Up and coming artists Kaiydo, Ambre discuss path to musical success

Twenty seems to be a magic number, the age of both up-and-coming Florida rapper Kaiydo and New Orleans native musician Ambre.

Kaiydo hit the ground running with a lineup of scheduled shows, a summer tour and new music releases. His most recent project “Colors and Sounds” in which he released one new song per month, has wrapped up, and he is on to the next one.

“We have a project called ‘Cartoons’ coming out closer to the summer,” Kaiydo said. “… Videos, maybe an EP — my group’s name is Everyday Friday … it’s just us making music and stuff. Maybe expect a group project from all of us.”

Kaiydo performed at several music festivals, and this April he will be performing alongside other rising hip hop talents on the No Ceilings tour, presented by Pigeons and Planes, the music discovery offshoot website of Complex Magazine.

With more than seven million streams on Spotify of his single “Fruit Punch,” Kaiydo has already drawn a sizeable following. Part of the attraction to Kaiydo’s sound could have to do with the upbeat, catchy hooks mixed with his signature cover art. Using his background in graphic design, he creates the album art himself. As a synesthete of sorts, he claims much of the inspiration for his music hails from colors he uses for the artwork.

As a rapper from central Florida, Kaiydo doesn’t exactly come from a rap Mecca. In fact, he is one of the fresh faces helping to carve a seat at the hip hop table for Florida.

“I got a lot of faith in my home state,” Kaiydo said. “I grew up there. I love Florida. There’s lot of talent there. I just think it gets overlooked a lot. But give us a few years … I think there are going to be a few faces that everybody is going to start seeing a lot.”

Meanwhile, mango-loving singer-songwriter Ambre always knew she wanted to be involved with music. Though she wasn’t so sure she wanted to be a singer, she felt a connection with music early on. Already Ambre has toured with popular R&B singer Kehlani and gained more than 32,000 SoundCloud followers. Upon listening to her music, one might have trouble categorizing it — after all, her BUKU performance demonstrated both her sweet, soulful singing voice and her guitar-riffing know-how.

“Sonically, I don’t want to describe my music too much because I’m very experimental,” Ambre said. “I would like for people to just check it out and come up with their own conclusions about what it is … None of my music will ever sound the same.”

So far, none of it has. From her earliest singles to her first album release “Wanderlust” to her most recent mixtape “2090s,” the vibe of each project has differed. Her latest sound incorporates more blues and rock-infused sounds, while her earlier music had more of a nostalgic, R&B feel. By sampling pieces from appreciated oldies including “Creep” by TLC and “Respect” by Aretha Franklin, Ambre renders a sort of reminiscence offset by the modernity her songs can take on.

“The whole thing was I wanted to create a ’90s vibe but also with a futuristic touch to it,” Ambre said.

Even better than the composition of her songs may be the lyrics she writes. There is an earnest quality to Ambre’s songwriting that effortlessly mimics the troubles we face in real life, which makes her music relatable and personal.

Since the bare beginnings of her career, this lyrical sincerity has remained a constant in Ambre’s ever-evolving music career. Like her music, Ambre is constantly changing and developing.

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