Kid Pharaoh
Mina Albert, (born February 19, 1997), better known by his stage name Kid Pharaoh, is an independent Egyptian/Australian hip hop recording artist and record producer currently residing in Wollongong, New South Wales in Australia. In 2014, Pharaoh released his completely self-produced debut project '97 Chronicles to much local praise and critical acclaim, kickstarting his career and a string of releases since his debut.
MusicAL career
2013: Early work & initial recognition
Between 2012 - 2013, Pharaoh released several demos for free online in the form of mixtapes compromising of remixes of popular Hip Hop songs of the time including those of such artists as Drake & Kanye West. Kid Pharaoh's first original piece of work "End of the Tunnel" was picked up by both Triple J & Triple J Unearthed in 2013 and was praised for displaying maturity and wisdom well beyond his years at only 16, gaining digital and national radio rotation and marking the artist's first radio airplay.
2014: '97 Chronicles
In December 2014, Pharaoh released his official debut and self-produced project '97 Chronicles after beginning work on the mixtape in late 2013. The project's first single "Gimme the Funk" was released in January 2014 and followed by several singles in the lead-up to the mixtape's release. The project was praised for its soulfully influenced production & elegantly crafted lyricism, as well as presenting a "strengthened composure and a remarkable ability to BLEND new IDeaS with old school flavours.". The project's guest appearances featured some of Australia's most promising Hip Hop voices including L-FRESH The LION & Koolta.
2015 - 2016: New Dynasty & Continuum
Following the success of '97 Chronicles, Pharaoh went on to support such major Australian acts on their national tour stops around the state including Thundamentals, Seth Sentry & Citizen Kay. Among numerous other appearances, Pharaoh began work on his sophomore self-produced effort New Dynasty in mid-2015, with the first single "Back Home" featuring Brisbane rapper & Hilltop Hoods Initiative winner I AM D being released in May 2015. The project's next single "Let My People Go" was premiered on FBi Radio's "What's Good" show hosted by Coda Conduct where Pharaoh was featured in the "Fresh Produce Section" as artist of the week.
The project was released in full on the artist's 19th birthday in February 2016 for free online with additional guest appearances from Australian Hip Hop pioneer Hau Latukefu & Melbourne artist Mitch Graunke, where many tracks saw national radio play and digital rotation throughout the course of its release.
May 18, 2016 saw the release of Pharaoh's collaborative project "Continuum" with Adelaide MC & producer Koolta as the duo "KKP". Production duties were handled by Pharaoh whilst Koolta served as the main vocalist on all 6 tracks of the EP. Continuum serves as a concept project which sees Koolta creating a main character who is involved in a time travel experiment, highlighting the complications and consequences of the journey throughout the 17 minute project. The production follows an aggressive boom-bap orientated theme throughout several tracks while also taking a soulful somber approach on others.
In late 2016, Koolta was awarded the South Australian Music Award for Most Popular Hip Hop Artist for the Continuum EP.
2016 - 2017: Ancient [R]evolution
Pharaoh began work on his 3rd project "Ancient [R]evolution" in mid-2016 before embarking on the "Right on Time" tour supporting Adelaide MC Purpose in August 2016. Numerous new songs from the album were premiered to positive reception on tour before Pharaoh went on a 6 month hiatus from performances to focus on completing the project.
The album's theme is primarily revolved around the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, a significant historical event in modern history and Pharaoh's Egyptian heritage. The Revolution unfolded due to the Egyptian people's desire to overthrow the 30 year running regime of President Hosni Mubarak which brought much corruption, poverty and unemployment to the country. The Revolution lasted 2 weeks & 3 days and successfully overthrew President Mubarak's regime with his resignation on the 11th of February 2011. The large majority of lyrical content on the project revolves around the events and implications involved including the mass protests and demonstrations occurring during the Revolution. Pharaoh expresses his deep survivor’s guilt for his Egyptian people on “[R]evolution”, an almost trapped outcry of the viewing of events unfolding to the people of Egypt while viewing from behind the bulletproof glass window that is the first world security of Australia.
“March” & “Flags” are delivered with both aggression and intensity as Pharaoh’s ferocious flows and untamed production are used to depict the unfolding of the violent protests that saw hundreds of casualties, while “The Times” serves as a plead for resolution that only time can deliver.
The production sees Pharaoh take a sharp left turn from the vintage boom-bap sound displayed on previous projects and sees him experiment with modern trap, industrial & electronic sounds, fused with his trademark soul-influenced sample usage throughout the album.
As the project began to come to a close, Pharaoh linked with critically acclaimed Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins in February 2017 while Jenkins was touring Australia for Laneway Festival. After meeting following Mick's Laneway sideshow in Sydney, Jenkins then went on to send his vocals the following day for the song "The Times". The song also features additional appearances from Australian artists I AM D & Hau, who were previously featured on Pharaoh's album New Dynasty.
The first single [R]evolution was released alongside a music video on kidpharaoh.com on the 28th of April.
The Times was premiered on ComplexAU on May 4, with the album releasing the next day in its entirety on all major streaming services.
Discography
Title |
Album artist |
Album details |
|---|---|---|
'97 Chronicles |
Kid Pharaoh |
• Released: December 4, 2014 • Format: Digital download |
New Dynasty |
Kid Pharaoh |
• Released: February 19, 2016 • Format: Digital download |
Continuum |
KKP (collaboration with Koolta) |
• Released: May 18, 2016 • Format: Digital download |
Ancient [R]evolution |
Kid Pharaoh |
• Released: May 5, 2017 • Format: Streaming services & digital download |
Accolades
• KKP (Koolta & Kid Pharaoh) - Winner of South Australian Music Award for Most Popular Hip Hop Artist for Continuum EP