Kilo Kish
# Kilo Kish

Lakisha Kimberly Robinson (born May 10, 1990), 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 attended 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 Rider record 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. In the following year, Kish released Across Remixes.

### 2016: Reflections in Real Time

Kish's first studio album, Reflections in Real Time, was released on February 29, 2016. The song, "Taking Responsibility", from the album was featured in the third episode of the HBO teenage drama television show Euphoria.

### 2017

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." The release of her EP, mothe, followed 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, with whom she has worked in the past.

### 2019: Redux

Kish released three singles over the course of two months, beginning in October 2019. "Bite Me" was released on October 17, 2019, and its music video was made available on YouTube the next day. Kish's next singles, "Nice Out", and "Spark" were released on November 7, and November 26, 2019, respectively. All three singles released with accompanying music videos, and were featured on Kish's EP, Redux, released on December 6, 2019. Kish described Redux as 2018 Mothe's "sister project," and has stated that the EP explores the theme of perseverance. This is also Kish's fourth collaboration with recurring producer, Ray Brady.

### 2021–2022: American Gurl

On July 23, 2021, Kish released "American Gurl", the first single from her album of the same name. The video for the song was directed by Kish herself and Matt Cowen. "Bloody Future" was made available on August 20, 2021, and on January 28, 2022, Kish released her collaboration with Vince Staples, "New Tricks: Art, Aesthetics, and Money". She explained that the track “was inspired by the old quote warning never to bite the hand that feeds you. And though it provides, I feel yanked around by the players, trends, and expectations of our age and industry. Ever-wanting to bite, question, and change.” On March 25, 2022, Kish released the full album with 14 tracks featuring Miguel, Jean Dawson, Vince Staples, and Jesse Boykins III.

## Discography

### Studio albums

| Title | Details |
| - | - |
| Reflections in Real Time | Released: February 29, 2016 Label: Kisha Soundscape + Audio Formats: CD, LP, digital download |
| American Gurl | Released: March 25, 2022 Label: Kisha Soundscape + Audio Formats: CD, LP, streaming |

### Mixtapes

| Title | Details |
| - | - |
| K+ | Released: February 7, 2013 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download |

### EPs

| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
| - | - | - |
| Title | Details | US Heat. |
| Homeschool | Released: April 2, 2012 Label: Self-released Formats: Digital download | — |
| Across | Released: July 8, 2014 Label: Kitsuné Formats: LP, digital download | 44 |
| Across Remixes | Released: January 12, 2015 Label: Kitsuné Formats: Digital download | — |
| Mothe | Released: September 7, 2018 Label: Blacksmith Recordings Formats: LP, digital download | — |
| Redux | Released: December 6, 2019 Label: Blacksmith Recordings Formats: LP, digital download | — |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| - | - | - |
| "Watergun" | 2012 | Homeschool |
| "Navy" | 2012 | Homeschool |
| "Begin Route" | 2014 | Across |
| "Locket" | 2014 | Across |
| "Existential Crisis Hour" | 2016 | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Obsessing" | 2017 | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Fulfillment" | 2017 | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Self Importance" | 2017 | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Elegance" | 2018 | Mothe |
| "Void" | 2018 | Mothe |
| "Like Honey" | 2019 | Mothe |
| "Bite Me" | 2019 | Redux |
| "Nice Out" | 2019 | Redux |
| "Spark" | 2019 | Redux |
| "American Gurl" | 2021 | American Gurl |
| "Bloody Future" | 2021 | American Gurl |
| "New Tricks: Art, Aesthetics, and Money" (featuring Vince Staples) | 2022 | American Gurl |
| "No Apology!" | 2022 | American Gurl |
| "Death Fantasy" (featuring Miguel) | 2022 | American Gurl |

### Music Videos

List of music videos, showing year released, director(s), and album name :

| Music Video | Year | Director(s) | Album |
| - | - | - | - |
| "Navy" | 2012 | Ben Rayner & Kish Robinson | Homeschool |
| "Begin Route" | 2014 | Phillip T. Annand & Kish Robinson | Across |
| "Locket" | 2014 | Phillip T. Annand & Kish Robinson | Across |
| "Existential Crisis Hour" | 2016 | Kish Robinson, Brian Mitchell & Burke Doreen | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Hello, Lakisha" | 2016 | Yong oh Kim & Kish Robinson | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Obsessing" | 2017 | Elliot Sellers & Kish Robinson | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Fulfillment" | 2017 | Kish Robinson | Reflections in Real Time |
| "Elegance" | 2018 | Kish Robinson | Mothe |
| "Void" | 2018 | Elliot Sellers & Kish Robinson | Mothe |
| "Like Honey" | 2019 | Kish Robinson | Mothe |
| "Bite Me" | 2019 | Kish Robinson | Redux |
| "Nice Out" | 2019 | Kish Robinson | Redux |
| "Spark" | 2019 | Kish Robinson | Redux |
| "American Gurl" | 2021 | Kish Robinson & Matt Cowen | American Gurl |
| "Bloody Future" | 2021 | Kish Robinson | American Gurl |

### Guest appearances

List of guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name :

| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album |
| - | - | - | - |
| "Want You Still" | 2010 | The Jet Age of Tomorrow | Journey to the 5th Echelon |
| "Ode to a Dream" | 2011 | The Internet, Coco O. | Purple Naked Ladies |
| "Phat Wemin" | 2011 | Vince Staples | Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1 |
| "Make It Go Right" | 2012 | Childish Gambino | Royalty |
| "JupiterSound" | 2012 | Flatbush Zombies | D.R.U.G.S |
| "Not So Scary" | 2013 | The Jet Age of Tomorrow | JellyFish Mentality |
| "II. Zealots of Stockholm (Free Information)" | 2013 | Childish Gambino | Because the Internet |
| "Melt" | 2014 | Chet Faker | Built on Glass |
| "Gripp" | 2014 | George Maple | Vacant Space |
| "Follow" | 2015 | Étienne de Crécy | Super Discount 3 |
| "Dopeman" | 2015 | Vince Staples, Joey Fatts | Summertime '06 |
| "Surf" | 2015 | Vince Staples | Summertime '06 |
| "Jaco (Big Dope J Remix)" | 2015 | Nick Hook, Todd Edwards | Collage v.1 Remixes |
| "The Beginning" | 2015 | MeLo-X | Curate |
| "Loco" | 2016 | Vince Staples | Prima Donna |
| "Out of Body" | 2017 | Gorillaz, Zebra Katz, Imani Vonshà | Humanz |
| "Crabs in a Bucket" | 2017 | Vince Staples, Justin Vernon | Big Fish Theory |
| "Love Can Be..." | 2017 | Vince Staples, Damon Albarn, Ray J | Big Fish Theory |
| "Ramona Park is Yankee Stadium" | 2017 | Vince Staples | Big Fish Theory |
| "Homage" | 2017 | Vince Staples | Big Fish Theory |
| "Samo" | 2017 | Vince Staples, ASAP Rocky | Big Fish Theory |
