Melissa Lauren Young (born July 3, 1980), known professionally as Kid Sister, is an American rapper and singer based in Chicago. She is known for her single "Pro Nails", which features Kanye West, and for her covert work as a member of the British music collective Sault.
Biography
Kid Sister was born Melissa Lauren Young on July 3, 1980, in Markham, Illinois.[2] She started to rap in October 2006, becoming an MC at monthly dance parties hosted by DJ duo Flosstradamus (Josh Young, of Flosstradamus, is Melisa's brother), who were featured in MTV's My Block that same year.[3] She made URB's "The Next 1000" cover in April 2007,[4] and was signed to DJ A-Trak's label, Fool's Gold, who released her first single "Pro Nails", which features Kanye West. Kid Sister later signed with Downtown Records,[5] who re-released "Pro Nails" to critical acclaim.
Kid Sister also appears on Tittsworth's "WTF", from his debut album 12 Steps, with Pase Rock.[6] She had also finished a mixtape with A-Trak.[3]
In Fall 2009, Kid Sister finished recording her debut studio album. The title was changed from Dream Date to Ultraviolet. The album was produced by the likes of Rusko, The Count & Sinden, XXXChange, and Brian Kennedy, and includes a collaboration with English singer Estelle titled "First Ladies", which is a remake of Queen Latifah's 1989 acclaimed track "Ladies First" from her debut album All Hail the Queen.[7]
"I think a lot of people are going to be surprised with the fact that there's a bunch of raw hip-hop records on there," said A-Trak. "It's not all up tempo clubby stuff. I think a lot of people are going to be impressed with her growth also because when she made a lot of the records that people have heard by now, she was just starting to rap."[9]
In late 2010, Kid Sister released a mixtape titled Kiss Kiss Kiss and in 2014 she released a second mixtape, Dusk2Dawn: The Diary of Jane Jupiter in which she tackled more serious, personal subjects. In 2016, she began working on her second album with British producer Inflo. Kid Sister is a member of the British music collective Sault, along with Inflo and British singer-songwriter Cleo Sol.[10]
Personal life
Kid Sister's ethnic background includes African American, Native American, and Caucasian.[11] In numerous interviews and magazine articles, she has revealed that she has struggled financially for years before becoming West's protégé.[12][13] She has also admitted to being 215 pounds at one point in her life. She continued in the same interview to state that she has been "thick" her whole life, but explained that this has had no bearing on her self-esteem, because at her core she is not a passive person.[14]
