Music
7 things you need to know about Syd
Odd Future OG, the centre of The Internet and powerful creative force in her own right – here are seven things you need to know about Paths Unknown's headliner, the former Syd Tha Kyd.
Prolific doesn’t even cut it for Sydney Bennett – aka the artist formally known as Syd Tha Kyd. In her short 25 years she’s produced, written and vocalled more tracks than many musicians put out in a lifetime.
Here’s everything you need to know about one of the leading forces behind pioneering punk-rap collective Odd Future, The Internet’s charismatic frontwoman and the solo artist who’s not a Kyd anymore.
Listen to a Fireside Chat with Syd below.
1. Syd has music in her blood
Her Uncle is Jamaican OG songwriter and producer Mikey Bennett. He's behind massive reggae and dancehall hits, from Brian and Tony Gold’s Can You right through to Shabba Ranks’ Mr Loverman. Syd spoke about his influence in her Fireside Chat for Red Bull Radio last year: “Growing up I would go to Jamaica every few years and just sit in the studio for like a full week. It was dope. That’s what made me wanna have a studio.”
2. Syd didn’t chase the limelight
She started out behind the scenes. A large chunk of Odd Future’s debut was made in a home studio that she built in her parent’s house. She was just 14 when she bought her first laptop and starting charging $10 an hour for her production skills.
Syd and The Internet at RBMA Bass Camp, 2016
© Drew Gurian/Red Bull Content Pool
3. Odd Future’s big break came via a Syd fib
Before the motley collective went stratospheric they'd made six whole albums that nobody really listened to. So Syd got creative. She bought a website and set up an entire fake PR company, with Odd Future and Vince Staples their only ‘clients’. She started sending out press releases, and before she knew it the Fader had posted Domo Genesis’s first album. The rest, as they say, is a very post-millennial kind of history.
One of my favourite artists is Pharrell. He can’t sing either! But it sounds good.
4. Syd thinks she can’t sing and it’s just the way she likes it
In Odd Future, Syd was the producer and DJ. It wasn't until she was 18 that she really discovered that she could sing. Or rather, she decided that she couldn’t sing, but that she didn’t really care. She explained her thinking in the Red Bull Radio Fireside Chat: “One of my favourite artists is Pharrell. He can’t fucking sing either! But it sounds good. He made it his own… Just do you.”
So when she formed The Internet back in 2011 with her Odd Future buddy Matt Martians she was ready to grab the mic. And it turns out one very high-profile hit-machine thinks that she definitely can sing. Earlier this year Pharrell tweeted about Syd, saying that her voice "feels like clouds".
5. Fin isn't the end, it’s just a haircut
The Internet found massive success with their third LP, Ego Death, released in 2015. Less than two years later Syd released her first solo album Fin, in February this year. But the title wasn’t a subtle reference to the death of The Internet via French film tropes. It was, in fact, a jolly nod to her hair-do and a clever way to big up her band members. “It seemed to describe, symbolically my role in The Internet,” she explained in an interview for The Independent. “Which is like, you know, the lil’ piece on top. Sometimes you see it first."
6. Syd soundtracked the eclipse
Just six months after releasing her solo debut, Syd returned this August with a fresh track. Bad Dream/No Looking Back dropped via her Twitter account. And she told fans: “Play this while you watch the eclipse."
7. There’s no 'i' in Syd
Throughout her career Syd has been a keen collaborator. Her list of guest appearances and creative hook-ups is a who's who of global sonic pioneers. She teamed up with Thundercat back in 2013 on Mac Miller’s Live From Space, works regularly with Canadian super-producer Kaytranada, provided guest vocals on Little Simz’s Shotgun, took her sound post-club with Fade To Mind’s Kingdom and recently worked on two tracks for old-school legend Common. From working with Snakehips to Roy Ayers, Dâm-Funk to Willow Smith, Syd never stops flying the flag for the joyful end results of joining forces.
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