Melissa Lauren Young (born July 3, 1980), known professionally as Kid Sister, is an American rapper and singer based in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. She is known for her single "

Pro Nails "Pro Nails" is the second single by American hip hop artist Kid Sister from her debut album ''Ultraviolet'' (formerly known as ''Dream Date''). The song is better known for its remix, which features a verse by Kanye West. The single was origina ...

", which features

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

, 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 Markham may refer to: Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * Markham's grass mouse (''Abrothrix olivaceus markhami''), a rodent subspecies found on Wellington Island and the ne ...

. She started to rap in October 2006, becoming an MC at monthly dance parties hosted by DJ duo

Flosstradamus Flosstradamus is the stage name of American DJ and musician Curt Cameruci. From 2007 until 2016, Flosstradamus consisted of Cameruci and Josh Young from Chicago. The duo announced they would both be pursuing solo careers, with Cameruci to continu ...

(Josh Young, of Flosstradamus, is Melisa's brother), who were featured in

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''My Block'' that same year. She made '' URBs "The Next 1000" cover in April 2007, and was signed to DJ

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known professionally as A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highl ...

's label, Fool's Gold, who released her first single "

", which features Kanye West. Kid Sister later signed with

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Interscope Capitol Labels Group (formerly Geffen Records, Interscope ...

, 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. She had also finished a

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

with

. In Fall 2009, Kid Sister finished recording her debut studio album. The title was changed from ''Dream Date'' to ''

Ultraviolet Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...

''. The album was produced by the likes of

Rusko Rusko () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population densi ...

The Count & Sinden "Beeper" is the debut single by British music duo the Count & Sinden, featuring vocals from American hip hop artist Kid Sister. The song was released via Domino Records in April 2008. Background and release "Beeper" was released on Switch and S ...

XXXChange Alex Brady Epton, known professionally as XXXChange, is an American, New York–based record producer, mixer and film composer. In 2014, he joined XL Recordings in New York, and as their in-house producer/engineer worked with FKA Twigs, Wiki, Ra ...

, and Brian Kennedy, and includes a collaboration with English singer Estelle titled "First Ladies", which is a remake of

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe ...

's 1989 acclaimed track "Ladies First" from her debut album ''

All Hail the Queen ''All Hail the Queen'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Queen Latifah. The album was released on November 7, 1989, through Tommy Boy Records. The feminist anthem "Ladies First", featuring Monie Love, remains one of Latifah's signatu ...

''. Her single "

Control Control may refer to: Basic meanings Economics and business * Control (management), an element of management * Control, an element of management accounting * Comptroller (or controller), a senior financial officer in an organization * Controlling ...

" is featured in the 2009 music video game ''

DJ Hero ''DJ Hero'' is a 2009 rhythm game developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision. It is the first spin-off of the ''Guitar Hero'' series. It was released on October 27, 2009, in North America and on October 29, 2009, in Europe. The gam ...

'', combined with

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

's " Disturbia". The album's lead single was " Right Hand Hi", produced by

Steve Angello Steven Patrik Josefsson Fragogiannis (; born 22 November 1982), known professionally as Steve Angello, is a Greek–Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and record label owner. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Seba ...

and

Sebastian Ingrosso Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Steve Angello. Career 1999–2007: Career beginnings Sebastian Ingrosso entered the music indu ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

DJ group

Swedish House Mafia Swedish House Mafia (SHM) are a Swedish house music, house Supergroup (music), supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 D ...

. "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." 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 Dean Josiah Cover (born 4 June 1988), professionally known as Inflo, is a British producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He helms the R&B music collective project Sault (band), Sault, which foregrounds black-centric issues. Career In ...

. Kid Sister is a member of the British music collective Sault, along with Inflo and British singer-songwriter

Cleo Sol Cleopatra Zvezdana Nikolic (born 24 March 1990), better known by her stage name Cleo Sol, is an English singer-songwriter. Working closely with her husband, the producer Inflo, Dean Josiah Cover, she has released five solo studio albums beginnin ...

Personal life

Kid Sister's ethnic background includes African American, Native American, and Caucasian. In numerous interviews and magazine articles, she has revealed that she has struggled financially for years before becoming West's protégé. 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. Kid Sister has a degree in film from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

and worked on two independent feature films during her studies:

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

drama ''The Guys'' (2002) starring

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

and

Anthony LaPaglia Anthony LaPaglia (, ; born 31 January 1959) is an Australian actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen he has received several accolades including three AACTA Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. For his starring role as Jac ...

; and ''Best Thief in the World'' (2003) starring

Mary-Louise Parker Mary-Louise Parker (born August 2, 1964) is an American actress. After making her Broadway debut as Rita in Craig Lucas' '' Prelude to a Kiss'' in 1990 (for which she received a Tony Award nomination), Parker came to prominence for film roles ...

and

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American singer and actress. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four acti ...

. Kid Sister for a time concurrently worked for the retail chain

Bath & Body Works Bath & Body Works, LLC. is an American retail store chain that sells soaps, lotions, fragrances, and candles. It was founded in 1990 in New Albany, Ohio, New Albany, Ohio and has since expanded across six continents. In 1997, it became the large ...

, Little Threads, a children's clothing store, and Wild Hare, a reggae bar in Wrigleyville.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (2009)

Mixtapes

* ''Kiss Kiss Kiss'' (2011) * ''DUSK2DAWN: The Diary of Jane Jupiter'' (2014)

EPs

* ''Kiss & Tell'' (2011)

Singles

Solo

As featured performer

Awards and nominations

BET Awards The BET Awards are an American award show that was established in 2001 by the BET, Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate Black person, Black entertainers and other minorities in music, film, sports and philanthropy. The awards, which ...

**2008: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist (nominated)

References

External links

Review
by ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''
Interview with Kid Sister at The Music Fix prior to the UK release of ''Ultraviolet''

Venus Zine Presents: Kid Sister
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sister, Kid 1980 births 21st-century American women rappers African-American women rappers Living people Midwest hip-hop musicians People from Markham, Illinois Rappers from Chicago Universal Music Group artists Songwriters from Illinois African-American songwriters 21st-century American rappers American women in electronic music Downtown Records artists 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American women