We love Fool's Gold Records, and for good reason. The Brooklyn-based label brings together the freshest in hip-hop and electronic music for an unstoppable, one-of-a-kind dance party. Chicago rapper Kid Sister, aka Melisa Young, has been with Fool's Gold since the beginning and asserted herself as one of its breakout acts.Young released her debut LP, Ultraviolet, in 2009 to wide acclaim. Packed with plenty of effervescent dancefloor jams, the album quickly established her identity as an artist. With her easygoing vibe and colorful style, Young seems like she could be anybody's party-ready best gal pal. In January 2011, she dropped Kiss Kiss Kiss, a mixtape that seamlessly combines reimagined versions of her older songs and new material created with help from Fool's Gold co-founder Nick Catchdubs.We caught up with Young over the phone to talk touring, visual art, and what's coming up next.The Creators Project: You've just finished a tour with A-Trak and the Gaslamp Killer. What's on your to-do list now that you're no longer on the road?
Kid Sister: Basically, just the studio. It's every day, like a job.Any interesting tour stories to share?
I once threw a piece of chocolate cake at a mirror and punched it. I think that was in New Orleans. We also went to Nashville and did a show at something called the Dayglow party. That was crazy! Never seen shit like that before! It was really fun, we really loved Nashville. We got to check out Third Man Records, which was really cool. It's Jack White from the White Stripes's record store and compound. We got to check out the behind-the-scenes of it all, and at the front they have a little store. It's cool.With the color-coding and distinct aesthetic, it sometimes seems like Jack White is living in a film that he's directing.
I don't know, but I will say that you can tell that he was a furniture upholsterer before, because that place looks crazy. He designed it all himself.This tour seemed to include a lot of places that you wouldn't normally expect to have a huge dance scene.
Nashville was definitely one of those, I have to say. We were pretty surprised. Ordinarily, we wouldn't go there often, so it was pretty interesting to see some of the cities that we haven't made it out to before.Where are your favourite places to go on tour?
Portland, Vancouver. Nashville was really cool, I really want to come back. Chicago, of course, and New York.Now that you're back in the studio, how's your second album coming along?
I'm working with Scoop DeVille, who did "I Wanna Rock" by Snoop Dogg. He's kind of a phenom. He's like 23 and he's really talented, so to work with this kid who's just so visionary at such a young age is really just kind of crazy. We really get along well and it's a nice, organic pairing.Any ideas for album titles? Ultraviolet went through quite a few names before it was finalized.
I'm not thinking about it yet. [On the first album], there were copyright issues, we couldn't use certain names because they were copyrighted. So we had to change it a bunch. It's kind of a headache, but I'm not thinking about it right now.You had a song featuring Gucci Mane on your mixtape that came out earlier this year, and you also appeared on the recent Trackademicks album. Do you have any other musical collaborations coming up?
Yes, I do. We're releasing an EP pretty soon, so that'll have some more collaborations on it. You can see some more collaborations happening soon.You've also worked with Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy recently.
Yeah, we got together and wrote a song because he's a really brilliant songwriter. I had a song with this dance/techno artist who approached me and asked if I wanted to write a song. I'm in the electronic world, but I'm not in the techno world as heavy. I listened to the song—and this is something like the world's biggest techno artist—and it was just really confusing as to how I was going to write this song. So I got with Patrick, who's a brilliant songwriter, and he helped me write the song.That seems like an interesting combination of styles.
That's the thing, if you're a songwriter, you can write any style. It's like, I brought the beat and the music part of it, so it's not going to obviously sound like a Fall Out Boy song because it's a techno song, and he just helped me write the words.How would you describe your growth as an artist since Ultraviolet?
I guess I just work faster now, because you have to. You have to work really fast in this business because album cycles are really short. So it's like, you have to be writing the second album by the time the first one comes out. If I've learned anything, it's to write with people, and write faster.Who are some up-and-coming artists you're excited about?
Honestly, my brother and my ex-boyfriend are both DJs, and they update my iPod. They haven't updated it in a while, so I'll answer that question at a later date.It's hard to keep up.
I'm just writing my own music [right now]. I'll listen to a little bit here and there, stuff that isn't part of my musical family, but for the most part it's just me writing my own songs.Some artists seem to enjoy picking out other music to set a certain vibe while they're recording.
I definitely listen to other music to get references for things or get me out of my bubble. That sometimes helps.What helps you get out of the bubble?
I don't really have a problem with it, because I write with other people, so it's usually not an issue. I used to do that when I was writing the first album because I wrote it completely on my own. The second album is totally a collaborative effort, so I don't really have that problem anymore. It's a good thing that really ended up working out.Besides having Dust La Rock as the Fool's Gold art director, you've also worked with artists like Fafi and Yué Wu. What's your take on the relationship between visual art and music?
I think it's really important to work with artists you respect. I think it's important for musicians to have a say in what they have going on and what they have going out into the world. Not everybody has great taste (laughs), so I have to say that with a grain of salt. But for me personally, it's very important to have control over what my product looks like.What other visual artists would you like to work with?
I don't know, I just work with my friends, really. From the music side to the visual side, I just work with my friends. I really like working with Fafi, and I love working with Dust, so I'm just going to keep working with them.Do you have anything else in the works besides music?
Yeah, there's actually some fashion stuff. I can't go into detail about it just yet, but keep your ear to the street, and I'm sure you'll hear news of it very soon.
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Kid Sister: Basically, just the studio. It's every day, like a job.Any interesting tour stories to share?
I once threw a piece of chocolate cake at a mirror and punched it. I think that was in New Orleans. We also went to Nashville and did a show at something called the Dayglow party. That was crazy! Never seen shit like that before! It was really fun, we really loved Nashville. We got to check out Third Man Records, which was really cool. It's Jack White from the White Stripes's record store and compound. We got to check out the behind-the-scenes of it all, and at the front they have a little store. It's cool.With the color-coding and distinct aesthetic, it sometimes seems like Jack White is living in a film that he's directing.
I don't know, but I will say that you can tell that he was a furniture upholsterer before, because that place looks crazy. He designed it all himself.This tour seemed to include a lot of places that you wouldn't normally expect to have a huge dance scene.
Nashville was definitely one of those, I have to say. We were pretty surprised. Ordinarily, we wouldn't go there often, so it was pretty interesting to see some of the cities that we haven't made it out to before.
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Portland, Vancouver. Nashville was really cool, I really want to come back. Chicago, of course, and New York.Now that you're back in the studio, how's your second album coming along?
I'm working with Scoop DeVille, who did "I Wanna Rock" by Snoop Dogg. He's kind of a phenom. He's like 23 and he's really talented, so to work with this kid who's just so visionary at such a young age is really just kind of crazy. We really get along well and it's a nice, organic pairing.Any ideas for album titles? Ultraviolet went through quite a few names before it was finalized.
I'm not thinking about it yet. [On the first album], there were copyright issues, we couldn't use certain names because they were copyrighted. So we had to change it a bunch. It's kind of a headache, but I'm not thinking about it right now.You had a song featuring Gucci Mane on your mixtape that came out earlier this year, and you also appeared on the recent Trackademicks album. Do you have any other musical collaborations coming up?
Yes, I do. We're releasing an EP pretty soon, so that'll have some more collaborations on it. You can see some more collaborations happening soon.You've also worked with Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy recently.
Yeah, we got together and wrote a song because he's a really brilliant songwriter. I had a song with this dance/techno artist who approached me and asked if I wanted to write a song. I'm in the electronic world, but I'm not in the techno world as heavy. I listened to the song—and this is something like the world's biggest techno artist—and it was just really confusing as to how I was going to write this song. So I got with Patrick, who's a brilliant songwriter, and he helped me write the song.
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That's the thing, if you're a songwriter, you can write any style. It's like, I brought the beat and the music part of it, so it's not going to obviously sound like a Fall Out Boy song because it's a techno song, and he just helped me write the words.How would you describe your growth as an artist since Ultraviolet?
I guess I just work faster now, because you have to. You have to work really fast in this business because album cycles are really short. So it's like, you have to be writing the second album by the time the first one comes out. If I've learned anything, it's to write with people, and write faster.Who are some up-and-coming artists you're excited about?
Honestly, my brother and my ex-boyfriend are both DJs, and they update my iPod. They haven't updated it in a while, so I'll answer that question at a later date.It's hard to keep up.
I'm just writing my own music [right now]. I'll listen to a little bit here and there, stuff that isn't part of my musical family, but for the most part it's just me writing my own songs.Some artists seem to enjoy picking out other music to set a certain vibe while they're recording.
I definitely listen to other music to get references for things or get me out of my bubble. That sometimes helps.What helps you get out of the bubble?
I don't really have a problem with it, because I write with other people, so it's usually not an issue. I used to do that when I was writing the first album because I wrote it completely on my own. The second album is totally a collaborative effort, so I don't really have that problem anymore. It's a good thing that really ended up working out.Besides having Dust La Rock as the Fool's Gold art director, you've also worked with artists like Fafi and Yué Wu. What's your take on the relationship between visual art and music?
I think it's really important to work with artists you respect. I think it's important for musicians to have a say in what they have going on and what they have going out into the world. Not everybody has great taste (laughs), so I have to say that with a grain of salt. But for me personally, it's very important to have control over what my product looks like.What other visual artists would you like to work with?
I don't know, I just work with my friends, really. From the music side to the visual side, I just work with my friends. I really like working with Fafi, and I love working with Dust, so I'm just going to keep working with them.Do you have anything else in the works besides music?
Yeah, there's actually some fashion stuff. I can't go into detail about it just yet, but keep your ear to the street, and I'm sure you'll hear news of it very soon.