Born and raised in Austin, TX, Randell Jones (aka Kydd Jones) is no stranger to music and is hailed for his lyrical ingenuity. Music was his first love as a child and soon took center stage; being the second oldest out of eight siblings, his mind and his music matured faster than most would expect. As a talented rapper and outstanding singer-songwriter, his uniquely lyrical yet catchy compositions cross the borders of both R&B and hiphop with influences from artists such as UGK, MF DOOM, Jay-Z, Lauren Hill, J-Dilla, Kanye West, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest.
Kydd is a five-time SXSW Showcase artist who performed in 2012 at the XXL SXSW Showcase; at A3C 2012 in Atlanta for Red Bull Soundstage; was selected to perform at Pop Montreal and FunFunFunFest in 2013; performed at the 2014 10th Anniversary A3C Hiphop Festival, the 2014 10th Anniversary Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, the A3C Best In Show for NXNE 2014 and opened for Dan...
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Born and raised in Austin, TX, Randell Jones (aka Kydd Jones) is no stranger to music and is hailed for his lyrical ingenuity. Music was his first love as a child and soon took center stage; being the second oldest out of eight siblings, his mind and his music matured faster than most would expect. As a talented rapper and outstanding singer-songwriter, his uniquely lyrical yet catchy compositions cross the borders of both R&B and hiphop with influences from artists such as UGK, MF DOOM, Jay-Z, Lauren Hill, J-Dilla, Kanye West, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest.
Kydd is a five-time SXSW Showcase artist who performed in 2012 at the XXL SXSW Showcase; at A3C 2012 in Atlanta for Red Bull Soundstage; was selected to perform at Pop Montreal and FunFunFunFest in 2013; performed at the 2014 10th Anniversary A3C Hiphop Festival, the 2014 10th Anniversary Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, the A3C Best In Show for NXNE 2014 and opened for Danny Brown for the Red Bull Sound Select in Austin during SXSW 2014. He has toured numerous times, including The Red Bull Skooled Tour, LRG Homegrown Tour, Yelawolf Texas Tour, Big Sean College Tour, Sneaker Pimps Tour, The Return of Screw York City Tour, The Cool Kids Southwest Tour, and The HipHopGods Tour in Los Angeles through Red Bull Soundstage. He has also become an established producer, having produced tracks featuring artists such as Kirko Bangz, Noah23, Killa Kyleon, Roosh Williams, Yves (of The Niceguys) as well as others.
Kydd released two albums in 2012, "The Sounds In My Head 2," (which had songs with artists like Yelawolf, Pac Div, and Skyzoo) and "The Righteous LP," (featuring an exclusive debut of "The Masons" with A.Dd+ on MishkaNYC and DJBooth), both of which included multiple collaborations with Max Frost of Atlantic Records and longtime Kanye West and GOOD Music affiliate GLC. In 2013, Kydd released a compilation of b-sides entitled "Annunaki" while working on his next album, "GR33D," due in 2014.
Kydd's hometown weekly, the Austin Chronicle, describes him as "a local mainstay with clever lyrics and a smooth delivery" (Kevin Curtin) and with "a smart and smooth flow ... [that] recalls a more casual Kanye West" (Austin Powell). His hometown paper, The Austin-American Statesman, had this to say about him:
"...the rapper, born and raised in South Austin, exemplifies our city about as well as anyone out there. His style is laid back but clear-spoken. Funky and fun." (Deborah Sengupta Stith)
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