The Kid Sister smackdown

(Credit: Andreas Larsson)

Apparently Kid Sister didn’t get a copy of the hip-hop rulebook where it says that every successful rapper has to have an ego bigger than Kanye West’s trophy case. When we mention that for the past year, she’s been practically a fixture on MTV—appearing on “Subterranean,” MTVU, “TRL” and “FN MTV”—her response is, "Isn't the crazy? I don’t even understand it.”

Humility is just one of the many traits that make this 28-year-old Chicago MC—born Melisa Young in the Chi-town suburb of Markham—stand out from the crowd. Another is her sense of fun (“I’m kind of goofy,” she admits), which comes through on party-ready tracks like the underground hit “Pro Nails” and the frenetic “Switchboard.” And then there’s her candy-colored dress sense, which earlier this year inspired Spin magazine to put her (along with fellow Windy City artists Cool Kids, Dude ‘N Nem and Flosstradamus) in a fashion feature about the city’s “new hip-hop stars.”

From her home on Chicago’s north side, Kid Sister dropped some pro wrestling knowledge, explained why she’s been reluctant to quit her day job, and admitted to the fact that she’s not really a kid sister.

Were you surprised that Spin magazine not only did a story about you, but that they also made you into a fashion spread?
I mean, I knew that’s what it was gonna be. It turned out really kind of cute, but the stylists were on some really weird s---. They couldn’t speak English, so they’d be like, “Do you like?” And we’re like, “No, I don’t like this.” And they’re like, “OK,” and they handed it to us to put it on anyway. It’s kind of funny the way it turned out, because it looks really, really nice. I have to say: go Spin, you badass bitches.

Your have a brother in Flosstradamus, J2K, but he’s your younger brother. Are you actually anyone’s kid sister? Do you have an older brother we don’t know about?
[Laughs] I am no one’s kid sister.

You didn’t want to be called Big Sister?
Right. [in a growly voice] “I’m Big Sister—now give me some meat!” [Laughs] I don’t know. It was one of those things that Josh [J2K] came up with. He comes up with good ideas.

It seems like the kind of name that gives you license to be a bit of a brat.
Well, I don’t tend to think of myself as a brat. But I guess if I wanted to be, I have the wiggle room for it. But I don’t know; I tend to think of myself as an older sister, kind of a fuddy-duddy, kind of—not straight-laced, but I’m definitely not out there getting into hijinks.

So your debut album is going to be called “Koko B. Ware.” Is that another character of yours?
No. How old are you?

Um…old enough.
So you remember WWF, right? Koko B. Ware’s a wrestler. He was the black dude with the Jheri curl and the big parrot. Remember him? He used to be all like, “Awk! Awk!”

I totally missed the professional wrestling train. I know they’re called the WWE now because the World Wildlife Fund made them change their name.
I know—that panda bear was not having that s---.

But no—I did not know that Koko B. Ware was a pro wrestler.
He was the only pro wrestler with a Jheri curl. My brother and I used to watch wrestling when we were younger because it was basically the only thing we could do together that didn’t entail ripping each other’s hair out. It just brings back good memories. I can remember freshman year in the dorms and many other occasions where you can try to do ice-breakers and get to know people, and if you start talking about old ‘80s commercials and old toys and old cartoons you used to watch and wrestling characters—that is the number-one ice-breaker between people my age.

Do you really still work at a children’s clothing store?
I guess I can start saying “no.” The thing is, I probably started doing music three to six months after I started working there. But they let me leave—when I first started touring, they let me go whenever I wanted to. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a lot of s---ty jobs. No job I ever had would let you just leave—I mean, if you’re on the schedule, then you’re on the schedule. [So] now, if I’m home and they want to me to work—if someone’s sick or someone’s kid’s sick or whatever—I will totally work, ‘cause it’s kind of the right thing to do. They helped me, so why not scratch their back a little bit? And they have a beer fridge, which makes it a lot better.