Today we’d like to introduce you to Kédo Rebelle.
Hi Kédo, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve been writing music since I was 8 years old and putting out music since I was 18. My career kicked off in early 2012 when I first featured on a multitude of EDM records. With my initial releases garnering millions of streams, I decided to delve deeper into creating Dance/Pop music. Over the years, I explored various sub-genres within EDM, from Progressive House to Trap to Drum and Bass. With each track, I honed my craft and became well-versed in the genre. One of the highlights came in 2016 when I was featured on Ninety9Lives 96: Lucky Block, an album that soared to the top of the iTunes Dance charts (#1 spot), surpassing heavyweights like The Chainsmokers, who later supported my song “Make Dem” on their 2017 broadcast of ‘YouTube EDM 15’ on SiriusXM, alongside the likes of Selena Gomez and Louis Tomlinson and others. It was a dream come true to have such support from established artists in the industry. After years of releasing massively successful EDM records, my heart has always belonged to pop music.
I am a survivor of childhood/ domestic abuse. Growing up with a childhood marked by severe domestic abuse at the hands of my biological father has been a harrowing journey that has left a permanent mark on my life. Now, at 29 years old, I continue to grapple with the enduring effects of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).
I started writing this album for the sole purpose of finally getting the pain out of me… it was just a means to fully heal from the trauma all these years later…little did I know that writing this album would change my life. It is not a music project or a collection of singles that serves to promote myself but rather to promote awareness of survivors of childhood abuse and the effects of CPTSD. I was called to write these songs and to be a beacon of hope for people who share a similar experience as my own, and I genuinely believe that this album is bigger than me. I can honestly say that I have never believed in a body of work that I created more than these songs. With my discography currently totaling over 98 million streams, this upcoming project is poised to be the one that carries me past the landmark of 100 million streams.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Dealing with the effects of Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) has undeniably been the most daunting challenge I’ve ever faced. Its impact permeates nearly every aspect of my daily existence, making even the simplest tasks feel overwhelming at times. The majority of individuals who suffer from CPTSD are typically those who have experienced captivity as prisoners of war or have been subjected to human trafficking. The difference between PTSD and CPTSD is that PTSD usually arises from a single traumatic event, such as a natural disaster, serious accident, assault, or witnessing death, whereas CPTSD results from prolonged or repeated/chronic trauma, often involving interpersonal relationships, such as ongoing physical or emotional abuse, neglect, or captivity.
Life hasn’t been easy by any means, but I’m so lucky to have found music, as I have clung to it for as long as I can remember. It served as an anchor for me in times where I was drowning, and I truly don’t know where I’d be today if it weren’t for my love of music. I’ve faced my fair share of hurdles in the music industry as well…such as: garnering millions of streams for some songs and never being paid for it, signing contracts and not reading the fine print, locking me into deals where I receive as little as 2% of royalties on a record that went crazy viral and became extremely successful. (due to legal reasons, I can’t say the name of the song) Although the journey in my music career hasn’t been easy, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world, as it is my life’s purpose to create art in this world.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My artist name is Kédo Rebelle, and I am a singer-songwriter, audio engineer, mixing engineer and producer currently based in LA. I have been doing this for 10 years and seen some success in my career, particularly with my dance records. I specialize in dark/sad pop music with Rnb influences.
I’d say I’m most known for my dance records, but I’d like to think it’s also because of my voice and my songwriting.
In a saturated market, most pop songs are love songs written for the masses in a formulaic format, and a lot of them sound the same and feel generic. Don’t get me wrong; I love a good pop song about love; I’m just not sure if anybody has ever written an entire album about domestic abuse or the challenges that come with living with CPTSD, so I think my honest and sincere perspective will set me apart from other pop stars simply writing about love.
I have waited all my life to create and record this album, and I am finally ready to face my demons regardless of any fear or shame that is accompanied by these sensitive topics. For the past year, I have been pouring my heart and soul into an album that walks the listener directly through my childhood memories. It essentially an open diary with recollections of my past, present, and future. This sonic experience captures real-life events told through the lens of artistic expression. Born from the need to confront my own pain and transform it into something beautiful, this is a story (or timeline) set in the future. In this dystopian wasteland, Kédo (the protagonist) finds an old device called a memory drive, which contains archives recorded by his younger self, Konrad. They reveal a catastrophic event caused by The Despotic One (the antagonist), who unleashed a deadly calamity and destroyed this world. (In reality, this is an analogy of the devastation caused by my traumatic childhood where the world around me was unsafe).
These vital archives guide Kédo’s mission to uncover the truth and bring hope to a desolate world. The story is told via song for each “episode” (note: this album can still be enjoyed by the visually impaired as the sound experience is meant to take listeners into an immersive world that is guided by music as the focal point). The project is heavy with environmental sounds and cinematic landscapes painted by beautiful strings, piano, as well as voice acting, that tell a story that has never been done before. If you aren’t familiar with the old mediums of music, such as vinyls and cassette tapes, here is a quick description: LPs (or Long plays) are what we now know as traditional-length albums. Back in the day, vinyls weren’t big enough to store more than 4 or 5 songs on each side. So, after you finish the first half (or Side A) of the album, you have to flip it over and enjoy the rest of the songs on the other side. (Side B). Dystopian Archives follows this old format of albums with each “side” of the album playing an essential part in the story. Side A represents the pain, trauma, and abuse that I endured while growing up with a sexual predator and violent tyrant as a father. Side B represents the healing, growth, and overcoming that I have found after years of working on myself and therapy. Each side contains archives (songs) that are memories and experiences captured and recorded in the form of music. Each song or archive represents an emotion.
Here is the track list and the emotions that each song represents:
Side A: Nuclear Winter 1994 (Intro) [a prologue that draws the listener in and sets the precedent of what’s to come]
Tyranny (Inhuman) [a song about agony]
False Idol [a song about confusion]
Desolate [a song about anxiety]
Adrenaline (Fight or Flight) [a song about disassociation]
Blood On Your Hands [a song about rage]
Side B: P.T.S.D. (Interlude) [a song about prayer
I Need A Reason [a song about perseverance]
Flight Of The Fallen King [a song about healing]
Cheat Codes [a song about overcoming]
Rebuild this city [a song about growth]
Oracle Of Hope (Outro) [a message of hope]
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m not going to lie; I do consider myself lucky. There was a woman in Congress recently who was introducing a bill for royalties and songwriters, and she said, “It would take 800,000 streams per month to make equivalent of 15$ an hour, and the vast majority of out artists on platforms like Apple Music & Spotify, won’t ever get 800,000 streams in a year.” I know numbers aren’t everything, of course, but I do consider my success to be earned as well, even though I do feel lucky to have such a wide-reach audience. Muso.ai is an app that calculate artists’ global streams on all platforms, and because of my streaming numbers, Muso.ai considers me to be in the top 1% of all artists in the world. So, seeing those factors makes me feel like the luckiest artist on the planet.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4sKIXx7oUcvZgLdxni53DO?si=ZVIdJMdEQFy32bW4qZl89g&dl_branch=1
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kedorebelle
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kedorebelle
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kedorebelle
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kedorebelle
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kedorebelle
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kedorebelle
Image Credits
Jules Kuhr
