kidDEAD
Florida-native troublemaker and addict turned Nashville DIY rapper Ross Norton, aka kidDEAD, brings his truth to the table, holding back as little as possible. Melding many influences, kidDEAD is known to bring the vibe down a notch or two and tug at the heart strings with dark, introspective lyrics and honest accounts of painful experiences. Born to drug addict parents and spending many years in active addiction himself, kidDEAD barely escaped the clutches of addiction in his own life. After digging his way out of the darkness, he has found his way back to his anti-authoritarian roots, which he flexes frequently on Cut the Kite String. Showing off some of his own production for the first time, the album also features instrumental contributions from iAlive, Adder, PT Burnem, and Phantom Farmer (the sole producer of Rap & Destroy). Thematically, Cut the Kite String focuses on how capitalist society pressures individuals to think about success and failure. Cutting the Kite String is cutting ties with what the world wants for us and finding our own way to be successful and true to ourselves . Touring heavily over the past few years, kidDEAD is finding his own lane and carving a niche the only way he knows how; through the pain of razor sharp dedication, cutting every kite string he sees along the way.Band/artist history
kidDEAD, was born Ross Norton in the city of Tallahassee Florida. He doesn't have the usual Nashville story, where an artist leaves home to pursue his dreams in the music city. Instead his arrival in Nashville was more of a tumultuous journey that made pursuing his dreams the only option left.
In a hurry to leave home, kidDEAD began a journey to do whatever he wanted. He started to travel, following the Grateful Dead, going to Phish shows, attending different festivals. All the while loving Hip Hop and getting deeper into it as he discovered some of the underground rappers like Atmosphere, Cannibal Ox, and EL-P. He kept rapping but never was able to make anything consistent musically because of his addiction to drugs. As he traveled from place to place he would often be the weird Hip Hop guy selling drugs at the festival or show. He moved around a lot, always returning to Tallahassee for a while and then heading out again. This lifestyle was taking it's toll and he was burning bridges with everyone around him making more and more bad decisions.
The whole thing came to a grinding halt, when he was at Bonnaroo and through a series of events he got arrested. Though he had been in trouble in the past, this one was big. When it rains it pours, and while kidDEAD was in jail his mother passed away. With his mom gone, Tallahassee was no longer home, and with mourning in his heart, he knew every thing needed to change. He knew that Nashville was his last chance, his last chance to make the right choices and to turn himself around. To find hope, to make music, to live out his dreams, and he wasn't going to let that chance pass him by. Driven by this new desire to stop living for himself, he was finally able to put the drugs behind. For years his addictions had kept him in a place of complete instability. So without looking back he was finally able to find hope, and he poured all that he had into his music. During this period, kidDEAD was still hurting, maybe even hurting more than he was. But he found a way to start writing songs that made him able to get that hurt out in a more positive way, with less anger and more honest true to heart feelings. He began to connect with the music and started to find his niche. His early work in Nashville consisted of a solo project that was more of a mixtape, but in addition he became one of the key ingredients to the Satirical Rap group The Last of the Horsemen.
With a renewed passion for the Hip Hop scene and a renewed passion for life, kidDEAD realized he had a story to tell. His goal is to write honest songs about hope and love and the struggles of falling short. To make honest attempts to relate to the human heart, and to use his art to inspire those around him, as other artist have inspired him. He has learned some hard lessons, and through those he hopes he can help others to avoid those mistakes and to make good choices. He believes the words of Bill Hicks who said it's Just a simple choice, right now, between fear and love. He believes that all people have the opportunity to make that choice, and that they should let nothing stop them from doing so. He says Things can be good, even through the hardest things we go through, the hardest times of our lives knowing that even though things can be really hard and tough, there still can be hope that things can be better. On a personal level and on a world level. No matter how messed up things are, we have to believe that there is good in human nature and that things are going to be ok.
To know pain, it must first be experienced. To have hope it must first be found. There is no accurate way to practice what pain feels like, nor is there a way to fake hope. But through the clever, real life words of Nashville rap maker kidDEAD, one can at least understand what pain and hope look like. kidDEAD leaves a poetic trail of authenticity with every verse combined with the gentleness of a man who has found hope in his future and has harnessed the wisdom and power of words. Feeding off experiences that most Americans have been familiarized with but many have been lucky enough not to face, kidDEAD reminds us all that we are not necessarily the past or where we come from, but we are who we decide to be, right now.What equipment do you use?
kidDEAD raps and sings while playing beats over an Roland SP-404 and a Korg Kaoss Pad, as well as belting rap/folk punk songs on a Martin guitar.Admin
Ross
@RossNorton
