KYLE's recent rise to stardom comes after years of work. The California rapper has been releasing music for over seven years that has helped gain him a dedicated following. However, the success of "iSpy" featuring Lil Yachty brought all the work he's put in to another level. The song reached number four on the Billboard charts and has since gone three times platinum. We sat down with KYLE at the Made In America festival recently where he gave us some insight on how he overcame depression while working on his upcoming album, "iSpy" and much more.
The commercial success of "iSpy" has created the mainstream buzz that any up-and-comer needs in order to breakthrough. However, that isn't how KYLE would like to be defined as. The single helped him reach an audience outside of his own but his core fans are aware of the amount of effort he puts into creating a full body of work. Often times, the mainstream success of a breakthrough song shifts an artist's sound towards something more commercial friendly. But KYLE isn't looking to do that. Instead, he says each project he puts out is backed by his vision and a purpose and his major label debut will be no different.
"Most people have perceived my brand and my personality as this guy that just is so happy, he has no cares in the world. I think that especially now, with "iSPY" they don't really see the whole picture. This album is kind of a step-by-step instructional guideline of how I overcame my depression, and how you can overcome yours, if you just listen to my story and hear my experiences," he said.
He compares telling his story on his next album to the structure of a book. While the first chapter is an introduction to who the characters are, the deeper you get into the book, the more that's revealed about the characters personality traits. "iSpy" served as the first chapter to his story but his debut album will provide layers to his character.
Along with discussing his plans with the album, he also revealed what his favorite projects were that have dropped recently, citing XXXTENTACION's 17 as one of the most thorough projects in recent times.
Watch the full interview above.