Lakisha Kimberly Robinson, known professionally as Kilo Kish, is an American singer-songwriter and visual artist.
Early life
Kilo Kish was born in Orlando, Florida, on May 10, 1990. She went to Glen Rock Elementary School in Bergen County, New Jersey, but later returned to Orlando, where she graduated from Winter Park High School. Aged 18, she received a scholarship to attend the private art college Pratt Institute in New York. While taking a year off, she worked multiple jobs, before enrolling in the Fashion Institute of Technology for textile design, from which she graduated in 2012. Kish began to pursue a musical career when her roommates Smash Simmons and Mell McCloud decided to set up an in-home studio, starting a project called the "Kool Kats Klub". It was through this exposure that she initially met Matt Martians of the neo-soul band The Internet and collaborated on The Jet Age of Tomorrow's "Want you Still" and The Internet's "Ode to a Dream".
Career
2012: ''Homeschool''
Kilo Kish's debut EP Homeschool was released on April 2, 2012, and was well received by critics, being labeled as one of the best albums of 2012 by Complex. The EP was produced by past collaborators such as The Internet and Pyramid Vritra of The Jet Age of Tomorrow, who also provided guest vocals on the project. On July 31, Kish released "Watergun", a song produced by The Internet, via SoundCloud. On September 17, "Navy" was released on The Blue Riderrecord label. The release also contained a remix of "Navy" by MeLo-X. A video for "Navy", as directed by Kish with Ben Rayner, premiered on The Fader the same day.
2013: ''K+''
Kish released the mixtape K+ for free download on February 7, 2013. It featured artists including Childish Gambino, Star Slinger, SBTRKT, A$AP Ferg of A$AP Mob, Earl Sweatshirt, and Matt Martians of OFWGKTA. In December, Kish released K+ THE BOOK, a behind-the-scenes digital art zine, in extension to the mixtape.
2014–2015: ''Across''
Kish's second EP, Across, was released on July 8, 2014, in collaboration with the fashion and record label Maison Kitsune. The following year, Kish released Across Remixes.
Kish features on "Out of Body" from the deluxe edition of the 2017 Gorillaz album Humanz as well as across the album Big Fish Theory by Vince Staples
2018: ''mothe''
Kish released the single "Elegance" on August 26, 2018. Pitchfork named the song "Best New Track", with Sheldon Pearce commenting that "it is the best Kilo Kish song by a considerable margin, and it hones in on what makes her such an enchanting and elusive artist, using her wispy raps to drift through a warped pop jam." Her EP "mothe" followed with a release on September 7, 2018. On July 29, 2019, Kish released an alternative artwork for mothe which has replaced the old artwork on all digital platforms. The cover was shot by photographer Andrew Arthur, who she has worked with prior.
2019: ''REDUX''
Kish released 3 singles over the course of 2 months beginning in October 2019. Beginning with "BITE ME" on October 17, 2019 followed by "NICE OUT" on November 7, 2019 and concluding with "SPARK" later the same month on November 26, 2019. All 3 singles released with accompanying music videos & were all from forthcoming EP, REDUX, set for release on December 6, 2019. Kish describes this as 2018 mothe's "sister project," and describes it as being about perseverance. This would be Kish's fourth collaboration with recurring producer Ray Brady.
