Kyle Sutton (born 1980),Kyle Rapps profile
hotnewhiphop.com. Accessed October 17, 2014. better known by his stage name Kyle Rapps, is an American hip hop artist from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Early life and education

Sutton was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, and raised in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, primarily by his mother. His father was a minister.Marcel Hidalgo
“Kyle Rapps Discusses Breaking Out Of The Cocoon,”
''Prefix'', July 1, 2013. Sutton attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

, earning a BA in Spanish.Carrie Stetler
“Mayhem Poets Tour the World, but Their Legacy Stays on Campus,”
Rutgers Today, January 27, 2012. In 2015, he relocated from

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

to Mexico City, Mexico.Nick Vukorepa
“Kyle Rapps – ‘Architecture’ (Feat. Murs),”
Earmilk, December 24, 2013.

Career

As Skeptik

While at Rutgers, under the pseudonym Skeptik, he formed the underground hip hop group Thought Breakers. Their debut EP, ''Episode 1'', was released in 2004 and independently sold over 10,000 copies. The group opened for

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

, Fat Joe,

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...

and

Dead Prez Dead Prez, often stylized as dead prez, is an American hip hop duo composed of stic.man and M-1, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, self ...

.“New Music: Kyle Rapps X Talib Kweli ‘Universe Traveler’,”
'' Respect.'', July 21, 2011. Around that time, he formed a spoken-word poetry collective, Mayhem Poets. In 2007, the collective won a

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

small business competition, enabling them to establish the open mic venue Slam Chops in Manhattan, which stayed open for two years. Also in 2007, the collective had a two-month off-Broadway run at the

New Victory Theater The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover an ...

. After a 2009 trip to Liberia with Mayhem Poets, Sutton began to go by the name Black Skeptik, and released titles "Rent" and "Frankenstein Saves Hip Hop".

As Kyle Rapps

In 2010, now going by Kyle Rapps, he released the single "Love, Love," featuring KRS-One and

Homeboy Sandman Angel Del Villar II (born September 24, 1980), better known by his stage name Homeboy Sandman, is an American rapper from Elmhurst, Queens, New York, United States. Career Homeboy Sandman recorded and released his first EP, ''Nourishment'', in M ...

. In 2011, his ''RE-Edutainment'' mixtape came out, with the title in homage to the 1990

Boogie Down Productions Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, '' Criminal Minde ...

album ''

Edutainment Educational entertainment (also referred to as edutainment) is media designed to educate through entertainment. The term was used as early as 1954 by Walt Disney. Most often it includes content intended to teach but has incidental entertainmen ...

''. KRS-One, Joell Ortiz and

U-N-I U-N-I (short for "U-N-I To The Verse") are a hip hop duo from Inglewood, Los Angeles, consisting of Y-O (born Yonas Semere Michael) and Thurzday (born Yannick Koffi).Smith, Camilo (2008)U-N-I will host party at Holy Grail sneaker shop tonigh ...

appear on the mixtape. Later in 2011, Rapps released ''On Air'', featuring appearances from Talib Kweli,

C-Rayz Walz Waleed Shabazz (born August 3, 1975), better known by his stage name C-Rayz Walz, is an American rapper from the Bronx, New York. He has been a member of the collective Stronghold. Early life Waleed Shabazz was born and raised in the Bronx, New ...

, KRS-One and Homeboy Sandman. The eight-track mixtape is built around samples from French electronic music duo

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

. In June 2013, Mishka NYC Records released ''SUB'', Rapps' first full-length album, produced by Belief and featuring collaborations with

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, ...

Action Bronson Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper, songwriter, chef, wrestler, exotic olive oil taster, and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, New York, he embarked on his musical ...

, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Aaron Cohen and Spaceman. ''

Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...

'' called it "a mesmerizing selection of songs." In 2014, Rapps put out the single "The Sky's on Fire", produced by

Belief A belief is an attitude that something is the case, or that some proposition is true. In epistemology, philosophers use the term "belief" to refer to attitudes about the world which can be either true or false. To believe something is to take ...

and featuring vocals by Adrienne Mack-Davis. In 2017, Rapps released "Latrell", its title and sampled intro referencing

Latrell Sprewell Latrell Fontaine Sprewell (born September 8, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played for the Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Du ...

, a former professional basketball player who was suspended for attacking his Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo in 1997. In 2020, Rapps performed virtually over Zoom at Soul Vey, a Black and Jewish community event led by Adam Swig and

Kosha Dillz Rami Matan Even-Esh ( he, רמי מתן אבן-אש; born August 26, 1981), known professionally as Kosha Dillz, is an Israeli-American rapper.Chris Faraone"MC pals' flows are Kosha,"'' Boston Herald'', August 15, 2008.KRS-One,

Diwon Erez Safar is an American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and She ...

, Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire,

, Adrienne Mack-Davis,

, Hefna Gwap,

Chuuwee Dionte Hunter, better known by his stage name Chuuwee (born September 7, 1990) is an American hip hop artist from Sacramento, California. Chuuwee spent many years of his life moving around as a child. He lived in nearly every neighborhood of Sac ...

, Faruz Feet, Dirt E. Dutch, Joell Ortiz, Sly5thAve, Aaron Cohen, Brody,

Y-Love Yitz Jordan (born January 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic.Jerry Portwood"Y-Love is Ready for Love,"'' Out'', May 15, 2012. He is a web developer, activi ...

, Nathan Sela, Vulkan the Krusader, Sam Siegel, S'natra, DJ JS-1, Breez Brewin, Dru the Monster, Nelson, Little Freckles, Ali Salah Rasé, and Ray Contour.

Discography

Albums

* ''SUB'' (w/

) (2013, Mishka NYC Records) * ''Colossus Theory'' (w/ Vulkan The Krusader) (2015) * ''Perverse Ramblings'' (2017)

Singles

* "Rent" – as Black Skeptik, with KRS-One (2009, Mayhem Poets Entertainment) * "Frankenstein Saves Hip Hop" – as Black Skeptik (2009, Mayhem Poets Entertainment, Blockhead) * "Love, Love" – featuring KRS-One and

(2010, Diamond Music Group / Mayhem Poets Entertainment) * "Portlandia" – with

(2012,

Shemspeed Erez Safar is an American DJ, producer and songwriter who records under the names Diwon and h2the. He is CEO of Bancs Media, an American production company specializing in music and video production; Studio Bancs, a creative art space; and She ...

) * "Mr. Rogers" – with

(2012, Shemspeed) * "Get It In" – featuring

(2012, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "Watch Out" (2013, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "Super Glue" – featuring Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire (2013, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "Architecture" – featuring

(2013, Mishka NYC - from ''SUB'') * "The Sky's on Fire" – featuring Adrienne Mack-Davis and

(2014) * "Hold Tyte" with Hefna Gwap (2014, Mishka NYC - from ''European Tic Tacs'') * "Searchin'" with Hefna Gwap featuring Aaron Cohen (2014, Mishka NYC - from ''European Tic Tacs'') * "God-Like" (2015 - from ''Colossus Theory'') * "D.F." (2015 - from ''Colossus Theory)'' * "Bunker" (2016) * "Michigan" (2016, Diamond Music Group) * "Fiction" (2017 - from ''Perverse Ramblings'') * "Eulogy" (2017 - from ''Perverse Ramblings'') * "Latrell" (2017 - from ''Perverse Ramblings'') * "Dark Hour" (2018) * "Green on Red" (2018) * "Shiba Inu" (2018) * "Fxckvision" (2019) * "Art Monk" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "Black Suburbs" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "TD" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "This is Medicine" with

(2019) * "Don't Try" (2019, Mayhem Entertainment) * "Gtfo" with

(2020) * "Barrio Chino" with Faruz Feet (2020) * "Mrs. Huxtable" with Dirt E. Dutch and Chris Keys (2020, Mayhem Entertainment) * "Bitd" with Joell Ortiz (2020) * "Mourning" with Sly5thAve (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''Episode 1'' – as Skeptik, with Thought Breakers (2004) * ''RE-Edutainment'' (2011) * ''On Air'' (2011) * ''Syndication'' (w/

) (2012)

EPs

* ''Tyrone Gosling'' w/ Diwon * ''European Tic Tacs'' w/ Hefna Gwap (Mishka NYC, 2014)

Collaborations

* "Let It Go" – Dirt E. Dutch featuring Kyle Rapps (2011, Little Ax - from ''Bars Magica'') * "Forget It"- Aaron Cohen featuring Kyle Rapps (2012, Mishka NYC - from ''MURK'') * "Good Life" –

featuring Brody, Kyle Rapps,

and Nathan Sela (2013, Bancs Media - from ''New Game'') * "Hikaru" - Vulkan The Krusader featuring Kyle Rapps (2014, from ''VX-13: Do You Remember Love'') * "Lifted (Remix)" - Sam Siegel & S'natra featuring Kyle Rapps, Hefna Gwap, Lord of the Fly, and T-Shyne (2014) * "110 Percent" - DJ JS-1 featuring Breez Brewin,

and Kyle Rapps (2014, Ground Original - from ''It is What it Isn't'') * "Clyde Frazier" - Dru the Monster featuring Kyle Rapps (2015 - from ''Monsters Never Die'') * "Lost Touch" - Nelson featuring Kyle Rapps (2015, RRCB/Diamond Media 360 - from ''Seven Ye)'' * "Sleep on It" - Little Freckles, written in collaboration with Kyle Rapps (201

* "Wieder" - Ali Salah Rasé featuring Kyle Rapps (2017, Hiena Voyeur - from ''Prieto)'' * "I Got a Story to Tell" - Ray Contour featuring Kyle Rapps (2019 - from ''East Coast Gold'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapps, Kyle 1980 births Living people African-American male rappers East Coast hip hop musicians Musicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan People from Princeton, New Jersey Rappers from Michigan Rappers from New Jersey Rappers from New York City Rutgers University alumni 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people