It was in April of 2015 when I first met Kyle, born Kyle Harvey, in Philadelphia at the Trocadero Theatre during his first national tour, “King Wavy Tour”, in promotion of his debut album, Beautiful Loser, released on Indie-Pop.
The Philadelphia stop was Harvey’s second time in the city within six months following his “Hey Kyle Tour” that was in conjunction with Watsky’s “All You Can Do Tour”. That said, it was on the “Hey Kyle Tour” Harvey would meet Eddie Madrid, fellow rapper and former classmate of mine, who opened for him. To my surprise, at the end of the performance a chance to meet and take a picture with Harvey arose.
Originally known as K.I.D, dating back to 2010, Harvey, a Ventura, California native, had six releases, most notably Super Duper, prior to his debut album Beautiful Loser. A bit dumbfounded, I remember greeting Harvey asking when the follow up to Beautiful Loser would drop, as it had been almost two years.
Harvey said “soon”, and after our picture he told me I was “awesome” followed by a handshake, one of those rare, genuine moments in life.
But, that’s what Harveys all about, being happy, and making you feel that way as well, doing so since the age of 13. The self proclaimed “happy rapper” wants you to smile no matter what you’re going through. Just hit play on his music, and it will be alright, Harvey said promoting his second album, Smyle. The album was released in October of 2015 on Indie-Pop, debuting at no. 76 on the Billboard 200.
In fact, our own Erin Simon had the opportunity to interview Harvey during his private listening party for the album.
Smyle was supported by the the “SMYLE Tour”, then Harvey, alongside Blackbear, co-opened for Hoodie Allen on the “Happy Camper Tour”. Before that, Harvey opened for fellow rapper G-Eazy, alongside Skizzy Mars, on the “Must Be Nice Tour” in 2013, circling back to his debut album Beautiful Loser that was released a few months after the tour.
However, though he was opening for someone else again, it was in 2016 that Harvey started to gain mainstream traction. A year prior, Rolling Stone highlighted Kyle as one of ten artists you need to know. Additionally, The Fader highlighted not only Kyle, but his crew, dubbed Super Duper, of photographers, designers, managers, and friends.
Interestingly enough, Kyle’s manager, Nolan Smith and a few others, were the masterminds behind Patagucci, a on-purpose knock off of Patagonia, under the alias Pat. Fellow rappers G-Eazy and Skizzy Mars were both spotted wearing the gear, helping the brand gain traction. Unfortunately, the brand was sued, and shut down, after a copyright lawsuit from Patagonia, according to court documents.
Now touring again, Harvey made his way back to Philadelphia, and for a second time I met him. More dumbfounded, I got the chance to interview the “happy rapper” for my old college’s newspaper, The Montgazette. But, while he was on his way to the mainstream music scene, Harvey wasn’t quite there yet.
At the time, Harvey said he felt he was moving at the right pace.
But, that was when Harvey had approximately 140,000 Twitter followers opposed to his now approximately 233,000. Additionally, his YouTube channel, SuperDuperKyle, now has just under 500,000 subscribers with just over 140 million views, and that doesn’t include the approximately 125,000 subscribers, and 30 million views, he left behind on his old LoveKyleVEVO channel.
Also, Harvey has approximately 275,000 followers on SoundCloud.
Admittedly, Harvey told Hot 97 after the Happy Camper tour he and Smith didn’t know what to do next. Eventually, the duo decided to release a single every month.
OG fans, such as myself, appreciated the singles “Doubt It” and “Blame”, but it was his recent release “iSpy” featuring Lil Yachty that has Harvey successfully planted into the mainstream music scene. The single debuted at no. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has peaked at no. 4 so far.
“The making of “iSpy”, it was super casual,” Harvey said to Genius. “It was me and Ayo in the studio. We just wanted to make some feel good shit. I just had this little piano, and started playing bomp bomp bomp very badly though, ’cause I’m not that raw. And, then Ayo replayed it and made it saucy.”
More proof on Harvey’s mainstream status, he’s signed to major label Atlantic Records now. All indications are it appears to be another one of those mindie deals, as Harvey still doesn’t have a profile on their website. And, his third album, his debut to a new audience, is highly anticipated, and it will come on the heels of his most recent tour, the”Super Tour” where Cousin Stizz opened for him.
Additionally, Harvey has collaborated on songs with Kehlani, G-Eazy, and Chance the Rapper prior to his “iSpy” single, helping him obtain his current status. Unlike many artists, Harvey’s cross over into the mainstream was organic, as he naturally makes music suitable to the radio, and doesn’t make songs for the sole purpose of getting on the radio. Check out pre-“iSpy” song, and my introduction to Harvey, “Raining Love” for proof.
“I don’t even drink, I bought the liquor for you,” Harvey sings. “And, I don’t even fight, I hit that (sic) for you.”
It’s going to be interesting to see the career trajectory of Kyle moving forward, the story of an artist whose put the work in, and is now seeing it pay off.
