As far as rap duos go, SonReal and Rich Kidd have their relationship figured out.
“Unless he pisses me off and I want to rip his guts out, then we’ll always be good.”
Toronto rapper/producer Rich Kidd’s found his musical counterpart in Vancouver rapper SonReal. The duo just released their first album together entitled The Closers.
Rich Kidd said he met SonReal back in the days of Internet chatting before Twitter and Facebook became popular.
“I met him on MSN back in like, ’06 or ’07. He hit me up first because he heard I made beats and stuff like that,” Rich Kidd said. “He spit on the first mix tape that I dropped and since then, we just stayed in contact.”
Years of knowing each other allowed them to become friends as well as frequent music collaborators.
“SonReal sees the real me and I see the real him. We vibe off that, and as long as we keep vibing and as long as we keep collaborating and making good music, then we won’t ever have a problem.”
Rich Kidd has produced most of SonReal’s solo albums, and SonReal returned the favour by making guest appearances on Rich Kidd’s independent releases. The Closers will mark Rich Kidd’s first full-length album release.
“We basically went to L.A. to record the majority of the album, which was originally supposed to be an EP, but since we recorded so many good joints, the label wanted to turn it into an album,” Rich Kidd said. “I produced most of the stuff back at home, but brought my beats over there and then we laced it up.”
Going to L.A. was a perfect solution to the barrier of geography.
The duo spent ten days in the sunny state recording the album since Rich Kidd said rather than emailing sections of songs to each other, the pair wanted to meet in person.
“With Son, I wanted to get in the room with him and really hammer out music just because I know we work best that way together.” Now the rap duo is on tour with the new album all over the country. Having just returned from doing gigs in Victoria, Vancouver and Calgary, SonReal and Rich Kidd are going to be hitting Kingston next week for the first time.
Rich Kidd said no show is ever boring. After a smoke before going on stage, he’s always excited about what the gig could bring for the future.
“Every show is a good opportunity to meet new people, gain some new fans and turn people onto what we do.”
SonReal and Rich Kidd play the Mansion on Wednesday at 9 p.m.
Tags
Interview, L.A., SonReal + Rich Kidd, Toronto, Vancouver
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