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Kraktastic spastic
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by LATEEF MARTIN With background as varied and eclectic as one could get, New York’s singer/producer/multi-instrumentalist CX Kidtronik, aka DJ KID K.U.T., has worked with everyone from Garbage’s Butch Vig to Fishbone’s Angelo Moore to word warrior Saul Williams. CX Kidtronik mixes Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson and obituary beats in a Tasmanian tornado of distortion, locked in a cage of Southern-fried lazer hop. With custom gear and high-octane performances, Kidtronik is hype enough to hold his own with Kool Keith and Blowfly, and hard as Nine Inch Nails. The Mirror caught up with Kidtronik, on tour for his latest onslaught of krakiosity, Krak Attack (on Sound-Ink), chillaxing on his tour bus. Mirror: Where you headed? CX Kidtronik: Grand Ole Opry in Nashville. M: Nashville! Ain’t that down South? CXK: Yeah, we played Illinois last night. M: Illinois! Home of Barack Obama. That must have been crazy. A landslide election of the first black president of the United States of America. CXK: Aw man, crazy, I don’t even know what to say. M: It was surreal for me. My moms didn’t think she’d see it in her lifetime. CXK: Yeah, My grandma’s 89. She voted. M: And it’s something little black kids can be inspired by. Speaking of which, what music sparked you when you were a kid? CXK: Kiss, Michael Jackson, Prince. I was a ’70s baby. M: You’ve worked with Saul Williams for awhile. From back in the day in the project KIN [Knowledge in the Name] to the Trent Reznor-produced The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. Your work is in the same vein of industrial hip hop. With Afro-punk as its dirty cousin, do you feel there is a movement growing? CXK: Well, I don’t know about any industrial hip hop, trip hop shit—I’ve got my own movement—Kraktastic. It’s something you gotta see. M: You gonna have dancers krunking at your show? CXK: On this tour, we’re actually building a whole army of Kraknaut girls krakin’ things up. After the tour, we’re gonna start a whole army on MySpace. We’re gonna have the public vote for Kraknaut of the Year. We’re gonna have Kraknaut calendars, we might do something in collaboration with Hooters— M: Kraknaut cereal, Kraknaut Pezheads— CXK: Kraknaut Pezheads, Kraknaut jeans in collaboration with Red Monkey Jeans—so we’re trying to do our thing. M: What exactly is a Kraknaut? CXK: A Kraknaut is a beautiful lady who low-rides, walks the streets with pride and listens to Krak Attack music on her Walkman. And whenever we come to town, it’s a party on stage and they should have fun with it. M: How does a Kraknaut dress? CXK: A Kraknaut dresses in pink heels, extremely low-ride jeans and any type of short shirt with a Krak Attack logo on it. M: Okay, you done partied and toured and made your coin and collaborated with tons of artists. You are now 65 years of age. What are you doing? CXK: Krak attack! WITH GIRL TALK AND THE DEATH SET |
