study hall: Kardi – Badd
May 18, 2011 1 comment
When The Valedictorian dropped, I told you the rapper/producer was the best artist his age bracket not kept against his will by the Samoans. Now that we know Earl is just doing kung fu and kid stuff over there, chillin, I’d say the score is even. Get familiar before this kid is a household name so you can tell all your friends you told them so.
Hit the jump to read Kardi tell the story behind one of my favorite tracks on The Valedictorian, “Badd.”
Written by: Kardi
Produced by: Kardi (I need another alias, this looks self-fellating)
Recorded: July 2010
Download The Valedictorian at http://kardi.bandcamp.com
Believe it or not, there was a time in my life I considered myself a producer first, MC second. My now-manager, then partner-in-rhyme Matthew Trammell, actually (and I always bring this up to him) suggested that I quit rapping and just make beats. This is a rare instance in which he’s been wrong. We’ll get back to Matthew though in a bit.
I started making beats when I was 11. I don’t remember exactly how I started, but one summer I stumbled on some program named Fruity Loops, downloaded the demo (then got the real one off of Limewire) and I’ve been using it ever since.
I was born and raised in the Bronx for a good portion of my life. Part of being 14, 15 years old and living Uptown was the lite feet scene. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me provide a sample:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJV_bo3bA7M&feature=player_embedded
At one point, I think around ‘08 up to early ‘09, I was making beats for lite feet dancers and dancing crews (and getting paid decent money). I was never one for dancing, but I was definitely very involved in this life, I won’t lie. I was a part of the best crews in NY (as if this is something to brag about) and was known as one of the best lite feet producers in the city. Outside of the Bronx, Harlem, and little pockets of Brooklyn & Queens, this wasn’t pertinent to ANYONE, but in that little scene it did. Lite feet was a lifestyle, ask anyone who was at the Rucker in ‘05 to ‘09. The tone wop. The harlem shake, the badd one. We’ll get back to that later, too.
I got the inspiration for this beat originally from being in the Rucker. For anyone who didn’t own NBA Street Vol. 2 (all 4 of you), Rucker Park is the world-renowned court on 8th Ave & 155th Street in Harlem, where legends like Pee-Wee Kirkland, Dr. J, Kobe, and Skip To My Lou to name a few have played in leagues during the summer. It’s always live and packed to the brim; me, Thiz, and 2ce would go almost every week in the summers when we came back from prep school.
When I used to go, the main attraction on paper was the games, but the Rucker was pretty much the stage during the summer for lite feet dancers. During the timeouts and halftime, whoever was DJing would blast music and dancers would get up in the stands or hop the gate and get lite. One time when DJ Enuff was spinning he put on The Dream’s “I Luv Your Girl”. There was one part that I always thought he shoulda cut up though…
I made this beat in late ‘08, and sold it to a crew from Uptown. The badd one was (is? I have no clue) one of the integral dances in the lite feet circle, and I made a beat to go with it. Thiz adamantly suggested I add a section sampling the part where The-Dream says “wife beater with the denim”. I didn’t oblige. He still hasn’t forgiven me.
About 2 years later, I was going through my old beats (the same time I found “Homecoming”) and came across “Badd.” I thought it was dope with the exception of some annoying ass parts, so I re-seqeuenced the beat for a song format and turned it into this:
04 Badd (prod. by Kardi) by KARDI
The one question I hear the most: “Who’s it about?”
The girl I wrote “Badd” about…doesn’t exist. I amalgamated the likeness of two girls I was talking to at the time; one from New York and one I met at prep school. One was Dominican, one was Black (“she got me tripping, man/Black & Dominican”) and I pretty much used characteristics of them to make a girl. I lean towards one more, but that’s not important cuz you’ll never know who’s who.
As a part of the album, I wanted to have a minor storyline within the theme of the school year which involves this girl. “Badd” is the first part of the story; “Don’t Leave”, which comes later in the album is the second half. Although the person doesn’t exist, the events I talk about occurred. The same way “Badd” ends on a cliffhanger, so will this post. Stay tuned to “Study Hall” to find out the backstory on the other tracks on the album.
I was on 233rd & White Plains
Me 2ce & Thiz, we was on the 2 train
When I turned around and I seen this lil dame
With a frame so bad, forgot what I was gon’ say
I did a double take; she was staring my way
Figured it’d be a waste if I didn’t say hey
Went over; said, “Excuse miss, what’s your name?
I know it’s everyday you get approached by a lame
But I’m different, trust me, I ain’t like these new cats
They call me Kardi, but you already knew that
See, I can show you what the ‘90s like
And if your mind is right, you can be mine tonight.”
She, uh, rolled her eyes, and said I was tripping
Then I seen her grinning, so I knew that she was with it
We at [1]25th and it’s time to get to dipping
So I pulled out the Berry and let mami put her PIN in
Baby, you so
You the type of chick every dude wanna have
Usually don’t cuff ‘em but she got me on smash
So anything you want, you don’t even gotta ask
Cuz you so
You so (x3)
And you know it
Cuz you so
You so (x3)
And you know it
Been a couple months since I met her
Feeling her more & more every time we together
Tryna get me hooked on her but I wont let her
Cuz you never know if they gon’ get ya for the cheddar
I ain’t gon’ sweat her like a cardigan,
But I can’t fade how we line up like a barber and
If she wasn’t 5’5”, probably be modeling
Ain’t no ditz though, go to college on scholarship
She got me tripping, man
Black and Dominican
Soon as we finish, I want back up in it again
I think I’m fiendin but, I ain’t tryna kick it, man
Got a nigga whistling and listening to Riperton
She got me open, yeah she worth the hype
Got them goodies and she ride it like a motorbike
If she want me back home, I’d be on the flight
‘Cause if she ain’t the one, then she’s the prototype
I’m sayin
Baby, you so
You the type of chick every dude wanna have
Usually don’t cuff ‘em but she got me on smash
So anything you want, you don’t even gotta ask
Cuz you so
You so (x3)
And you know it
Cuz you so
You so (x3)
And you know it
I’m living BIG, and she’s my Faith Evans
But things are getting hectic cuz the school year ending
Taking up all my time and she mad jealous
And she got me thinking that maybe I should end it
Kissing and hugging in public; my niggas think I’m bugging
Calling me ‘husband’, talking bout love and its been 2 months and I
Haven’t wrote a song in weeks and my grades slumping
But I’m so caught up that they can’t tell me nothing
I’m sprung? Fuck ‘em, they can kiss my ass
Baby, all them niggas mad they cant get one just as bad
So what if her ass got me skipping class
The way she got me feeling? Like I hit a brick of hash
But I’m not sure if the ends are worth the means
She’s clingy, insecure, always asking if I cheat
But the hold she got on me, it’s just like I’m a fiend
So the question is, do I stay or do I leave?
