By Tova O'Brien
In its 29th year, the CMJ Music Marathon in New York is considered one of the most-recognised launching pads for up-and-coming musicians.
Among the 1200 artists taking part this year were Auckland-based hip hop trio Kidz in Space.
With only one year, an EP and a couple of singles under their belt, it was only natural for Kidz in Space to raise the roof to the next level.
More than 1000 fans and industry insiders queued for the opening night highlight – the New Zealand showcase. And in the age of the blog, when everyone's a critic, there are a lot of opinions.
"The first review we read was a bad one, it was a real average one," says Ashley Hughes, "and we were like, 'Ohhhh no,' and then like over the day we started finding better reviews and we were like, 'Yes, yes, yes.'"
They were booked to play two shows in the Big Apple, but a lack of gear at the second gig meant they missed out.
"We were gutted about it, and then we saw the kind of crowd that they got and it was like a hard out hip hop club, so it was all like, 'gangstaz'," says Josh Fountain.
"We knew that they wouldn't have enjoyed our poppy, dance, hip hop music."
Taking the loss in their stride, the boys focused on another important festival fixture - business card networking.
"I came out of it with like a pocket full of them," says Hughes. "I probably threw most of them away or they all got ripped up and stuff."
Kidz in Space are working on a new album, due for release in February next year, and with this much success so early in the piece it promises to impress.
"Man, it's dope," says Hughes. "Can I say dope?"
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