Interviewed by Bliss
The Controversial Comeback of Kay Dee
How many people listened to the recently released Women Lie Men Lie by Kay Dee (previously known as Haan Jay) and went, wait did I hear Osama bin Laden’s name being uttered? And immediately went on asking what happened to Haan Jay and who is this Kay Dee alter-ego?
I was one of the many people who wondered this when the Women Lie Men Lie poster first surfaced on the social media sphere. It is only after verifying with Syndicate, I understood that Haan Jay has reinvented himself as Kay Dee. Like many, I believed Women Lie Men Lie will be another melodious venture, most likely touching on the issue of infidelity and love. However, this is not the case as Women Lie Men Lie is entirely different from Syndicate’s previous initiatives. It is an explicit track which is very much subtle in nature as it makes references to numerous happenings, namely ‘bersih’.
Kay Dee sounds entirely reinvigorated on this track and the first few minutes got me thinking I was listening to a track from the States until Sheezay comes in with his Tamil verses. Meanwhile, as for pronunciation and timing, it was like listening to a veteran rapper.
Going through, Syndicate’s previous work, in which Kay Dee is still involved in with his partner, Pirate, it is understandable that Syndicate is one of the most versatile groups in the Malaysian Tamil scene and they mainly sing melodious tracks with a combination of rap. Thus, Women Lie Men Lie is entirely different from Kay Dee’s previous work as Women Lie Men Lie is fully rap.
With Women Lie Men Lie getting good recognition, I was lucky enough to come across this versatile rapper to get him speaking on his comeback – a controversial one with his alter ego Kay Dee.
MTC: Tell us bit of your background and how Kay Dee was created?
I started learning sangeetham when I was 7. Temple played an important role in my childhood days as I spent a good amount of time there. It is only in secondary school, I started to love rap when I discovered Eminem. To be honest, I do not the meaning of Hip Hop or rap until now but I was more into what he was saying about his life rather than his sick rhymes. Back in school days, I spent most of my time rapping his lines at the back
of my classroom when lessons were going on. This is where I developed my rapping skills. I can say Eminem is one of my biggest musical influence, not just his music, but the way he puts his message across.
As to how Kay Dee was born, prior to this, I was basically doing tracks which are radio-friendly and decent in nature. However, after a number of releases with Syndicate, I started to think that I was faking my own style to churn out hit releases, which is a big no if you are passionate musician. Indeed, I love all forms of music but my interest lies in rap, and I wanted to create a persona which is more focused on facts in my verses. Besides, I wanted to be transparent about everything that is happening. Thus, I stopped, gave a pause and decided to give birth to Kay Dee and now I am here with Women Lie Men Lie.
MTC: Okay with Women Lie Men Lie, why did Kay Dee decide to come out with such a track and how is the response?
I want to be transparent, each verse I utter are based on my experience and perspective. Hence, with Women Lie Men Lie, that is what I wished to experience with – transparency and rhymes. To be frank, if a married women with kids can come up to me and say ‘it does not matter what words you use Kay Dee but how do you use it is what matters’ then I have accomplished my objective. Remember, everything is just beautiful in the outside but when you see the inside you will feel or understand what Kay Dee is saying.
Besides, I love rap and rap encompasses a myriad of things which are real to the rapper. A rapper says the truth based on his experience and is not a double face creature. So, that is why I decided to come out with Women Lie Men Lie. The response has been encouraging and very good thus far. Doing such comebacks can put your career off, I guess I was lucky enough to have friends and fans which are acceptive of my music through what I am saying.
MTC: So, I think it is safe say Kay Dee is rather different from Haan Jay, so why Kay Dee?
To start, Kay Dee is about himself. He lives in his own world and his facts are the result of his experiences and encounters with people from both the good and ugly side. Nonetheless, Kay Dee is not perfect and he admits his flaws and tries to use his flaws for his gain.
Kay Dee is a keen observer and the seven years spent observing the street life has moulded Kay Dee’s perception on various things. Besides, hard times taught Kay Dee about life and how we should live. He does not mind what people think about him but I am sure many people will be able to relate to what Kay Dee is saying. Women Lie Men Lie is the style which Kay Dee aspired to be since he was small. Therefore, I can say I am living my aspirations now.
A lot of things are coming up for me and I will be packed with more recording soon. Besides, being explicit and true is great for my identity as a rapper but I will also do commercial tracks and radio-friendly tracks for those who need that. With Kay Dee, what I aim to achieve is balance, balance of creating commercial tracks and tracks which will ‘shock’ you because of its honesty. I just want to be honest about me and about the world.
MTC: So, what can we expect from Kay Dee?
Kay Dee is Kay Dee, he is not perfect and he does wish to be perfect. So, when it comes to expectation, expect brutal honesty, yet at the same time expect surprises. In addition, Kay Dee is a messenger and speaks the truth from his perspective. He is a hard worker and stands on his own feet to come up. Kay Dee is a firm believer of Karma, thus he will not hold any grudges and both money and bragging rights are not his objectives. He just needs recognition for his talent but not by awards but the love from his fans. Kay Dee wants to prove himself in his songs and other than that, Kay Dee is not all uptight and serious because for those who know him personally, he is often known as the clown, who can make you smile anytime. The main thing is I do not want to forget my ground.
MTC: Anything else you would like to add?
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those good hearts who have been there when I was down and took me up with their encouragements and love. A special thanks to a brother from the same hood Sheezay. Also, I would like to thank Rabbit.Mac, who is another talented rapper who has helped me develop. Besides, I would like to extend my thanks to the entire Psycho Unit crew for all their help, which is an ongoing thing at the moment for me. Wait up for more soon!
Kay Dee sounds entirely reinvigorated on this track.
