On The Download: Kid Sister

First Published: May 7, 2008 3:42 PM EDT Credit: Andreas Larsson

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Caption Kid SisterLast Sunday, we were hot, tired and sweaty in a field of similarly hot, tired and sweaty patrons at Coachella, when, despite aching feet and a yearning for puffy hotel-room pillows, we trekked on — to the Mojave tent, just after 6PM for DJ A-Trak and Kid Sister.

Although it was one of the smallest tents at the annual music festival, you could see the crowd gathered from across the field. People spilled on to the sides of the arena as they clamored to get a glimpse of, and a shimmy to, Kanye West’s DJ A-Trak.

And while A-Trak had even the VIPs dancing in their $300 sandals as he cut, spliced and churned out hits of old-school rap and electro, fever really set in when his girlfriend, the gorgeous Kid Sister (think Kelis meets Alicia Keys), AKA Melissa Young, bounded on stage like a teenage pop-rap stallion.

She’s not actually a teenager, but the Chicago-bred 20 something tackled the stage just like one.

We loved her set, even if it was brief – a mix of animated indie-rap cuts, full of pop sensibilities, sharp rhymes and backed up by color coordinated hip-hop flag twirlers!

Later this summer, just before Kid Sister heads home for a performance at Lollapalooza, she will drop her debut album, expected to be called “Koko B. Ware,” on Downtown Records.

The excellent “Pro Nails,” which was an indie hit last year thanks to its catchy rhymes and that guest collab with Kanye himself, should be on the album too.

If you haven’t caught her yet, take On The Download’s advice and learn all you can about her immediately.

Along with Cool Kids, she’s part of an emerging Chicago indie-hip hop scene, which is taking off.

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