Kidd Upstairs

Early life

Kidd Upstairs was born and raised in Oakland, California. While still young he started learning to rap, and later began learning how to produce his music as well. Using the alias Kidd Upstairs, Derek Hurd began rapping over his own instrumental tracks, incorporating diverse genres centered around hip hop.

2010-13: First releases

Kidd Upstairs released several singles in 2011, as well as a music video for his track "Bleed My Soul," uploaded online in July 2011. On November 25, 2011, Red Nine Music released Kidd Upstairs' debut album Window Seat. His sophomore album, DMNDS, was released half a year later on July 1, 2012. About the latter's title, Kidd Upstairs has explained that "I coined the term DMND as an extension of the word dime. It’s the highest quality of woman that exists, beautiful in both appearance and psyche, independent and not easily accessible. Rarely flawless yet always unique, I wanted to chronicle this breed of women that deserve to be highlighted separate from the usual hoes and bitches rap references.”

In 2013 he released several singles, producing and rapping on tracks such as "Amanda Bynes," which was released on Top Floor Music Group on May 9, 2013. A music video for the track, made in collaboration with XO, was released in May 2013. The video splices footage of Amanda Bynes with performance shots, and Complex called the video "fun." Noisey wrote that the song was using Bynes as a metaphor for cocaine, "whose troubled present seems all the more grave given her past of giving us ridiculous amounts of joy as children." About whether it was intended as a diss track, Kidd Upstairs explained that "I don't believe Amanda Bynes has done, or is doing, anything wrong. She is expressing her desire to change and grow...this video isn't here to judge."

On August 27, 2013 Kidd Upstairs released KVSHMIR, a mixtape hosted by DJ Cos the Kid. Among the producers who contributed to the project were New York producer Harry Fraud and producer/rapper Pete Rock.

In January 2014 he released his single "Andrew Wiggins," which refers to the Canadian basketball player Andrew Wiggins, who played for Kansas University. Wrote Earmilk, "'Andrew Wiggins' is another track that shows Kidd trying to show kids growing up that hard work and dedication pays off, which is certainly a breath of fresh air in the current hip hop climate." The original promotional art for the single, which depicted their mascot smoking a blunt, was changed after a cease and desist order from Kansas University. The story received some play in the media, and was picked up by FOX Sports.

2014: DMNDS Deluxe

By 2014 Kidd Upstairs was touring throughout California, opening for Nipsey Hussle in San Diego early in the year. On February 18 he released the DMNDS Deluxe version of his former album on Top Floor Music Group. He produced fourteen of the eighteen tracks, and several were featured as New or Noteworthy on iTunes.

He released a music video for the DMNDS track "Pockets" in May 2014. Prefix Magazine wrote the video "finds Kidd getting lifted with friends while also experiencing haunted hallucinations of a female in the room, who doesn't seem to actually be there." The song was produced by Kidd Upstairs, with Michael Parades directing the video. According to a review of the deluxe version of DMNDS in ThisisSongSlaps in 2014, "I don’t really like to make comparisons, especially in Kidd Upstairs case, but honestly the Kidd reminds me a lot of Alchemist and Curren$y in terms of work ethic and the quality of his music."

2014-present

On May 19, 2014 his single "Went Down" premiered on the website This Song is Sick. The single was a collaboration with Hippie Sabotage, a production duo, who according to This Song is Sick "have offered their chilled out production style packed with unreal vocal sampling, synths and feel good vibes. The foundation is perfect for Kidd Upstairs to spit some effortless, yet confident flow on the beat."

Earmilk wrote on August 12, 2014 that singles such as "Amanda Bynes" and "Andrew Wiggins" were "all helping cement Kidd's status as one of the West Coast's finest up and coming talents." About the track "Insta Gram$," released in August 2014, Earmilk wrote the song "focuses on women who will do anything and everything to score some freebies. With a typically banging beat produced by Portland beat-wizard Stewart Villain, Kidd really goes in hard, delivering some clever lyrical prowess alongside an incredibly concise flow."

He has a new mixtape titled KVSHMIR II due out in either late 2014 or 2015. In the summer of 2014 he released a number of promo singles for the mixtape, including "Bridge Burners" in June, "Descent" in August, and "Feel Right" in September. Kidd Upstairs was a featured guest artist on the September 2014 track "Tone It Down" by the rapper Demrick. Kidd Upstairs is signed to Empire Distribution. He released his most recent EP, To Crown a Child, in May 2015.

Personal life

As of 2014, Kidd Upstairs is based in Los Angeles.