Every year, the lineup for the normally rock/country/folk-centric South By Southwest fest in Texas offers more hip-hop than ever: The 2010 SXSW featured Snoop Dogg, David Banner, Wale, Chamillionaire, GZA, and more, all spitting rhymes at various showcases within spitting distance of each other across Austin. But when it came to appealing to the convention's electrorock-obsessed indie crowd, perhaps no other SXSW rapper had such an impeccably manicured finger on the proverbial pulse as did crossover MC Melissa Young, aka Kid Sister.
This Kanye West-endorsed, female-friendly Chi-Town rapstress behind the beauty-salon anthem "Pro Nails" finally released her long-awaited debut album, Ultraviolet, in late 2009--just in time for it to make it onto countless year-end best-of lists. With the excellent album's release, Kid Sister proved she's not just some acrylic-tipped novelty act, even though it still should be noted that Kid Sister is to nail lacquer as the equally cosmetically inclined Lil' Mama is to lipgloss, and the woman really does deserve a spokesmodel deal with OPI.
I recently chatted with Kid Sister at the downtown Austin Hilton hotel during SXSW, where she flaunted her amazingly rhinestoned D.I.Y. mani-pedi and the tattoo she acquired in Austin with Paul Wall. It was one of my most delightful interviews of the entire conference; really, with a personality like this, the Kid is sure to claw her way to the top. She nailed it!