Windy City Sounds: Kai, The Mind
Windy City Sounds
Kai, The Mind:
Kai, The Mind brings a certain smoothness to his music
Whenever a day gets a little too tough, Kai, the Mind’s music is there to make it feel better. The soothing sounds Kai puts out are always relaxing and easy to get lost in and his personal lyrics make the connection feel real. Kai doesn’t need to front like he’s anything other than himself and that is a refreshing perspective to have in today’s industry. The moves he’s making with Black Tide Ent and the D.A.R. Arts Collective are as powerful as his music and it’s clear he wants to help the community in a bigger way. See what he has to say about his music and movement below.
You have a really relaxed style that is soothing and easy to listen to. How did you get into that sound? Who are some of your influences?
I guess my sound is a reflection of my personality. I’m not too boisterous or over the top and my music depicts that. I draw a lot of influence from artists in my city. Mick Jenkins, Saba, and Chance are some favorites just to name a few.
My next project is called Don’t Mind Me EP. It was supposed to release December 29th, but all the pieces weren’t together by that time. You’ll see the project before #SpitFest2017, however.
D.A.R. Arts Colective is what started it all. Artist and close friend of mine Indo decided that there was too much talent in our city to go to waste so he decided to get us under one roof and that’s when the .WAV music group was formed. 1320 Productions was an existing entity, so we partnered with .WAV to create D.A.R. Arts Collective.
Black Tide Entertainment is my label started in New Orleans with a similar focus. I wanted artists from around the country to come together and sustain a legacy of shared culture. Currently, we have artists from Dallas, Houston, Miami, New Orleans and Chicago. This diverse roster provides an incredibly versatile sound because our influences are from all over the country.
All in all, both collectives are on the rise.
Who are some of your favorite artists in the game right now?
Gotta shout out my people first cause I’m really a fan of these guys. Monty Psychs and Matt Whise of .WAV, Grandmaster Tae of Black Tide, Saba won me over again with Bucket List Project, Ye, 6LACK. I’m a fan of R&B too so I jam to quite a lot of music.
How did you first get into making music?
I started playing piano my sophomore year in high school. I wrote poetry, too, and those two evolved into me rapping. I recorded my first 4 songs all in one night, in like December 2014. It was at WAV’s home studio around like 3am. Everyone was asleep and I had some stuff written, so I decided to record and mix it myself. I released them as my first singles and the rest is history.
Anything else you want to add?
Shoutout to 4th Shore Hip Hop and Black Tide Ent. If you’re in Chicago, see me live at SpitFest 2017 and catch the Don’t Mind Me EP coming soon.