Words by: Rita Kassak

Kid Acne AKA “Eddy Fresh” is a multi-faceted artist who grew up in South Yorkshire near the birthplace of synth pop. He started out painting, in the graffiti sense, and evolved into the musical aspect of hip-hop by releasing records with his crew under various monikers.  His current release, “Romance Ain’t Dead,” hinges heavily on the heyday of American hip-hop: think Run DMC and The Beastie boys.  It’s a refreshing kick in the pants after years of the macho-bling crap that has been flowing through the mainstream airwaves. Kid Acne obviously has a sense of humor, and has a blast making all his art; those are both traits that we can use on the US hip-hop scene. Bring on more of that “tyke” dialect, oi!

Where did you grow up and how did that influence your artwork and music?
I grew up in the East Midlands, about an hour from Sheffield. You’ll have seen this kind of place in Shane Meadows’ films. It’s flat arable land, whereas Sheffield is more hilly. I’d say the main influence that’s had on my output has been working as an ‘urban’ artist but with a ‘rural’ mindset. I’m a bumpkin but Sheffield is like a giant village in any case, so it suits me just fine.

Did you listen to a lot of synth pop when you were little? Or did you prefer the obvious influences to your work?
I didn’t listen to synth pop growing up. I listened to early rave such as Nebula 2 and Two Blacks in a Bubble. From that I went to hardcore British Hip-Hop; Son of Noise, Hardnoise, Gunshot, Demon Boys etc and then discovered there was more to American Hip Hop than NWA and Ice T. This is when I found Freestyle Fellowship, New Kingdom, Alkaholiks and from there traced it back to T La Rock, Just Ice and Latin Raskals. Not much has changed in my musical taste since then, though I prefer listening to rock-n-roll and Bat For Lashes than a lot of rappers these days.

It’s taken almost six months for LEX to release Romance Ain’t Dead the US. Do you think American hip-hop culture will embrace it? Or will it be too punk rock?
I’ve no idea. I’ve had a bunch of cats contact me from the Bay Area and NYC sayin’ they’re feeling it, so it’s possible, but I’d imagine it will appeal to those on the periphery of genres, which suits me just fine. I made a bunch of music I wanted to make and whether or not that translates to the US Hip Hop fraternity or not is a secondary concern. I might be getting jail play right now, you never know.

You’ve been on the road in Brazil. What’s the scene like?
We were meant to paint in the Favelas in Rio but 25 people got shot the day we were scheduled to do so. We were advised not to bother, though we did bump into Daze, which was funny. The scene in Sao Paulo is incredible. The hand-styles are insane. No one goes over anyone, ever, but in a city of 26 million I guess there’s room for everyone. I can’t wait to go back there.

When are you going to visit the US?
I’m not sure when I’ll be over in the US next. I want to get back to NYC and visit my friends, do shows and paint – plus I have a series of toys out with Kid Robot in the Spring, so I’m sure it won’t be too long.

Hopefully Kid Acne will hit all the coasts of the US to help cheer us up with his “fresh” (literally) take on the golden era of hip-hop culture. There’s certainly a need for it, and I’m sure that it will translate to the “hip-hop fraternity” just fine.
Bring it