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- We’re excited to be speaking today with acclaimed singer and songwriter KiDi; greetings and salutations KiDi and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we dive into the Q&A mosh-pit, how is the back-half of 2024 treating you and yours?
All right, guys. So the back half of 2024 has been amazing so far. I have a single out that’s doing well, I’m fired up, i’m ready, i’m gingered, i have my album coming in this back end. So, like it’s been up, up, up from here. And I’ve been super excited about it. There’s motion, there’s movement, and I’m always super grateful for that. So yeah, back end 2024 KiDi is coming, KiDi is here actually.
- Major kudos and accolades on your freshly-minted new single Lomo Lomo which sees you teaming up with friend and fellow industry superstar Black Sheriff! Starting at the top, can you talk about what inspired one of the very best single releases of ‘24?
Um, so Lomo Lomo, what inspired Lomo Lomo, it’s just you know, it’s a fun love song dancing, you know Africans we love to dance like whatever you’re talking about, whatever the topic it is, we want to dance while listening to it. So it’s just a dance inspired love song that speaks about a woman just having you charmed, and, you know, under a spell. And like you said, it is doing amazing. And shout out to my brother Black Sheriff for also being on the record. And the record is everywhere, like it’s everywhere I hear it in every corner on social media it is doing well. And like I said, it’s a single that is leading up to the album. So the album is also really around the corner as well. So, yeah, super, super excited.
- What was it like collaborating with Black Sheriff on Lomo Lomo?
Collaborating with Black Sheriff is, you know, this my first ever time collaborating with him. He’s, he’s just a talented all around, you know, fun guy to be around, you know, it’s always good vibes. The energy is always good. I’m a man of energy, so I’m always very, very particular about my energy and the people around me. He has really good energy, you know. So I love that, and I love that we’re able to collaborate and birth this amazing song. So it’s not always, it’s not always that you have two big artists collaborating in the song coming out well, because sometimes the artists always try to do too much, and then the song doesn’t end up being, you know, but I’m super grateful that we’re able to step into our collaborative energy and bring about such a beautiful song that is being loved by me, and it still has a long way to go anyway, but so far, like people, the feedback has been super amazing. Yeah.
- Speaking of collaborations, the rightly lauded Ugly x Tough handled the producing chores on Lomo Lomo! What was it like collaborating with Ugly x Tough while in the studio fashioning and shaping the new track?
Shout out to my people, Ugly and Tough, I can never speak about Lomo Lomo without giving them the accolades for that because one of the best parts about the song is the beat, the instrumental. When you hear it, even without the song playing, your head is already bumping, your shoulders are moving, your feet is moving, shout out to Ugly and Tough, shout out to Kojo Black as well. Shout out to everybody that was involved in making this record, it’s a banger, that’s all I can say.
- In your humble opinion, what differentiates Lomo Lomo from the Distinguished Competition on the 2024 music scene?
Um, to be honest, I don’t, I don’t know what differentiates Lomo Lomo from, I don’t know, maybe I always like to tell people my songs have soul, like no matter how fast the song is, even if it’s a danceable song whether it’s a slow song, whether it’s whatever it is, my songs always have soul. And I feel like that is what sets me apart from like other people. I don’t know what other people do, but I can speak for myself. Like there’s so much soul. And even though you are dancing in such a catchy hook and you’re bumping your head, it still has so much soul. You know, it’s actually very poetic if you pay attention to the lyrics or what is being said. So, yeah.
- Who do you count as your major musical inspirations?
When it comes to musical inspirations I have a long list of people that inspire me. I’m always very open to learning and always open to absorbing the good things about other artists that I have looked up to growing up. There’s a long list of them from Ghana here. And I’ve looked up to people like Ofori Ponsa, Daddy Lumba, Kojo Antwi. Also, in the Western world, I’ve always paid attention to Chris Brown, Usher. Drake, Beyonce, Rihanna, Maxwell. It’s such a long list of people I look up to, you know, like I always pick up the good aspects of what I can learn from how they’re able to craft their art, their stage presence, their recordings, their vocal stacking, their style. Like there’s so many people I look up to, such a long list of inspirations. We won’t end today if I begin to go into all of them.
- In the wake of the release of Lomo Lomo, can fans look forward to a possible EP or LP release from you before the end of the year?
Um, like I said earlier, yes, this is a year of the album for KiDi, I’ve kept the fans waiting for so long, but finally, finally, finally, I’m ready, we’re ready, we’re ready to go the album is ready, and me, I’m itching, I’m really itching to have the album out, I wish I could just, you know, drop it tomorrow, but obviously I can’t. But yeah, we have the album coming this year, and just a few, just a few weeks away, so it’s gonna be out and about very soon.
- You hail from the Republic of Ghana. How do those specific roots inform you as both an artist and as a person?
Coming from Ghana, growing up in Ghana, I’ve always been very attentive to the culture scene, the music scene, the high life. High life, in essence, is what has birthed a lot of genres. Afrobeats today, as it is right now, I stand on my ten toes and say, it was birthed from high life. And being a Ghanaian, where this sound is birthed, there’s so much inspiration to pick from. And even as a person, like as Ghanaians, all over the world, if you know Ghanaians, you know that we are good vibes, like we don’t hobble, hate, we don’t hobble, negative vibes, bad vibes, we’re just good vibes, we just want to have a good time, we’re calm and chill people. And I think that is also me, like everywhere I go, like I’m very reserved, like I’m having a good time, but I’m still reserved, I’m still chill, like there’s good energy around the place. And I’m grateful for that, growing up in Ghana and having those traits and those things installed in me, and I’m happy about that, you know.
- How is Lomo Lomo similar to some of your past music such as Odo or Say You Love Me? How is it different
Lomo Lomo is, I don’t know, I think quite similar to my past because as KiDi, I’ve always been known as the guy that I love making love songs. I love love. I absolutely love love. And like, Odo Say You Love Me, all those hits, they’re all love songs. And to be honest, everybody likes love. Everybody relates to love. Even if you’ve never been in love, there’s some love in your life. Maybe your parents, maybe your siblings, maybe your friends. So everybody relates to love. Lomo Lomo, just like my other hits, have all centered around love because I feel like the world needs a lot of love. There’s a lot of love in the world, but we need more love to balance the negativity of the world.
- Any final thoughts you might like to leave readers with regarding your sizzling new single collaboration with Black Sheriff, Lomo Lomo?
I just like to, you know, thank everybody for, you know, reading, being here, supporting the movement. All my Gandians across the globe, wherever you are, you know, beat your chest and be proud. Like Ghana is coming. We’re doing our thing and we’re happy and we’re moving. Lomo Lomo is out. I just want everybody to jump on challenges. We know these days we have to do a challenge. We have to dance and all of that. Even though I don’t know how to dance, but I dance. But yeah, everybody, I appreciate everybody for the support. I appreciate everybody who is, you know, doing something with the song. When the album comes, I want, I plead with people to also support the album as well. Play it, you know, in your parties, in your cars, in your clubs, like there’s something for everybody. So play it and once again, peace out and love to everyone.
