Talent knows no bounds. At a mere age of 22, Parssanth Navaratnam, or widely known as Kidd Santhe, has been creating and recreating the local scene with his take towards music. If you’ve not heard of him yet, this is your golden chance to get to know him better!
1. Hey Kidd! Could you share a bit about yourself to our readers?
I’m a simple boy from Sri Petaling, I dropped out of college to start expressing myself through my music. I produce my own beats and I write my own songs! I love Milo and I’ve got 3 best friends and a beautiful family that I love to the death of me.
2. Why the name ‘Kidd Santhe’?
When I first started to get a hang at producing at Biggie’s old condo, everyone who I met there addressed me as “Kidd”. I was like, 17 years old. Everyone else was definitely much older than I was. “Santhe” came to mind because whenever mom got really mad at me she’d shout “Parssanthe!!!!” So Biggie put the two together and that creates “Kidd Santhe”.
3. Can you describe your music in 3 words?
Litnya… Litnyaa… Litnyaaaa…
4. We saw one of your old posts saying that you used to make beats at Asia Café SS15– what sparked your interest in music?
Haha! R.I.P. Asia Cafe. Beatboxing sparked my interest in music. I started beatboxing when I was 10, then getting involved in beatboxing competitions when I was 13. Then I joined BeatNation, which is a collective of beatboxers in Malaysia. I’d perform for school shows with my best friend, Adam Jake Hazim. Man, we rocked it! When I was 16, Biggie gave me the installation files for Ableton Live 9, and the rest was history.
5. Who are your music inspirations?
Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Kid Cudi, Kanye West, Pharrell & Timbaland
6. Your songs are mostly hip hop and R&B – why did you pursue rapping and this genre of music?
Actually, no, the songs that you’ve heard were Hip Hop and R&B. I started off making pop songs. I started making Hip Hop and R&B just because I caught a vibe with it. I’ll be releasing a lot more stuff this year and there’s a lot of different genres with these songs that I have.
7. Your songs incorporate Malay lyrics, instead of a full-fledged English song – why is that?
No reason, it’s the language that I choose to deliver through these songs that I make.
8. I see you’re always replying Instastories and retweeting tweets from your fans and followers – while you’re not obligated to reply to all of them, why did you choose to do that?
I am so grateful for anyone and everyone who supports me. I am also very grateful for anyone and everyone who doesn’t like my music. They are the reason why I can continue to do what I do. The word of mouth that spreads my music, its content and the message that comes with it. That’s important. That’s my Milo Gang.
9. Could you tell us a little bit about Monster Sound MY, and how you got into it?
Let me tell you a little story, this was when we would work at Biggie’s old condo (which by the way is where I stay at till this very day #57000). Biggie and his fiancé (Orealia Soliano) would always critique my work and guide me. One fine day, they finally said the magic words, “Kidd, we’re going to start this movement, this vision, a collection of creatives and it’s called… wait for it… Monster Sound MY”.
So, I’m their first Monster. They both have built this company from the ground up and it’s just been going up like the prices of shoes these days!
10. You perform almost every week at Six or other gigs – how do you manage your time?
My time is timeless. Whenever I have a task, I give it my absolute all irregardless of what time it is.
11. ‘Call Yourself’ and ‘Litnya’ are a few of my favorites from you, and now you’ve just released a new one, ‘Rindu’. Could you share with us what’s the process of songwriting and producing like?
I wear a blindfold, roll a pair of dice in one hand and an open dictionary in the other. Then, i proceed to light incense sticks and pray to the Music Gods. The final step is where I take off my blindfold and the first word I see is the title of my song.
Jokes aside, there’s never a format. Sometimes I start singing a melody in my head. Or I hear a beat looping in my head. Other times, I just make a beat on the spot and then I start writing for it. With that vibe that I get I just go all the way through and there we have it, a song!
12. If you weren’t doing music, what would you be doing?
I would be a pilot. A couple years ago i downloaded this programme called Flight Simulator and I’d fly all around the world with my little computer <3
13. What’s your typical rest day (sans music) is like?
Black Mirror, hang out with my family and lepak kat Ajimal (known as Alif now) at Sri Petaling with my best friends.
14. There are loads of the stereotypes of local music, like it’s trying too hard to copy Western music etc. What do you have to say about that?
To each his own.
15. Any life mottos that you live by?
All is well.
16. Where do you see yourself in 2 years?
I dont know. I could go from working in a RM100,000 studio to a bedroom producer overnight. Anything can happen. Irregardless, I’m always ready for what is to come as long as I’ve got my team and my family.
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