 Kyle Hubbard is a 23-year-old MC born and raised in Houston, TX. He presents an alternative style of hip-hop that stresses strength in lyrics but in a presentation even the most casual of hip-hop heads can get with.
Kyle’s body of work includes his debut album “Tea Time With Alice” and “The Neon Summer EP” both of which are on itunes. Kyle has also been featured on many mixtapes hosted by big names. Some of these tapes include “Digital Dynasty 4” hosted by Chamillionaire, “Unsigned On The Grind 4” hosted by Ras Kass and “Coast To Coast Mixtape Vol. 130” hosted by Lloyd Banks.
In early 2010 Kyle released his first solo mixtape, “Who Do You Believe In?” which was hosted by DJ Vlad and DJ Smoke and distributed by Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes. Kyle was nominated “Best Underground Rapper of the Year”
for the 2010 Houston Press Music Awards. Also in 2010 Kyle linked up with Space City Records to release his upcoming EP which features Little Brother’s Rapper Big Pooh.
For starts is your name in hiphop, your real name, or a type of an alter ego? Stage name and the same name acknowledged by the government.
You rep Houston to the core. There is no doubt about that. Alot of people might say your style isn't reflective of it. How do you feel when critics might say that? I think that that is a valid thing for someone to say who isn't familiar with the region. Houston has done a lot to move past labels and stereotypes the rest of the country put on it, but a lot of these positive movements have yet to reach the national stage. For the brief time in history that Houston dominated it was really only pushing one kind of rapper forward, they were all dope, but they represented a very small percentage of what Houston hip-hop has to offer. My class of MCs are extremely creative and out the box, and a lot of us are a far cry from the picture the stereotypes paint.
Does Kyle Hubbard like the Mike Jones, Slim Thug's and Paul Walls? Of course, those are the dudes that put Houston back on the national stage. My music is nothing like their music but that's not to say I dislike it…and to that point, I respect the shit out of those dudes. You have to understand that their music is a huge staple of my time growing up. Each of those guys has a song attached to a great memory from my youth, and I love them for that. I couldn't go to party in high school without hearing "Sittin Sidewayz" or "Still Tippin". It would be easy for the backpacker in me to dismiss these guys, or even be angry for the way Houston was perceived after they blew, but at the end of the day I enjoy their product. Their music will never have a direct impact on my creative process but it would be a dream come true to get a 16 from one of them.
What made you pick up a mic and get busy? The love I have for the written word cemented the desire in me to use my time on this earth to write. Wu Tang's 36 Chambers is what pushed me to put it to drums.
Is it harder to be respected in hiphop as a "white rapper" ? I don't think so, not anymore. You have to understand when I was born, hip-hop already existed. My generation grew up with it, including all the white kids in the suburb, so for white people to become active in the music is just a natural growth. That's not to say that I don't get weird looks from time to time, but it's mostly from other white kids. The hip-hop community in Houston has embraced me as their own, and I am far from the only white cat putting it down out here. I think if I used the white thing as a marketing ploy or as a cheap gimmick I would get a lot of push back, but I don't and at the end of the day anyone who cares about hip-hop music only really cares about the music. If you are going to discount me for the color of my skin from the jump then there is absolutely nothing I can do to make you a fan, so fuck it, I'm moving on past you. Times change, adapt or get lost in the shuffle.
Any new projects coming out? Any features? Currently I am in the studio putting in work for my next project that will come out through Space City Records, a label that won "Best Local Label" in the Houston Press Music Awards. As of now I have Little Brother's Big Pooh on the project, in fact I am sure that song will be featured with this article. As far as other features I want to keep them light and important. I like the majority of my projects to be all about me but that's not to say I am not reaching out. I already have some of the best of my peers in the city committed to wax, and I am looking to get another big name or two on there. I would love to get Paul Wall just because of how insanely different our styles are…I think it would do a lot to bridge old Houston with new Houston, but that's just wishful thinking out loud.
Are you happy with the responses you have received on your appearances on Digital Dynasty and Unsigned On The Grind? Without a doubt, they have done a lot to build my resume and they have helped me pick up a great number of new fans a long the way. Digital Dynasty really got the ball rolling for me when I had nothing going on. I credit the Digital Dynasty mixtape series with lighting the current fire up under my ass and giving me the belief that I could reach another level.
If by some chance music doesn't pan out for you what will you be doing 5 years from now? I would really want to be a teacher, in fact that's something I would want to explore even if the music things works out beautifully. I come from a family of teachers and some of the people who have had the most impact on my life were some of my teachers. I believe teachers are the unsung heros of our entire nation and they deserve a lot more compensation for the things that they do.
What made you come up with the title "Who Do You Believe In" ? I wish I had some super slick shit to say about why I chose that title, but it's actually extremely nerdy. I am a huge Batman buff and one of the most epic Batman story lines, " The Long Halloween" opens with a full page picture of Bruce Wayne saying "I believe in Harvey Dent". Mind you, this is way way way before "The Dark Knight". This picture and the dialogue that comes with it hits hard, because you know how this is all going to end. It's important to note that in the comic books the eventual fall of Harvey Dent has a lot more long term impact than it did in the film (which is brilliant, not trying to take away from it) and as a huge Batman fan it kinda tugs at my heart to know whats going to happen to this dude, and as result what will happen to all the other characters in this universe. Every one of my project has some back handed tribute to Batman or the universe in which Batman resides. The initial name was "I Believe In Kyle Hubbard" and that connection is pretty obvious and direct…but I felt like a douche bag screaming "I BELIEVE IN MYSELF" so I changed the wording to something more elegant.
Have you ever heard the 2pac song ..."Who Do You Believe In" ? No, but I wish I knew it existed so I could tell people my mixtape title is a tribute to Pac instead of exposing myself as king geek.
Here at HipHop.org we like to ask our features some questions that really are out of the norm. We do this because it gives the fans a broader outlook on you. So lets get it cracking ....
Will Texas re-surge like they did in 05 and 06? Texas will without a doubt re-surge but not like it did in 05 and 06. Instead of being the capital of candy paint and swangas, it will become the capital of thought provoking and creative hip-hop. And this time we aren't fading away, once we get back on we are staying on…quote me.
Top 5 rappers ..dead or alive? Not in order… Jay-Z, Nas, Eminem, Andre 3000, and Lupe Fiasco.
Eminem- Recovery ..give us a Kyle Hubbard rating 1 thru 10 .. (10 being the best) When Encore came out I counted Eminem out, I was convinced he was finished. When Relapse came out my notion that the era of Eminem was over was cemented. When Recovery came out I swallowed every bad thing I ever said about that man and cowered at his greatness once again. Recovery is 10, and to me, his best album…if you don't think it is his best then it absolutely has to be in the top 2. When all the buzz of Relapse was starting to swirl I was excited at the prospect of getting the super dark and personal Eminem back, the Marshall Mathers' Eminem. Relapse did not even come close to delivering that, but Recovery did. Recovery was Eminem in his best form and it put all the qualities I like about his music at center stage. It's as moving and gut wrenching as anything on Marshall Mathers or The Eminem Show, it's just fantastic. "Going Through Changes" and "Space Bound" are tied for my favorite Eminem tracks of all time.
Are you concerned about 2012? Like the world ending aspect of it all? Fuck to the nah, that is so ridiculous to me. Like of course their calendar was going to stop going forward at some point, their civilization fell. I think it's more likely they were more tied up with the everything going to hell problem more than the "we have to finish this calendar" problem. But then again, what do I know? All I ask is if the world does end is that my comic book collection survives. I've spent too much time and money putting this thing together to have some asshole armageddon ruin it for me. Also, some notice would be nice so I can hit on every girl I didn't have the nerve to before, I think that's only fair.
Back To The Norm.......Name 1 song you've done that will have the HipHopLead.org viewers hooked!? My most current single, "New School Slang", which features Rapper Big Pooh from the beyond legendary group Little Brother.
Thanks for hollering at us and in closing give any shoutouts....links to your sites....F.U.'S or whatever's clever. I want to say waddup to all my Houston hip-hop kin. Much love to my entire Space City Records Family. And a tip of my hat to my best friend, right hand man, and my favorite (and most talented) up and coming rapper, Roosh Willams! Get at me on the internet (which is a series of tubes) via Facebook or Twitter. If you get at me I will respond, unless you say some super weird shit.
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