Kyle Harvey

Kyle Harvey was born on May 18, 1993, in the Reseda neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. In the absence of his father, Harvey, alongside his two siblings, was raised by their mother. He grew up with a speech impediment that he still has and in his youth, was bullied because of it.

He studied at Ventura High School, where he participated in drama classes. They helped him immensely in increasing his confidence. He has been interested in music all his life. When he was six years old, he first started singing and by the time he enrolled in the elementary school, he was already writing and composing songs and performing them. As he approached the threshold of adolescence, he began to develop an interest in rapping. That interest was augmented after he heard Kid Cudi's ‘Man on the Moon’ for the first time. At 13, he started rapping himself. Some of his earliest tracks were recorded on PreSonus' Studio One recording software using his aunt's computer. At that time, Harvey was still in high school. Kyle was picked as one of the ten 2017 XXL Freshman in June 2017.

In the early phase of his career, Kyle Harvey was using the stage name K.i.D. In 2010, K.i.D released his debut mixtape, titled ‘Senior Year’. He followed it up in 2011 by bringing out one album ‘FxL’ (in which he collaborated with Mr. Man) and two mixtapes, ‘Second Semester’ and ‘Super Duper’. In 2012, he put out his self-titled second album.

In 2011, he covered ‘UnReahersed’. After adopting a new stage name (Kyle), he released his first single, ‘Keep It Real’, in 2013. He also released three other singles that year, ‘Fruit Snacks’, ‘Bang’, and ‘Raining Love’ and an album ‘Beautiful Loser’. Kyle spent the following year in relative leisure and came back in 2015 with a bang. He put out two singles, ‘Just a Picture’ and ‘King Wavy’, and an album, ‘Smyle’, which received positive reviews from the critics and fans alike.

In 2016, he released his most successful track to date, ‘iSpy’, featuring Lil Yachty. The track claimed the top spot on the US Billboard Rhythmic chart and was certified four times platinum by the RIAA. It was later released as the lead single of his debut album ‘Light of Mine’.

After signing a record deal with Atlantic Records, Kyle put out his first studio album ‘Light of Mine’ on May 18, 2018. It has 15 tracks and features renowned artists such as Kehlani, 2 Chainz, Sophia Black, Khalid, Take 6, Avery Wilson, Lil Yachty and Alessia Cara. Produced by several renowned hip-hop artists, including Austin Sexton, Axl Folie, Beni Haze, Lege Kale, M-Phazes, Monte Booker, Nas, Ricci Riera, and 10A, the album has garnered favourable reviews. Pitchfork’s Briana Younger wrote, “The carefree California rapper’s debut is an exceedingly joyous and self-aware slice of pop rap.”