David Anthony Love Jr. (better known as Kid Capri; born February 7, 1967) is an American
DJ and rapper.
Early life
Kid Capri was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. He spent most of his youth in the
Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.
As an 8-year-old, Capri would attempt to scratch records on his father's
Zenith
The zenith (, ) is the imaginary point on the celestial sphere directly "above" a particular location. "Above" means in the vertical direction (Vertical and horizontal, plumb line) opposite to the gravity direction at that location (nadir). The z ...
stereo system.
Career
Kid Capri starred in the HBO series,
Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...
' ''
Def Comedy Jam''. In 2017, he returned for the Netflix ''
Def Comedy Jam''’s 25th Anniversary Special. He has produced tracks for artists such as
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
,
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...
,
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
,
Heavy D
Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...
, and
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...
. He has toured with Jay-Z,
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...
,
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (sometimes stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa) is an American hip-hop, hip hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (rapper), Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (rapper), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). ...
,
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...
, and most recently RBRM. He produced a song on Jay-Z's album, ''
Hard Knock Life''. In 2017, Kid narrated
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
's entire ''
DAMN'' album. Kid premiered his vocals at Jennifer Lopez's ''
Jennifer Lopez: All I Have'' Las Vegas residency, which lasted from 2016 to 2018, during the portion of her show dedicated to The Bronx.
Kid Capri deejayed for seven seasons of ''
Def Comedy Jam''.
He
produced tracks for
Boogie Down Productions
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip-hop group formed in the Bronx, New York City, in 1986. It originally consisted of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the ...
,
Heavy D
Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...
,
Big L and
Grand Puba.
He eventually released an LP on
Warner Brothers Records titled ''
The Tape'' in 1991.
He appeared in the film ''
Who's the Man?'' in 1993.
In 1997, Kid Capri signed with the
Track Masters'
-distributed label after he appeared on the 1997
Puff Daddy
Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...
and the Family World Tour. He subsequently released ''
Soundtrack to the Streets'' in 1998.
Kid Capri was involved in his own record label, No Kid'n Records. On July 29, 2007, Kid Capri made an appearance during
Rock the Bells 2007 as
Rakim
William Michael Griffin Jr. (born January 28, 1968), better known by his stage name Rakim (), is an American rapper. He is one half of Golden age hip-hop, golden age hip hop duo Eric B. & Rakim, with whom he released four albums: ''Paid in Full ...
's DJ. Kid Capri also made an appearance as Rakim's DJ during the Rock the Bells 2008 show on July 19, 2008, in
Tinley Park, Illinois
Tinley Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. The population was 55,971 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a suburb in the Chicago metropolitan ar ...
.
Kid was featured as lead judge on
Smirnoff
Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898), but its modern incarnation traces back to the ...
's ''
Master of the Mix'', the
BET reality TV
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...
competition in search of the nation's best DJ. In March 2012, Kid was commissioned to remix "
Masterpiece
A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship.
Historically, ...
", an exclusive track featured on the special Smirnoff Nightlife Edition of
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's album, ''
MDNA''. Kid was also featured on
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
's song "
ELEMENT." in which he has vocal parts in the intro and closing.
During the 2018 Global Spin Awards, which was held during NBA All-Star weekend, Kid received the Red Award in honor of
DJ Red Alert from
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
.
On May 15, 2021, Kid Capri was a
Bronx Walk of Fame inductee.
In 2022, Kid released his third studio album titled ''The Love'', marking his return after a 25-year hiatus. ''The Love'' features Capri's daughter, R&B singer Vina Love.
Kid has been featured multiple times on the
We TV show ''
Growing Up Hip Hop: New York'', which debuted in 2019.
Kid collaborated with The Hoodies, brothers E-Class and Young Poppa, to produce the ''Hidden Gems'' album in 2023.
The 2003
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 ...
Tribute to
Jam Master Jay
Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician, record producer and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC becam ...
honored slain
Run-DMC
Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...
DJ member with an all-star mix-off, which included Kid Capri as host and DJ on the decks. Twenty years later at the 2023 BET Awards, Kid Capri hosted and curated Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary segment.
Until the fall of 2023, Kid continued to host "The Block Party" on
SiriusXM FLY every weekend.
Discography
Albums and mixtapes
Kid Capri's albums and mixtapes are given below.
Features
Filmography
Videos
* "
Crossover" (1992 off
EPMD
EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is an initialism for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. E Double) and Parrish Smith ("PMD" a.k.a. Parrish Mi ...
's ''
Business Never Personal'')
* "DWYCK" (1992 off
GangStarr's ''
Hard to Earn'')
* "Put It On" (1995 off
Big L's ''
Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous'')
* "We Celebrate" (2007 off
Ghostface Killah
Dennis David Coles (born May 9, 1970), better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of ''Enter the Wu-Tang ...
's ''
The Big Doe Rehab'')
Cameos and roles in film
* ''
Who's the Man?'' as himself (1993)
* ''
A Get2Gether'' as Dee Jay (2005)
* ''
Def Comedy Jam 25'' as himself (2017)
References
External links
*
*
Kid Capriat
Discogs
Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
Kid Capri – Bronx Walk of Fame Inductee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capri, Kid
1967 births
Living people
African-American male rappers
20th-century American male rappers
American hip-hop DJs
American people of Italian descent
Cold Chillin' Records artists
Columbia Records artists
East Coast hip-hop musicians
Rappers from the Bronx
Songwriters from New York (state)
African-American songwriters
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American musicians
American male songwriters