Kidd Kenn

Dontrell Smith, known professionally as Kidd Kenn, was born on January 16, 2003, in Chicago, Illinois. He spent his early years in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side. During his freshman year, he left high school. In 2020, he relocated to Los Angeles during the COVID-19 pandemic, where he began managing his own responsibilities and finances. This period motivated him to create song covers, which eventually led to him pursuing a rap career officially.

Kidd Kenn’s career began with his debut commercial single “Eriod.” His track “No Brakes” achieved millions of streams, leading him to fully commit to music. In 2018, he released his debut mixtape, “Childish,” featuring Katie Got Bandz. His career advanced significantly in 2019, culminating in a recording contract with Island Records. Following this, he released his second mixtape, “Child’s Play,” in 2020. In 2021, he released his debut extended play, “Problem Child,” and collaborated with Rico Nasty on the song “Moves.” Kidd Kenn made history in 2021 as the first openly gay male rapper to perform in the BET Hip Hop Awards Rap Cypher, sharing the stage with artists such as Toosii and Lakeyah.

In 2022, Kidd Kenn released “Body,” a promotional single for his EP “Celebrating Pride,” which later became the lead single. He also released the single “At It Again” with Delli Boe and “Want Not A Need” featuring Baby Tate. He released two EPs in 2022, “Celebrating Pride” and “Grown.” The “Grown” EP was recognized by The Triibe as one of the top Chicago hip hop and R&B albums of 2022. Kidd Kenn also released a cover of “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X in 2022. His fifth EP, “Busy Being Bad,” was released in October 2023.