put together a bunch of new stuff that I enjoy was my favorite part about this project.
ALEX: The mixtape features some remix work done by Laidback Luke and Caspa, to name just a few. Were these new pieces, or...?
KID SISTER: Laidback Luke was a new remix and Caspa had done some work when the album initially came out. The purpose of this mixtape was to essentially catch people up, so to speak. We had the suspicion that some people might have heard some of these new remixes, so we decided to put them in the mixtape alongside the new stuff.
ALEX: Does having such a heavy influence and standing in the “dance” community influence your mindset and writing skills when you go into the studio?
KID SISTER: I think being from Chicago really influenced how I work. If I was not from Chicago my work would probably not feature so much dance influence. Chicago is so ‘house-y.’
ALEX: Were you sneaking into the clubs growing up, catching all the legendary house guys?
KID SISTER: Not so much sneaking, hah. Just going really. My mom and my friends mom used to drop us off at this club called ‘Jubilation.’ It was an all-ages dance club. Well, mainly a teen club. There were some older people there who should NOT have been there. Anyways, it was this teen dance club, where the house DJ’s at the time would play. There were not many places to play where you could make money that was actually close to home. Cajmere, Green Velvet and many others would play this little teen dance club. You have no idea how that is being a young teen seeing these guys play. Seeing the Percolator live; what the hell. I don’t think I had even heard an entire Beatles album at that point.
ALEX: Do you have any new projects already slated for 2011?
KID SISTER: I am working on the next project now. That’s going on and I’m touring with A-Trak in April and going to Europe in May.
ALEX: A full tour with A-Trak, that sounds amazing. Are you coming to Virginia by chance?
KID SISTER: Yeah, I’m doing a full tour with A-Trak. Not sure of the exact cities yet, but I should definitely be in the area.
ALEX: Any upcoming collaboration you can tell us about?
KID SISTER: A lady never tells! I’m sorry, but you know I can’t tell you that, ha! I can say that I’m in the studio regularly with a bunch of people.
ALEX: When you answered the phone, you thought I was from Virginia Beach and you said it a little funny. Have you ever been this way before?
KID SISTER: I have not, but I dated a guy from Virginia Beach once. I was expecting a little bit heavier of an accent.
ALEX: The only thing I have been ‘attacked’ on is how I say ‘y’all’. Even then, people think I’m from the Deep South or something. It’s quite funny.
KID SISTER: I say y’all! My grandma is from an area right on [the] Alabama and Georgia border and we say ‘y’all’ all the time. Maybe it was because they were from the south, or maybe it’s just black folk, ha. We all say it.
ALEX:You’ve worked with such a wide range of artists. From one side of the spectrum you have Kanye West, Gucci Mane, A-Trak. On the other side you have some ‘lesser-known’ artists such as Carte Blanche and Tittsworth. How do these collaborations take off?
KID SISTER: We’re all friends. Pretty much everyone I work with has been a friend. Big or little, we’re all friends.
ALEX: Going back to Carte Blanche, did you have any part in the making of the "Do! Do! Do!" video? Did they have you dancing around in front of a green screen or anything?
KID SISTER: Yeah, sort of. It wasn’t a green screen but it was this crazy technology. The girl who animated the video is also a really good friend of mine. As an artist, not to sound too deep, but it is what it is. We take care of each other, or at least try to. That’s how a lot of careers get started.
ALEX: I read that you have a degree in Film Studies. Do you ever plan on branching out again into video or is the music thing kind of exclusive right now?
KID SISTER: I was in a movie a few months ago actually, with one of my favorite directors. Movies can be either really, really bad, or really, really good. You can never tell when you’re in the scene filming. This director has consistently put out good material, though. It was a great experience. I’ll do it again. Not right now, though. I’ll have to be settled for a while and let things settle down.
ALEX: One final question; tell us about one of your craziest or most embarrassing experiences on tour.
KID SISTER: We played this festival in Montreal called Igloo Fest. First of all, it was 1 degree when we landed. I’m not kidding. When we landed they were like, ‘Welcome to Montreal, the temperature is 1 degree.’ But we had to perform at this outdoor festival at night. I was in a snowsuit and it was almost unbearable. That one of the craziest experiences I’ve ever had. Drinking a lot of hot drinks and chilling on ice furniture.
ALEX:That’s all I have for now, it has been a pleasure.
KID SISTER: Thank you so much, see you soon!