Kid Static started writing beats so long ago, now his heartbeats sound like electronic drum hits. And when he decided to start putting the raps he did for his friends on record, something altogether wonderful was created.

A Chicago native, Static got his start in music production. Writing instrumental compositions and songs made up most of his free time as a young man. He used a lot of organs and piano which gave his music a signature sound and the frenetic percussion that often accompanied the tracks was a precursor to his love of all things electronic. "I'm a dork at heart," says Static. "If computers didn't have something to do with the equation, this music wouldn't be me."

That music began with the upright piano in his childhood home. "It was a rare day that you didn't hear Motown or West African music coming from the living room stereo," Static muses. When the first band he was in decided that their instrumental hip hop would be better with vocals, it was the keyboardist who jumped at the chance. "Rapping in your bedroom to classic instrumentals just isn't the same." he says. "There is just something about being on stage."

Very quickly Static discovered that he was as at home on a microphone as he was behind the keys. The same year he saved up everything he could and put out his first album.

Static's self-released first solo was a demonstration of raw talent that showed Chicago this budding artist was serious. Representative of years of writing, it was truly different than anything released on the Chicago underground. People took notice of this kid who seemingly came out of nowhere. He was featured in almost every local publication, and lauded as the next up in XLR8R and on Pitchfork. That was truly the beginning of something beautiful.

Listen to the music and you hear not only a clever wordsmith with a jagged sense of humor, but a musician with a keen gift for composition. You hear an experimentalist who isn't afraid to take every influence from life and make it sing out loud inside swelling atmospheric symphonies of sound. There is hurt there. There is pain. There is happiness and a balance is found among all of them. We can see ourselves in the expression of them because we have all been there.

After 2 years of heavy touring, Static moved out to Los Angeles to follow label interest in his projects. Now, just a year into his West Coast excursion he has been signed, played all over the country and continues to put his music in front of a lot of the right people.

As an independent musician, the road to musical success is a harder one. So far Static has garnered national attention, played the stages of multiple giant festivals and shown he is supremely capable, but the stakes are getting higher. "Through working with people who see my passion for music and through sheer hustle, I know I can make this thing work." Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.