Origin Birmingham, Alabama Years active 2006–present Name KD KD | Genres Hip hop
Rap
Soul Labels Hollow Entertainment | |
 | ||
Born August 5, 1988 (age 35)
Birmingham, Alabama ( 1988-08-05 ) Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, record producer, rapper Associated acts Pill
DJ Burn One
Scotty
Freddie Gibbs
SL Jones
Starlito | ||
KD (born August 5, 1988) is an American Hip hop soul artist from Birmingham, Alabama. KD has gained popularity among the underground scene following as a result of releasing 10 original mixtapes and albums independently since 2007.
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Early life
Born and raised on the Westside of Birmingham, Alabama, KD began doing talent shows in Birmingham at the age of 5. He began to record music in high school and upon graduating from Minor High School, he received a football scholarship to Clark-Atlanta University. He was dismissed for violating team rules and transferred to Alabama A&M University where he played a year before leaving.
Career
In 2007 he collaborated up with Atlanta DJ, DJ Burn One and the two released KD's first mixtape Last Man Standing that same year. They released another mixtape, The Playa Prezident the following year, featuring DJ Toomp. "The production on this album is what the South's been missing!", wrote Whitefolksgetcrunk.com. In 2009, he released two albums, Untouchable and Soul Inn. Untouchable featured the song "Luv It", of which The Fader wrote, "As the latest stars of Alabama's Got Talent, Birmingham's KD and H.A.M. try on flows like fancy clothes over a B-Phlat spaceship rattler, each verse outclassing the last. The chorus is as formidable as it is inspirational."
Soul Inn featured a guest appearance by Pill, and was released October 2009. Steady Bloggin described, "We sang the praises of Untouchable earlier this year, and Soul Inn continues in the tradition of excellent beat selection and smooth rhyming. Mick Vegas, B-Phlat and B Kirk crush the production here. This is big." In 2010, he and DJ Burn One released, The Best of KD, a compilation of KD's best songs to date. London, United Kingdom based hip-hop website Southern Hospitality wrote, "Birmingham, Alabama’s consistently soul warming KD teams up with one of the world’s foremost country rap music connoisseur’s for his ‘Best Of’ collection."
In 2011, while still working with DJ Burn One, KD released G-Fluid. It featured an appearance from rapper Freddie Gibbs on "Let Me Ride". Justin Ivey, Kevin Nottingham Editor-In-Chief, described the album as "vintage country rap tunes". This album also helped land him in SPIN magazine's November 2011 issue as a rising star of raps new underground. The following year, he released G-Fluid, partnering with Dirty Glove Bastard, DJ 5150, DJ Burn One and mixtape website LiveMixtapes to release Crown Me, a free album that featured Houston-based rapper Le$.
In 2013, he released his first digital retail album Diary of a Trill Nigga on Hollow Entertainment. The Smoking Section wrote, "Alabama’s own KD brings his own version of street knowledge mixed with a little spirituality", to describe Diary of a Trill Nigga.