Artist Watch: KYLE

iSpy. We all know the song. I’m sure you’re playing it back in your head right now. But do you know the rapper? Lil Yachty? Well, not exactly.

Cali-raised, 24-year old, KYLE is the mastermind behind the track. He’s begun to amp up the hype for his incoming album. What do we know about it so far? He’s been pumping out singles, including Sunshine (feat. Miguel), Off of It (feat. Ty Dolla $ign), All Mine (feat. MadeinTYO) and they’re all bangers. If the rest of the album is anything like these tracks, we’re in for a treat.

His “happy rapping” style is reminiscent of Chance and his beats will bring you back to summertime. KYLE claims that happiness is the most important thing in life and it’s clear that he strives to spread his happiness in each of his songs. In high school, KYLE began rapping and became the Smyle-y guy we know today. In 2015, Rolling Stone named KYLE as an artist to know. In 2017, XXL named him one of the ten XXL Freshman, alongside Playboi Carti, XXXTentacion, and more.

PHOTO: Andrew Boyle

KYLE hasn’t gotten enough recognition for all of his work. Apart from his new singles, he’s already had collabs with Chance the Rapper, G-Eazy, Kehlani, Kodak Black, and Jon Bellion. These are all huge names. Will KYLE be a one hit wonder? I don’t think so. I think iSpy was his ticket into popular music.

Fellow New Orleanians will be happy to hear that KYLE will be performing at Voodoo Fest on Saturday, October 28th under the name SuperDuperKyle. Look out for him at 2PM in the Toyota Music Den – he might even crowd surf on a yellow surfboard. Later in the year, he’ll be performing at Goldrush Music Festival in Chandler, AZ and Complexcon in Long Beach, CA.

PHOTO: Andrew Boyle

This guy’s bound to be big this year so start listening to what he’s putting out now. If you’re too lazy to do that, I would definitely keep an eye out for him in the coming months.

Peep KYLE here in the blue sweater dancing with Chance the Rapper and friends:

For concert schedule and merch check out his website.