Issue 12

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA

Written by Addy Gomez:

Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Armuntre Jackson (aka "Kida Iso"), has been singing and rapping since 2018.

Fresh out of high school, Kida attended Cal State Los Angeles while working security at STAPLES Center, later joining the United States Marine Corps (USMC). He began recording music using the BandLab app, his iPhone, and studio headphones that he bought from Amazon.

”I began writing songs little by little,” Kida says. “Then recording in the closet, in my bed, my car, in my barracks room, in empty barrack rooms, and so on.”

During his four years spent in the USMC, Kida crafted his discography, experimented with sounds, and created his artist image.

"With each song, I've learned from my mistakes,” Kida says. “I became better and better at breath controls, tones and keys, mixing, and recording techniques.”

After being released from the USMC in November 2023, Kida began increasing his social media flow and working as an Uber driver. After meeting a representative at a networking event, Kida was invited to write and record for Coca Cola at Coke Studios in Downtown Los Angeles.

"I started going to open mics and all kinds of events," Kida says, "which led to opportunities was like working on a Gunna music video set and working with Coca Cola."

According to Spotify, Kida Iso reached 30.1k streams in 2023. He's released a total of three albums since 2021 ("Just Smile,” followed by, “Isolated, Vol 2,” and most recently, “Insomniac,” released in October 2023).

UNDRGRND catches Kida as he is currently working on filming his first music video for his May 2024 single, “Snowfall." Outside of the booth, Kida will start at California Institute of the Arts this Fall 2024, where he will be studying Experimental Pop and pursue acting.