Kid Capri
The room begins to shake. It starts as a low vibration and builds. Something big is coming as the floor emits quiet anticipation. In the midst of the crowd sits a strange sort of silence. And then an ear-shattering, slightly defiant yell fills the void: KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIID CAPRIIIII! It rattles the walls. Kid’s voice enters the space before he does and all at once, the audience knows what it’s …in for. “I am unlike rap acts that just walk from one side of the stage to the other in concert. I’m a total crowd-hyping entertainer. That means doing it 110% every time I hit the stage. I want the people out of their seats, feeling me, feeling the music. That’s the only way I do it.” This energy is what has earned Kid Capri his title, as the most relentless, most relied upon to rock a party, most dynamic and larger-than-life DJ in the history of hip-hop. He has survived every era of hip-hop and emerged each time with a renewed sense of purpose and something new to contribute to the culture. From the very beginning, Kid studied a craft that had never before been given recognition or even considered a legitimate skill. Yet Kid Capri’s skills go far beyond the spinning wheel of the turntable.
For years he’s been able to tour in parts of the country other artists were afraid to touch. Unafraid to try out new markets, anyone not into hip-hop before surely was after his show. This revolutionary talent began on the turntable, which ultimately gained him the status of a hip-hop phenomenon; however, Kid is a multi-faceted talent using his craft to create new trends in music that shatter the limitations so often placed on hip-hop artists. From his innovative style, to his second-to-none knack for choosing just the right crowd-pleasing sound, to his unparalleled mixtapes, Kid exemplifies the spirit of the entrepreneurial-minded musician.
Born David Anthony Love in the Bronx, New York, Kid Capri was born creatively ambitious, scaling his family’s old Zenith stereo system in an attempt to scratch records before he was even ten years old. Kid first inched his way onto the hip-hop scene with the grass-roots approach of club gigs and creating mixtapes. Kid is, in fact, the Prime Minister of mixtapes, as he saw their profit potential early in his career. He managed to turn a small business venture into a $2,000 a night underground empire! Once others caught on to the economic benefits of mixtapes, they soon followed in Kid’s footsteps and thus began the Kid Capri bandwagon.
Currently, there are no other DJs on Earth more recognizable to both hip-hop followers and the general public, largely due to Kid’s media sense. His face first became a part of the cultural landscape on the wildly popular Russell Simmons Def Comedy Jam where he gave much of the world its first taste of live-performance hip-hop, as the first ever to perform live on TV as a DJ. From that, Kid became the most heavily demanded entertainment personality by many of the industry’s most respected and successful performers. Kid has toured extensively with multi-platinum artists such as Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, L.L. Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Foxy Brown, NAS, Lil’ Kim, Mase, Jay-Z, Usher, R-Kelly, Mary J. Blige, Dru Hill, Ginuwine and Aaliyah.
Beyond Kid’s renown as a show-stopping performer sits another side of him: the meticulous studio-scientist working behind the scenes to lend that extra wisdom to some of Hip Hop’s hottest-turned-classic records. He revels in the challenge of the ever-changing nature that defines the world of rap music. Prime examples of Kid’s versatility are his production credits. He has produced music for power players like Madonna, Jay-Z, Heavy D, and 50 Cent. His studio precision and artistry have made him a Grammy-award winning producer.
Kid continues to expand on his formula for success. He recently produced and co-directed Loaded Lux’s Lionz Den, a film that focuses on the gritty, no holds barred lyrical battle between some of today’s most promising rappers. The battleground consists of a live audience including numerous Hip-Hop heavyweights and is set at BlackStar Video in Harlem. Loaded was a part of the 2010 Urban World Film Festival in New York City.
Kid has also been featured as lead judge on Smirnoff’s “Master of the Mix”, the hit BET reality TV competition in search of the country’s hottest DJ. On the heels of the success of Season 1, Kid, along with host Just Blaze and fellow judges Amber Rose and Vikter Duplaix, has just wrapped shooting Season 2 of “Master of the Mix”, which premiered November 5th, 2011.
In March 2012 Kid was commissioned to remix “Masterpiece”, an exclusive track featured on the special Smirnoff Nightlife Edition of Madonna’s album, MDNA. He joined her for the album release party in Miami as a part of Winter Music Conference, and the album was released on March 26, 2012.
In the fall of 2012, Master of the Mix made a bold move from BET to VH1. Season 3 is slated to begin filming in Miami in January 2013 and will premiere at midnight on April 1, 2013.
Kid has far exceeded the expectations of his peers, critics and fans. His love for and careful nurturing of his immense talents has enabled him to represent hip-hop with class, individuality and intensity unmatched in the music industry. The impact Kid Capri has had, and will continue to have, is immeasurable. With cameos and features in many of today’s urban music videos there is a steadily increasing demand by many of the industry’s top performers for Kids guidance and expertise. Along with continuously taping HBO’s critically acclaimed Def Comedy Jam series, Kid is steadily touring, selling out shows and balancing his heavy production schedule. Check him out at a city near you!