Gavin Kratt, better known by his stage name, Dead Hendrix or Hendi, is a punk rock rapper who grew up in shelters and on the streets. His childhood was chaotic, with an alcoholic mother and a feeling of never fitting in. Writing became his outlet, and when he discovered rap, he found a community that understood him. Hendi’s creative process varies from driving around aimlessly with the volume all the way up trying to find the perfect lyrics and melodies to going to the studio completely unprepared and seeing what comes out.
Hendi’s music is deeply personal, touching on everything from drug abuse to heartbreak. He believes that the most important thing for his music is being true to how he feels and giving an experience that others can relate to and get lost in, while balancing it out with sounds that fans can bump their head to and blast through their speakers.Growing up in the early 2000s, punk rock was everywhere for Hendrix. He wanted to grow up to be exactly like the lead singers of All American Rejects or The Offspring. As he neared middle school, he discovered rappers like Kevin Gates and Machine Gun Kelly, and that’s exactly how his style was made: his idols from childhood colliding with his idols from high school. Hendi’s most recent project, Mustang, released on March 31st, is the first single from his first solo album.
It sits right on the fence of rap attitude and punk attitude, and he believes it’s a track that screams “rockstar” to both rap fans and punk fans alike. Hendrix worked with Yungcudii on Mustang, and he believes it’s a great example of an exciting collaboration. For Hendrix, the best collaborations happen naturally. He’s had great collaborations and not so great collaborations, but he believes that when collaborating, both artists need to be equally excited about the song and equally ready to put the work in.
He looks for an artist with music that he really likes and who really likes his music.Hendrix is proud of the work he’s been doing with AllCapYow, his future collaboration with KG Jay, and the upcoming “Ottawa X Toronto” album where he features on a track “DTH” with Toronto rapper 3mFrench. His fan base, TWD, is his biggest accomplishment. Doing shows in different cities and hearing everyone sing along to his songs or getting messages about how much his music impacts them is a huge accomplishment for him. In the future, Hendrix aims to keep working with artists he respects, keep putting on for his fans, keep performing in different cities, keep expanding his growth, and to continue showing out to the ones who doubt him. For Hendrix, simply making music is what he loves to do, and that’s all that matters.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/talk2thedead?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3lLDBAfGYx4ITHoXodltRn?si=MywvS-CPS9i7pWju3yrh9A&dd=1
