Kyle Sutton (born 1980),Kyle Rapps profile
hotnewhiphop.com. Accessed October 17, 2014. better known by his stage name Kyle Rapps, is an American hip hop artist from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Early life and education

Sutton was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, and raised in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, primarily by his mother. His father was a minister.Marcel Hidalgo
“Kyle Rapps Discusses Breaking Out Of The Cocoon,”
''Prefix'', July 1, 2013. Sutton attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

, earning a BA in Spanish.Carrie Stetler
“Mayhem Poets Tour the World, but Their Legacy Stays on Campus,”
Rutgers Today, January 27, 2012. In 2015, he relocated from

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harle ...

Mexico City, Mexico Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

.Nick Vukorepa
“Kyle Rapps – ‘Architecture’ (Feat. Murs),”
Earmilk, December 24, 2013.

Career

As Skeptik

While at Rutgers, under the pseudonym Skeptik, he formed the underground hip hop group Thought Breakers. Their debut EP, ''Episode 1'', was released in 2004 and independently sold over 10,000 copies. The group opened for

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, ...

Fat Joe Joseph Antonio Cartagena (born August 19, 1970), better known by his stage name Fat Joe, is an American rapper from New York City. He began his music career as a member of hip hop group Diggin' in the Crates Crew (D.I.T.C.), then forged a so ...

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

and

Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, se ...

.“New Music: Kyle Rapps X Talib Kweli ‘Universe Traveler’,”
'' Respect.'', July 21, 2011. Around that time, he formed a spoken-word poetry collective, Mayhem Poets. In 2007, the collective won a

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

small business competition, enabling them to establish the open mic venue Slam Chops in Manhattan, which stayed open for two years. Also in 2007, the collective had a two-month

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

run at the

New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover an ...

. After a 2009 trip to

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

with Mayhem Poets, Sutton began to go by the name Black Skeptik, and released titles "Rent" and "Frankenstein Saves Hip Hop".

As Kyle Rapps

In 2010, now going by Kyle Rapps, he released the single "Love, Love," featuring

KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

and

Homeboy Sandman Angel Del Villar II (born September 24, 1980), better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States. Career Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, ''Nourishment'', in M ...

. In 2011, his ''RE-Edutainment'' mixtape came out, with the title in homage to the 1990

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...

album ''

Edutainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...

''. KRS-One,

Joell Ortiz Joell Christopher Ortiz (born July 6, 1980) is an American rapper and a former member of the group Slaughterhouse. Ortiz grew up in the Cooper Park Houses in the East Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, formerly signed to Dr. Dre's Aft ...

and

U-N-I U-N-I (short for "U-N-I To The Verse") are a hip hop duo from Inglewood, Los Angeles, consisting of Y-O (born Yonas Semere Michael) and Thurzday (born Yannick Koffi).Smith, Camilo (2008)U-N-I will host party at Holy Grail sneaker shop tonigh ...

appear on the mixtape. Later in 2011, Rapps released ''On Air'', featuring appearances from Talib Kweli,

C-Rayz Walz Waleed Shabazz (born August 3, 1975), better known by his stage name C-Rayz Walz, is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York. He has been a member of the collective Stronghold. Early life Waleed Shabazz was born and raised in the Bronx, New ...

, KRS-One and Homeboy Sandman. The eight-track mixtape is built around samples from French electronic music duo

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

. In June 2013, Mishka NYC Records released ''SUB'', Rapps' first full-length album, produced by Belief and featuring collaborations with Murs,

Action Bronson Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper, songwriter, chef, wrestler, exotic olive oil taster, and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he embarked on his musical ...

Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire Hugh Anthony Allison (born 1986), better known by his stage name Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire (often censored as Mr. MFN eXquire or simply eXquire), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he debuted with the release of his first mixtape, ...

, Aaron Cohen and Spaceman. ''

Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...

'' called it "a mesmerizing selection of songs." In 2014, Rapps put out the single "The Sky's on Fire", produced by

Belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take ...

and featuring vocals by Adrienne Mack-Davis. In 2017, Rapps released "Latrell", its title and sampled intro referencing

Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...

, a former professional basketball player who was suspended for attacking his Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo in 1997. In 2020, Rapps performed virtually over Zoom at Soul Vey, a Black and Jewish community event led by Adam Swig and

Kosha Dillz Rami Matan Even-Esh ( he, רמי מתן אבן-אש; born August 26, 1981), known professionally as Kosha Dillz, is an Israeli-American rapper.Chris Faraone"MC pals' flows are Kosha,"''Boston Herald'', August 15, 2008.KRS-One Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...

Diwon Erez Safar is an American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and Shem ...

, Murs, Adrienne Mack-Davis,

, Hefna Gwap,

, Chuuwee, Faruz Feet, Dirt E. Dutch,

, Sly5thAve, Aaron Cohen, Brody,

Y-Love Yitz Jordan (born January 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic.Jerry Portwood"Y-Love is Ready for Love,"''Out'', May 15, 2012. He is a web developer, activist ...

, Nathan Sela, Vulkan the Krusader, Sam Siegel, S'natra, DJ JS-1, Breez Brewin, Dru the Monster, Nelson, Little Freckles, Ali Salah Rasé, and Ray Contour.

Discography

Albums

* ''SUB'' (w/

) (2013, Mishka NYC Records) * ''Colossus Theory'' (w/ Vulkan The Krusader) (2015) * ''Perverse Ramblings'' (2017)

Singles

* "Rent" – as Black Skeptik, with

(2009, Mayhem Poets Entertainment) * "Frankenstein Saves Hip Hop" – as Black Skeptik (2009, Mayhem Poets Entertainment, Blockhead) * "Love, Love" – featuring

and

(2010, Diamond Music Group / Mayhem Poets Entertainment) * "Portlandia" – with

(2012,

Shemspeed Erez Safar is an American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and She ...

) * "Mr. Rogers" – with

(2012, Shemspeed) * "Get It In" – featuring

(2012, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "Watch Out" (2013, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "Super Glue" – featuring

(2013, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "Architecture" – featuring Murs (2013, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "The Sky's on Fire" – featuring Adrienne Mack-Davis and

(2014) * "Hold Tyte" with Hefna Gwap (2014, Mishka NYC - from ''European Tic Tacs'') * "Searchin'" with Hefna Gwap featuring Aaron Cohen (2014, Mishka NYC - from ''European Tic Tacs'') * "God-Like" (2015 - from ''Colossus Theory'') * "D.F." (2015 - from ''Colossus Theory)'' * "Bunker" (2016) * "Michigan" (2016, Diamond Music Group) * "Fiction" (2017 - from ''Perverse Ramblings'') * "Eulogy" (2017 - from ''Perverse Ramblings'') * "Latrell" (2017 - from ''Perverse Ramblings'') * "Dark Hour" (2018) * "Green on Red" (2018) * "Shiba Inu" (2018) * "Fxckvision" (2019) * "Art Monk" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "Black Suburbs" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "TD" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "This is Medicine" with

(2019) * "Don't Try" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "Gtfo" with Chuuwee (2020) * "Barrio Chino" with Faruz Feet (2020) * "Mrs. Huxtable" with Dirt E. Dutch and Chris Keys (2020, Mayhem Entertainment) * "Bitd" with

(2020) * "Mourning" with Sly5thAve (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Episode 1'' – as Skeptik, with Thought Breakers (2004) * ''RE-Edutainment'' (2011) * ''On Air'' (2011) * ''Syndication'' (w/

) (2012)

EPs

* ''Tyrone Gosling'' w/ Diwon * ''European Tic Tacs'' w/ Hefna Gwap (Mishka NYC, 2014)

Collaborations

* "Let It Go" – Dirt E. Dutch featuring Kyle Rapps (2011, Little Ax - from ''Bars Magica'') * "Forget It"- Aaron Cohen featuring Kyle Rapps (2012, Mishka NYC - from ''MURK'') * "Good Life" –

featuring Brody, Kyle Rapps,

and Nathan Sela (2013, Bancs Media - from ''New Game'') * "Hikaru" - Vulkan The Krusader featuring Kyle Rapps (2014, from ''VX-13: Do You Remember Love'') * "Lifted (Remix)" - Sam Siegel & S'natra featuring Kyle Rapps, Hefna Gwap,

Lord of the Fly Blue Sky Black Death ( abbreviated BSBD) was a production duo based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It consisted of Ryan Maguire, better known by his stage name Kingston, and Ian Taggart, better known by his stage name Young God, or, later, Tel ...

, and T-Shyne (2014) * "110 Percent" - DJ JS-1 featuring Breez Brewin,

and Kyle Rapps (2014, Ground Original - from ''It is What it Isn't'') * "Clyde Frazier" - Dru the Monster featuring Kyle Rapps (2015 - from ''Monsters Never Die'') * "Lost Touch" - Nelson featuring Kyle Rapps (2015, RRCB/Diamond Media 360 - from ''Seven Ye)'' * "Sleep on It" - Little Freckles, written in collaboration with Kyle Rapps (201

* "Wieder" - Ali Salah Rasé featuring Kyle Rapps (2017, Hiena Voyeur - from ''Prieto)'' * "I Got a Story to Tell" - Ray Contour featuring Kyle Rapps (2019 - from ''East Coast Gold'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapps, Kyle 1980 births Living people African-American male rappers East Coast hip hop musicians Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan People from Princeton, New Jersey Rappers from Michigan Rappers from New Jersey Rappers from New York City Rutgers University alumni 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people