Ever since the internet turned every last drip-drop of intellectual property into the featured item at an ever-extending, all-you-can-download digital buffet, nobody's even sure if concepts like "underground" or "mainstream" exist anymore.
But Chicago electro-hop diva Kid Sister straddles the line like the best of them. After cutting her chops on the Windy City's underground party scene with mash-up DJ duo Flosstradamus, this MC (real name Melisa Young) signed with A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs's Fool's Gold imprint before making a blip in popular consciousness with her 2007 "Pro Nails" single co-starring Kanye West.
You might expect the rest to be history. But there's little doubt Young is still on her grind like a starving indie artist who never stopped wanting it. Bad.
Over the last year, Kid Sister dropped a pair of ultra-savvy slabs: an album-length mixtape called Kiss Kiss Kiss as well as the more "official" Kiss and Tell EP.
But that's not the only way Sister stays relevant with the bloggers and iTunes browsers. The new year has already seen Young perform alongside internet-rap darling Danny Brown. Plus, she's also slated to appear on Chris Brown's next album.
There used to be a more defined division between popular music and its alternatives. But with increasing access to limitless amounts of media, those lines have never been more radically blurred. And Kid Sister is a prime example for how to stay relevant in an era overloaded with digital ambiguity.
Kid Sister with Riff Raff and DJ Mike Deuce, presented by Poplife. Saturday, February 4. Grand Central, 697 N. Miami Ave, Downtown Miami. The show starts at and tickets cost $15 plus fees via fla.vor.us. Ages 18 and up. Call 305-377-2277 or visit grandcentralmiami.com.
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