SignKid is a London-based writer, producer and signsong rapper who is Deaf.
His musical influences range from Public Enemy, Tupac and Biggie Smalls to Chance the Rapper.
SignKid hasn’t let being Deaf get in the way of creating music and he produces his own beats and regularly performs live. He released his debut EP ‘Music is the Message’ in 2017 and in the same year won an award from the MOBO / HelpMusicians fund to help further his musical career.
Listen to SignKid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e1YavLjTyQ
Interview from https://www.hearinglikeme.com/
What is the main message that you want listeners to gain from your music?
I am here to make good music and to spread the message to people who need to understand all about deaf culture because there is a lot of deaf talent out there. Not just deaf musicians, but deaf dancers, deaf actors, deaf comedians etc. A lot of deaf people quote, “Deaf people can do anything except hear”. This is very true.
Do you think that the music industry is becoming more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing people?
No I don’t think so. They are very slow. They provide only a few interpreted and captioned shows. Hearing people sing cover songs then they get signed to a contract. But deaf people use signsong to cover songs, but they don’t get signed to contracts from any record companies. Deaf people are still facing barriers, not just music but in employment too. I still love what I am doing even if I’m an unsigned artist performing independently. However, I think we need more deaf awareness to educate the music industry about deaf music. Deaf artists can make music like, for example, Beethoven. He is still a very popular deaf artist today.