Interview with Kid Capri

Kid Capri has produced on various soundtracks for TV, music, film, and
has worked on several music projects. He is also known for his longtime DJ role on Def Comedy Jam and starring on Growing up Hip Hop.

PVM: How did you get to be the success you are today?

Kid Capri: Flying straight, treating people fairly, doing what I’m
supposed to do as far as my performance and talent is concerned.
Most of all, I appreciate what God’s given me in treating people fairly
and treating people the right way. Everybody’s not built for it, it’s not for
everybody. Although everyone wants to be a part of it, it’s not for
everybody. That’s why you see people getting in trouble and people
doing things to people that they shouldn’t be doing.

PVM: Did you have a connection or someone who helped you along the way to get you in the door?

Kid Capri: I kind of knocked the doors down myself when I sat on the street corner and sold my mixtape, but before that, there were people that promoted me and would have me play at different places. There was definitely people that looked out, but mostly it was me that went and put
myself out there and started creating a name for myself. Once it caught on (which was very quick), it caught on like fire and it never stopped. I’m grateful for that.

PVM: What are the struggles you faced in the beginning?

Kid Capri: When you’re not known, people close the door in your face, people don’t believe you, people don’t understand your vision or what you’re trying to do so you got to prove yourself. There was a time when my sister was working for WBLS radio station. She was working for Avante Harper. He used to do the quiet storm slow music at night time and she was the assistant. For a while, I tried to get in there and tried to get a job and I
remember one time going in with my whole briefcase of mixtapes and he’s like we don’t know who you are. I said you know what I’m going to get my own radio station and I sat on the radio on street corners and sold my mixtape. Then, it blew up and started a revolution for the mixtape game. It all started doing the mixtapes and showing a different style. Once it got
hot and WBLS came around and gave me a job, everything came at once. The job came, my first tour came, my album deal came, Def Comedy Jam came. Everything was rapid-fire, back to back. From there on, it just kept going. It all started from me sitting on those street corners and selling mixtapes.

PVM: How did you get your name?

Kid Capri: A girl I used to know when I was really young. I was about 12 and she was 13 years old. We were going to class one day and she said Kid Capri sounds like a good name for a DJ. At that time, my name was Dr. Spin. It was a terrible name, but that was my name. She said Kid Capri sounds like a good name for a DJ, you should try it. I tried it and not long later, she
was shot and killed by a stray bullet. So, I kept the name and it worked. It took me where it took me.

PVM: When did you know you were going to make it big?

Kid Capri: I mean it’s not something you just know, it’s just something that happens. You just work and hopefully, it catches on and people understand. Fortunately for me, I made the right moves and I didn’t have to ask anyone for anything or have anyone put me on or anything like that. You never know if it’s gonna last or if it’s gonna reach far. It could just be in your city,
it could be in your region, it could just be on your coast. So, when I seen how far I was going and when I got on Def Comedy Jam, that just took me to the moon and that’s what gave me the chance to be in people’s living rooms, and for people to care about what the DJ did. Then, I got the chance to
see how skillful I was and how dope it was to be with comedians, and how everything just intertwined together. I got a real chance to see the real action for my DJ show at the concerts when we were on the road. All those things, in the beginning, molded how everything was gonna go later on. DJs
started playing like me, sounding like me, they would play music the way I played it, and that just created a whole DJ style that was great. There were other DJs that had a style before mine, but I came up with my own style and that’s what really caught on nationwide…worldwide as a matter of fact.

PVM: Tell us about events you have coming up.

Kid Capri: There’s the Rock Da Boat event going down on July 11th in New York on the HornBlower Infinity Mega Yacht. For all my shows I’m doing across the country, you can go to kidcapri101 on Twitter and Instagram and see the flyer and everything I post. The radio show on Sirius XM every Saturday and Sunday on channel 47 at 4:00 and 10:00 est. We have a
real estate company called East Coast Capital, started a foundation called GIVAKID Foundation for the kids across the country. We’re doing a new comedy show and animation, doing a bunch of stuff.

PVM: What was it like being on “Growing Up Hip Hop” with your daughter Vina Love?

Kid Capri: It was dope. Growing up hip hop was a nice platform, but it didn’t really show what she does, it didn’t show how hard she worked. They tried to put her in certain kinds of things that I didn’t agree with. Other than that, it was a good platform for her. When we come back to do it again, if we come back to do it again, it will be a totally different scenario. We’re
gonna showcase more of what she does, her talent, what she does in the studio, the real thing. Although people took to her good, they didn’t like that fact about her and Medina. Medina, that’s my sister. She’s a good person, but I think she got caught up in the camera a little bit. She didn’t really
understand what it is to be in front of that camera in that way and how they can set things up and manipulate the way things are really said and make you think it’s one way when it’s another. Then, also when you get caught up in the camera and you say certain things, it may look like you trying
to come at some people. That’s what ended up happening, but all in all the platform was good. It’s gonna be even better when we go on again… if we do it again.

PVM: Do you think that by you guys being on a reality show together that it strengthened your bond or is it about the same?

Kid Capri: Our bond has been strengthened since she was born. We always been tight. What makes us so tight is that I don’t treat her like a little girl, I treat her like a woman even when she was a little girl. Of course, I directed her as a father and made sure she did the right thing, but I was a child too and I know how sometimes a child can have their way of feeling and the parent may not understand it. So, the best way to get to your kid is not so much come down on them, but understand where they coming from. Try to work it the way you can.

I was able to do that with her and my other daughter. Because of my bloodline and how I carry myself, she sees how I carry myself. There’s nothing out there negative about me that you can say that gives away any credibility or anything like that. She sees how I move around, she sees how I do things with people, and how I take care of my fans.

PVM: You’ve been in the music industry for a while. What motivates you to keep going?

Kid Capri: I love what I do. If I wasn’t where I am, I’d still be doing it because I love what I do. I been doing it all my life. I gave my whole life to it. It’s in my bloodline. My dad was a soul singer, my granddad was a jazz player. It’s there and that’s why Vina is where she’s at because it’s in her bloodline. It’s what we do. I don’t forget where I come from.

PVM: What’s up next for you?

Kid Capri: I’m dropping a “TOP TIER” album. I took a bunch of battle rappers. I’m doing this animation about an animal. Also, a new comedy show, it’s going to tie into the Block Party Show on Sirius. I got a new clothing line that we just started called Sucka Free. I also have a CBD company.

PVM: What do you think about the new culture of Hip Hop?

Kid Capri: I like it. I like every culture of hip hop. There are some things I don’t agree with. I don’t like everything. I know good from bad.

PVM: Tell us 5 things that your fans don’t know about you.

Kid Capri: One is I’m private. I show what I need to show when I want to show. I’m not a dude that flashes cars and houses and stuff like that. I like to see when people celebrate themselves, but I’m not like that. Secondly, I’m a loyal person, I tell you things straight up and let you know what it is. I’ll tell you the truth even if it hurts your feelings. Third, I love kids that’s why I started the GIVAKID Foundation where I go around the country and take all these different things to kids. Fourth, I like being on stage. I like seeing my fans, I like selling out places and people be happy and feeling better than they did before they got there. I respect my fans very much. I don’t work for the industry, I work for the fans. Fifth, I ain’t no sucker and don’t try
to play me like one.