Kidd Kenn

Kidd Kenn is finally growing up. The Chicago rapper, named in homage to his idol Nicki Minaj (you know, like Barbie’s boyfriend), broke out when he was just a high school freshman with gleefully gay twists on street hits from his hometown, most virally FBG Duck’s “Slide.” He built on the hype with a string of projects—Childish, Child’s Play, and Problem Child—that lean into the image of a precocious rascal flinging spitballs and texting your boyfriend from the back of the bus. But now, after years of nurturing his rep as a problem child, Kenn realized something about himself. “I’m old as fuck,” the 19-year-old says with a laugh. Kenn’s new EP on 4th and Broadway/Def Jam Recordings, Grown, fashions a new mold. He’s rapping with the wisdom and self-understanding of an adult