Get To Know: KiDi

New Wave is back with another instalment of our “Get To Know:” series, and today we introduce you to KiDi.

The Ghanaian born and raised superstar KiDi is a genre-bending artist, and through his music has created captivating sound waves that have travelled throughout Africa and beyond! From the foundations of KiDi’s hit songs Odo, Say Cheese and debut album Sugar, he continues to grow musically while simultaneously offering fans reinventive sounds. With a new slate in place, KiDi has released his new album Golden Boy and, he mentions: “I believe all my projects have like, a life of their own. 'Sugar' had its own thing going on 'Blue' EP, had its own thing going on and, definitely 'The Golden Boy' supposed to have its own life and own path so...it’s just like a new life of its own.”

When asked about the early memories that have influenced his music, KiDi explains:

When I was little my dad, every single morning you wake up his probably playing like a Daddy Lumba record...he plays it as a ritual to get ready for work. Saturday morning when the house is doing a general cleaning that’s the music that’s playing, Daddy Lumba...BBQs, family meetings, birthday parties it’s always the same music. Like a reflex, sometimes when I open my mouth to sing, I find myself singing these songs because I hear them every time I’m home, and so I began to love these records...when I went into school I was introduced to RnB music, Chris Brown, Usher and all of that so definitely all these things influenced when I later decided to sing.

When describing his current eclectic sound KiDi proudly shares: “...most of my music even though your hearing highlife, there are RnB undertones that makes it very unique to everything else you’re hearing out there. The soul in the music makes it very unique...so I believe 'The Golden Boy' definitely has a life of its own even though it’s the same Afrobeat genre and the same highlife genre, the key sound is quite distinct.”

Experimenting with melodies and combining genres has made KiDi a standout amongst his peers, with smooth soulful tones glossed with hypnotic vibrations rooted in highlife and Afrobeat, KiDi most definitely is paving his lane! KiDi continues to make his mark as he releases The Golden Boy and expanding on the process of creating his anticipating sophomore album he explains:

I started working on this album, I think right before the pandemic started, at that time I was introduced to Teddy Riley...all these people from New York, Brooklyn. They were sending me beats, songs, tracks to vibe with and write on...the pandemic hit really hard and it looked like this album was not going to be ready during this pandemic so I decide to keep working on it but on the side work on an EP to put out. I just needed to give my fans music with everything going on around the world. I did that and when the EP was out, I came back to work on the album...I didn’t know what it was going to be named, I was just making the music as the inspiration came, so I was making the records, different beats, different vibes, different inspiration from here and there and halfway through the album, I had two names for the album. I had ‘Golden Boy’ and I had ‘Dangerous’ I was like hmm...I want people to think of KiDi and be like “Yo this guy is dangerous”, a good sense of the word dangerous “He puts his mind to something and he executes, he kills it.” Then I tried to sleep on it and decide to pray about it and I woke up one morning and said you know what ‘The Golden Boy’ is more symbolic to the music that is coming out on this album.

The journey of The Golden Boy represents the musician KiDi is today, capturing his experiences, emotions, feelings and thoughts all in one project. KiDi has delivered an album that will steer the listeners on a musical journey through the vocal arrangements, production, instrumentation and compositions – this body of work is most definitely a masterpiece in its own right. The Golden Boy displays KiDi’s vocal range, harmonies, melodic flair as he brings together an album that is well-fitted for any mood! This album represents the many talents of KiDi, and being a self-sufficient, multifaceted artist KiDi mentions:

I produced like half of the songs on the album, and the other half by my producer friends even that I’m still involved somehow, like I'll play the chords or I’ll play the beat. Throughout this whole album, I think I’m practically involved in the production of like 90% of the whole album, so I’m proud about that.

With being heavily involved in creating this body of work we also discuss the challenges of this process and, KiDi adds: “It’s definitely very challenging because sometimes I need to tell myself and, remind myself that listen somebody's idea might be better than mine! it’s very hard to accept that, this person’s idea is actually sick but because I’m so proud of my idea the balance is finding and accepting sometimes when you just have to lay back and let someone do it, the way it supposed to be, so it’s challenging but it’s a challenge I accept.”

Diving deeper into The Golden Boy album which is home to 14 distinctive tracks, KiDi speaks on the song list originally being quite extensive: “We recorded so many songs for this album, I’m so sad some of them, my favourites didn’t make it...but I’m happy with the final list.”

Having such a big team behind him from LYNX Entertainment, EMPIRE and MadeInENY he explains: “...everybody has what they think would sound great for the sonic journey of the album, in the end there’s a few songs everybody agreed on...we found a way to all come and meet at the middle point and decide what was good for the album sonically.” The first single Touch It provided an upbeat and feel-good track that created a huge buzz involving a dance challenge on Tik Tok, which received over 35 million views! KiDi also teams up with Joey B on Send Me Nudes and Patoranking and Kuami Eugene on Spiritual.

From the collaborations, production, diverse topics, there is apparent growth within KiDi’s musicality. The importance of continuous artist development is an area that KiDi focuses on and mentions: “I just want them to experience the growth with me, and grow with me as I grow as an artist and as a person...the same way when ‘The Golden Boy’ comes, I want them to also experience next level KiDi...production, writing, style everything I just want them to experience the growth”.

With the recent year being so challenging, KiDi also expands on what has fuelled his musical journey and growth:

The whole world is going through it, but I always thank God for my family, my mum, my son like when I’m down I try to like take a break, I think of them. I think of the inspiring words my mum gives me, I look at my son and the smile on his face when he hears my music, you have to keep going! The fans every time I put out stuff the way they receive it, the reception to my music is inspiring...so all of these people really inspire me and keep me going.

To round up this interview, we left KiDi with this final question - What messages do you want your fans to take from “The Golden Boy” album?

KiDi responded expressing, “I’ve always told myself I wanted my fans to have a KiDi song for every part of their lives, every feeling they feel they have KiDi music for it. There’s all of that, and of course there’s a song I’m basically bearing out my soul and being vulnerable and telling people the challenges of being a Golden Boy, being somebody who has so many ambitions but then the reality of life is...we are only humans but we strive to make it. There’s something like I said for everybody happy, sad, social issues, being vulnerable, all of that.”

KiDi later adds: “It's been a really tough year I'm not a doctor I can’t give vaccines, and can’t heal people the little I can do with my life is give music, give people positive vibes”

Check out and listen to The Golden Boy by KiDi, available on all streaming platforms!