Rising rap talent Kidwild dives deep into his origins, and the making and meaning of his eclectic debut EP, “Distro Kid”.

An impressive and varied opening statement to the UK rap jury, Kidwild’s five track EP “Distro Kid” paints its maker as an introspective but assured emerging name in the wider scene. Flexing his way into a Nemzzz feature on lead single “Redemption”, Kidwild’s lyrical presence is focused and characterful, dissecting themes like the double edged nature of infamy and the highs and lows of romantic relationships. 

The East London rapper looks set to be a potent player in the next zenith of UK rap. Wonderland caught up with the man himself to discuss his entry into the game, and the creation of his debut EP.

Listen to “Distro Kid”…

Read the full interview…

Hey Kidwild! How are you? Firstly, take us back to your musical origins—how did you first begin rapping? 

So the way I first started rapping, me and the mandem were in the school playground. Someone had a beat on their phone, we was all in the circle just doing a little cypher and I was dropping the bars – and I was a bit better than the mandem… (in their words). They just said I should start rapping. Then obviously I bought a mic and stuff, just had it at home and I was making songs and that’s how I made “Popular Loner”, firstly. I dropped that a year later and then it just took off so I knew music would be the path for me and I carried on pursuing it.

You’re from East London, talk us through growing up there? How did it shape you as an artist and as a person? 

Growing up in East London, I think it’s made me who I am today – that’s why I put it in my bio and everywhere I go I let people know where I’m from. The way East London has shaped me as a person.. I’ve just seen bare different ways of life, different cultures and there’s bare creatives in East London, that’s why I want to help put East London on the map as much as it already is on the map you know we have amazing talent out of East London but yeah it’s definitely made me who I am today.

Congratulations on your newly released debut EP. How are you feeling about the release?

Thank you, releasing the EP – I feel good. All my fans, they message me and they say that they want an EP / want a mixtape so it’s good to give them something back, especially at the start of the year – 5 solid tracks. I think it’s a great way to start the year to be honest.

Why is the EP called “Distro Kid”?

The reason I called the EP “Distro Kid” is is because my most streamed songs are released fully independently from Distro Kid (the music distributor) “Popular Loner” and “Indecisive” were both released on Distro Kid and I just thought that Kid Wild = Distro Kid, it’s just the perfect name – it’s literally how I’ve come up. I feel like when you’re independent you have a lot more connection to the music because you’re risking your own financials. And yeah man, that’s why Distro Kid is called Distro Kid.

The project is an eclectic show of UK rap sub-sounds. Did you want to flaunt the different styles and shapes of your artistry on this debut body of work?

Yeah I like to think that none of my songs sound exactly the same. So when I dropped the EP, it’s like you hear my tone of voice and you just know that it’s me from the jump no matter what type of beat I’m on. But yeah, it’s 5 songs, none of them sound the same and they all give different vibes. You can get a heartfelt vibe from “Fake Friends”, you can get a kinda lit vibe from ‘Say Less Freestyle’ and then you can get motivation from “Indecisive” and “Redemption”. Yeah, I did want to show off kind of all the sub-genres of UK rap 

Talk us through the process of creating the EP. What were the biggest challenges? Why did you decide on these five tracks? 

You know what, creating the EP was pretty fast, I didn’t really face many challenges. It’s like, the producer I worked with, I work with him on nearly every song that I make so when we get in the booth it’s just a vibe each time. So creating the 5 songs, it didn’t even take me that long. It must have took like a week. Obviously one of them was a freestyle, and you have the other 4 which are like 4 songs but it was quick man.

What are you speaking on across the EP, thematically?

Across the whole theme of the EP, mostly you get to like delve into my personality. Like you can go listen to “Say Less Freestyle”, and you hear how I am – just on a cheeky one. Or you can go to “Fake Friends” and hear what I’ve been through throughout my life, or hardships I’ve dealt with. Even ‘Indecisive’ is kinda the same thing, the name says it itself, I’m in two minds and I’ve been in two minds with a lot of things. Me, I’m an overthinker (even have a freestyle called “Overthinking Freestyle”) so just generally across my music, you’ll get a sense of realness, relatability. Because you can relate to what I’m saying if you’ve been through maybe the same things or you can take away some of my lyrics and It’ll just stay with you. Like I know a lot of my supporters, they resonate with the lyric “1% chance 99% faith”, even “Redemption” – starting the new year and dropping that song, it gives you a good start to 2025 and how you’re going to chase your dreams. 

You worked with Nemzzz on lead track “Redemption”. How was that? Why did you link up with him in particular?

On “Redemption” I linked up with Nemzzz, he dropped a verse on it. Me and him, that’s like our third song together that’s out right now. Us two work well on a track together, it’s kinda a no brainer. I posted it on TikTok and most of the supporters were saying “we need Nemzzz on this” and as me and Nemzzz have got a relationship I said it’s only right innit! So I slapped him on it, he done his thing man – shelled down the verse.

What do you hope the project achieves?

For this specific project, I just hope that people can see that I’ve actually got a sense of talent to me and it’s not just that I’ve got these songs you hear on TikTok and you can play but it’s actually like you can relate to me and I’m a person. Like when you listen to my music you hear a person and I think that’s just the way I wanna connect with people who listen to my music, so that’s what I hope the project achieves.

What’s to come from you in 2025?

In 2025, from Kidwild you should expect more and more music. Straight grind, no stopping. All gas, no brakes.

Photography – Jonathon Tomlinson

Words – Ben Tibbits