That Kid is one of the most exciting faces in the hyper-pop scene. Fresh off of his his latest release, Superstar, I spoke with That Kid about the album, the power of collaboration, and straddling the line between heartfelt introspection and party animal fun.

SPARKY: First of all, thank you so much for *digitally* sitting down to chat!

You’ve done a considerable number of collaborations (I personally discovered your music through “Dial Tone” where you featured alongside Slayyyter and Ayesha Erotica), which have been your favorites thus far? Who else would you like to work with?

THAT KID: I have done a lot of collaborations! Honestly, I could not even tell you because I truly have loved doing each one for different reasons. I think one that was really special was getting Girl Roommate on “Heaven'' just because she’s one of my closest friends and we’ve known each other for, like, almost 10 years. The Tama Gucci collaborations have also been pretty special too because we’ve known each other through the internet for about 9 years now! I think all of my collaborations are special though, obviously!

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What part of collaborating attracts you the most?

TK: I think I’m just drawn to it because it just makes a song a bit better in my opinion. It’s a fun way to also build friendships with people. I’m friends with a lot of the people I’ve collaborated with! My last project before Superstar was called Comedown and it didn’t have any features, which I like, but I think I’m someone who really enjoys working with others and I really thrive when I do.

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Some of your lyrics are extra raunchy—fantastically so—do you ever receive backlash for some of your more sex-positive content?

TK: I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed any major backlash from it. My parents definitely are not in love with how vulgar I can be on my songs at times though, haha. I once had someone concerned I was glamorizing certain things but at the end of the day I’m an artist and That Kid is more of a persona anyways.

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Your work straddles the line of introspection and more serious subjects (I remember your IG story that said “Full Throttle” is about “wanting to unalive urself in the club”) with sillier, more light-hearted lyrics like in “DRY2WET” off of Superstar. How do you navigate this balance?

TK: I think I just naturally, kind of have a more somber disposition. I always have, so I tend to sneak a lot of darker lines in a lot of my songs. It’s kind of like a way for listeners to see the cracks behind the That Kid persona, if they pay enough attention I guess. I’m still a lot of fun, of course, and I always try to write stuff that makes me laugh or is just fun to listen to, but I think some of the best songs always have a bit of contrast.

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What separates Superstar from your previous projects? How does it reflect your evolution as an artist?

TK: I think Superstar is sonically a lot more realized than Crush or Comedown. I was really pushing my pen on this project! I wanted this to have my best writing, especially because I’m three projects in now. The songs are a lot more layered vocally as well. These songs are stacked in harmonies and ad libs. I just wanted it to feel very large, the whole project as whole is a bit larger than life.

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I like to ask everyone this question: What does the future of music look like? Do you have any predictions for what the next few years are going to sound like?

TK: Honestly, I’m not too sure, but I do feel as though K-pop is kind of the future of music sonically. I’ve always thought that. The production in a lot of those K-pop songs is out of this world and it’s always so detailed and some of the writers and producers in Korea don’t seem to always get too hung up about how a song is structured and will deviate from it pretty often. I’m always referencing K-pop songs when I work with people. I wouldn’t be shocked if more people started to borrow from that sound. I also notice lots of Jersey Club and Garage songs blowing up on TikTok, so definitely that will be major in the next couple of years.

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Which artists do you anticipate“blowing up” in the near future?

TK: I’d like to think I’d blow up in the next few years! I definitely think all of the artists featured on Superstar are making huge waves in the underground scene, so I can definitely see all of them getting big one day! They all deserve it!

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You just played a show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, what was that like?

TK: The show was so much fun! It was weird to finally do my own headlining show. I was so used to being an artist on the lineup or an opening act, but it was my first time just having my own show where people came to see me specifically! I also had, like, eight guest performers as well because I’ve just worked with so many people and I love to share the stage with other people. It makes it way more fun. The green room was pretty packed and crazy though! Definitely a great time.

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What’s your dream venue?

TK: I just played one of my dream venues, but I’d love to perform at The Echo in Los Angeles!

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Lastly: What’s up next for That Kid?

TK: Well, I just dropped the lyric video for “Thelma & Louis” with Chase Icon. I think after that I’m putting out some remixes and then in 2023, lots of singles. Hopefully, I’ll get to do some features, but yeah there’s lots of stuff just in the works right now!