A local Kidd with values
He has a regular evening gig at Harry O's in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival.
Raised locally, Kidd has made a name for himself in the hip-hop world. Fans have given him the nod and he's even mentioned on Will Smith's Web site. Yes, that Will Smith.
And it's easy to see why. Kidd Kazmeo is a hip-hop artist with an agenda unlike other-hip hoppers.
He has family values. And he's not afraid to sing or rap about them.
"I've always wanted to bring in the other side of life to my music," said Kazmeo, who is also known as Tarahjae Kazmeo. "I wanted to show that there are positive things in life to rap about — family, a pure love between two married people and love for children."
Kazmeo grew up listening to everything and anything. "My most favorite band in the world is Rush, and I tried to model myself after Heavy D. And I love any type of music. I love old-school and new-school hip-hop. I respect what the new kids are doing, even though I don't do what they do."
By new kids, he means 50 Cent, Eminem and the Game, to name a few.
Kazmeo, who just returned to Utah after living in Las Vegas for nearly 5 years, said he wants to help young kids make right choices. "There are many decisions in life. A lot of them are bad. And for me, being a black man, there were a lot of choices that I could have chosen that would have led to bad things.
"I am thankful that I was raised in Utah and that I had an adoptive family that cared and showed me unconditional love."
While some may think Kazmeo is soft and lacks street credibility, they would feel different if they heard his work, "Hello." The song, which introduces the rapper to music fans, gives the history of hip-hop and explains why he wants to be a clean rapper. "I know things. I remember when a rapper could rap about anything. You listen to the Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash or Kurtis Blow, and they sang positive things.
"I saw the shift when rap became gangsta. Instead of rapping about keeping strong in the eye of dissention, the new rappers started glorifying killing people and dissing women. While I respect their freedom to do what they want, I knew that it was not for me. I'm new-school rapper with old-school values."
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