The End Result | Salute Da Kidd

INTERVIEW TERRELL “REALIFE” BLACK PHOTOGRAPH AREAUN WOODLAND

Detroit’s own Salute Da Kidd opens up on loss, legacy, and the truth behind Time Heals All Wounds—a journey from the Diggs to the Wisemen family.

Detroit’s hip-hop scene is a crucible of grit, resilience, and culture, and few embody that legacy like Salute Da Kidd. Born and raised in the Diggs Projects, Salute’s journey through music has been shaped by the streets, family, and life’s trials. With a name that honors respect, humility, and the unbroken spirit of his younger self, he carries the torch of The Wisemen while forging his own path.

In this exclusive interview with VALIDATED, Salute Da Kidd opens up about his earliest memories of hip-hop, the bonds that formed with Bronze Nazareth, Kevlaar 7, and The Wisemen family, and the creative process behind his latest album, Time Heals All Wounds. From confronting personal loss to celebrating growth, this conversation delves into the emotion, reflection, and storytelling that define Salute Da Kidd’s artistry, offering fans a candid look at a rapper committed to truth, legacy, and the power of real music.

VALIDATED: Being from Detroit—specifically the Diggs Projects—what’s your earliest memory of hip-hop culture?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Man, growing up in the Diggs, I remember standing in different courts, watching the old heads getting money, vibin’ out to that old-school hip hop—Scarface, Pac, Nas, Wu-Tang, Biggie. That was the soundtrack of the blocks back then.

I was maybe 12 or 13, soaking it all in—the graffiti on the walls, the ciphers on the block, kids rhyming just to be heard, the boom boxes blasting while people moved around the courts.

Hip hop wasn’t just music out there; it was survival, it was expression, it was the culture we lived in every single day.

VALIDATED: What does the name Salute Da Kidd represent, and how did you come to adopt it?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Salute Da Kidd is about respect, humility, and staying true. Salute is giving homage where it’s due, and Da Kidd is that young version of myself still soaking up what life’s laying down.

I adopted it because, even as a kid, I knew I wanted to grow but never lose that hunger or those roots. It’s a name that carries where I’m from and where I’m headed—acknowledging both the struggle and the promise.

VALIDATED: How did you first connect with Bronze Nazareth, Kevlaar 7 (RIP), and the Wisemen family?

SALUTE DA KIDD: A mutual friend connected me and Bronze. He was adamant about us meeting, saying we really needed to connect. At the time, we were working together for the State of Michigan Family Reunification Program, reconnecting families and building strong relationships. Little did I know, that encounter would build one of my strongest relationships to this day.

We took a break, went to Burger King for lunch, and over that meal we got to talking about life, started freestyling, and the rest was history. From there, Bronze introduced me to Kevlaar 7 and Phillie, and that’s when the bond with The Wisemen really took root. Kevlaar’s poetry and discipline pushed me to dig deeper, and Phillie’s hunger sharpened the crew as a whole.

What started with a lunch break and a freestyle turned into a lifelong brotherhood—one that’s bigger than just music. It’s family, and a history I continue to witness to this day.

VALIDATED: Your music often carries deep lyricism and street wisdom—what inspires the stories you tell in your rhymes?

SALUTE DA KIDD: I’ve seen loss, betrayal, love, and hope—it all builds material. The struggle with the system, watching homies fall, trying to raise respect and legacy, wanting to give voice to those who feel unseen.

Then there’s spirituality—the lessons from my elders, from my grandma. Trauma and triumph, those contrast moments push me to write. It’s real-life testimonies, not fiction.

VALIDATED: Recently, you dropped Time Heals All Wounds, a full album produced entirely by your Wisemen brother Bronze Nazareth. What was the vision behind that collaboration, and how did the project come together?

SALUTE DA KIDD: The vision was this: emotion, transparency, redemption. I needed to tell what was hidden, what’s been healed, and what still hurts. Having Bronze produce the full project means consistency in tone and atmosphere. He knows where I come from—he’s lived it.

We built the album during a time when I’d been through incarceration, grief, and loss. I wanted to reflect on the journey from darkness toward light. The project came together piece by piece—beat selections, late nights freestyling, recording until the truth felt like it hit with weight.

VALIDATED: The title Time Heals All Wounds is powerful. What does it mean to you personally, and how does it reflect where you’re at in life right now?

SALUTE DA KIDD: It means that no matter how deep the cut, with time and reflection there’s a chance to heal, to grow, to move past pain. For me, it’s not just a phrase—it’s what I’ve had to witness and endure. Loss of people, the price paid with time locked up, regret, remorse.

But also hope—rebuilding relationships, faith, forging new paths. Right now, I’m in a space where I see wounds from the past, but I’m not letting them define my future. I’m letting time teach me, elevate me.

VALIDATED: How would you describe the emotional journey this album takes listeners on from beginning to end?

SALUTE DA KIDD: It starts with pain and confusion—I set the stage with grief, anger, and the need to question, “Why me?” Then it slides into remembrance, loss, longing, and reflections on what could have been and what is.

Mid-album, it turns toward accountability—owning mistakes, recognizing lessons, and balancing mercy with self-forgiveness. By the end, it’s about resolve: strength drawn from wounds, purpose regained, and looking forward with clarity.

Listeners ride with me from the valleys into the sunrise.

VALIDATED: You dropped the visuals for the record “Why” on September 4. What made you choose it as the first video off the project, and what’s been the response so far?

SALUTE DA KIDD: “Why” felt like the gatekeeper—if I open with that, people know where I stand: questions unresolved, the struggle, the scars. It’s vulnerable, and it sets the tone.

The visuals show the hood, the family, the introspection, the fight—not glamor, but reality. The response has been real: people resonating, sending messages saying they feel seen. Some nodded right away, and some got pulled in by the beat but stayed for the lyrics.

It’s been humbling.

VALIDATED: Bronze’s beats are known for their cinematic, soulful feel. How did his sound shape the stories you wanted to tell on this project?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Bronze has a way of making the atmosphere itself a character. Strings, keys, soul samples—that drizzle of melancholy—all lace the words. When I hear a Bronze beat, I know instantly whether it’s pain, nostalgia, aggression, love, or something else.

The sound made me dig deeper for the honest lines. If the beat is heavy, the words have to match. His production forced me to rise up, to paint pictures vividly—cinematic—so the story didn’t just get heard, it got felt.

VALIDATED: Was there a particular beat from Bronze that instantly made you say, “This has to be on the album”?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Yes, Grandma’s Prayers was one of them. That gospel feel—the piano, the way the soul sample pulled at something deep—I knew right away that beat was sacred space.

Also For Ours For Hours with the vibraphone. That one laid the foundation for reflecting on time lost and what’s precious. Records like those give you a spine for the album. They’re the moments people breathe with, the moments people reflect.

VALIDATED: You’re carrying the Wisemen torch with this project. How does Time Heals All Wounds honor that legacy while showing your own evolution as an artist?

SALUTE DA KIDD: It honors the legacy by staying true to what The Wisemen always stood for—lyricism, real stories, soulful production, respecting the elders, respecting the craft. But it also shows evolution. My perspective now has layers: the pain of the past, but also clarity, responsibility, and knowledge.

I’m not the same kid from the Diggs entirely; time and trials changed me. I try to carry the torch forward, but with a bigger heart, sharper voice, and a more expansive vision.

VALIDATED: Which track on the album is the most personal to you, and why?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Storm Survivor is probably the deepest. It’s the closing chapter where I confront the storm and reflect on being a survivor.

Black Roses with Kevlaar 7 speaks to past losses and respect. Grandma’s Prayers hits home because family has always been the foundation, and I lost a lot emotionally. That track reminds me of those prayers, that unseen strength, carrying me.

VALIDATED: Personally, I gravitated toward “For Ours For Hours,” “Grandma’s Prays,” “Bob and Weave,” and “Storm Survive.” From the feedback you’ve been getting, which records are resonating most with the fans?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Yeah, those four are showing up heavy. Fans have been messing with Why?—strong, that opener caught their attention. Eastside Hustle too, because folks know the East Side struggle. Grandma’s Prayers has been the one people play when they need peace. Bob and Weave get that raw fighter’s energy while maintaining momentum.

So overall, the tracks that tell a story and carry heavy emotional weight are hitting hardest.

VALIDATED: Was writing this project therapeutic for you, or more of a statement for the listeners?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Both. Therapeutic—I had to purge, had to face things I was avoiding, and had to make sense of life after hard losses and time locked up.

As a statement, this is who I am, this is what I survived, this is for everybody going through similar things. I want people to know they are not alone, to expect real, not just flex. So, it’s part healing, part declaration.

VALIDATED: What do you want fans to take away after hearing Time Heals All Wounds?

SALUTE DA KIDD: I want them to take away hope—that time, even when it seems cruel, can bring healing. I want them to feel seen if they’ve been hurt, betrayed, punished, or forgotten.

I also want to inspire a sense of responsibility: that even in pain, there’s a path forward, and that legacy can be reclaimed. And I want respect for realness—the understanding that stories from the street, from the heart, deserve a voice.

VALIDATED: Were there any songs that challenged you the most lyrically or emotionally to complete?

SALUTE DA KIDD: Black Roses was heavy. Working with memories of Kevlaar 7, thinking about loss, grief, and family—those moments cut deep.

Also Why?—because I had to open the wound and reveal what folks maybe don’t want to see. Even when writing the better lines, sometimes my heart broke while writing. But that challenge made the record stronger.

VALIDATED: If someone’s first introduction to Salute Da Kidd is Time Heals All Wounds, what do you want them to understand about you as an artist?

SALUTE DA KIDD: That I’m a truth teller, not just a rapper looking for applause. I’m someone born in struggle, shaped by pain, but refusing to let that pain blind or limit me.

I’ve got respect for culture, for the craft; I believe in consciousness, in legacy, in building something that lasts. I’m also evolving—open to growth but always grounded in where I come from.

VALIDATED: Where can people support the album and stay connected with you on social media?

SALUTE DA KIDD: They can stream Time Heals All Wounds everywhere—Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and all platforms carrying The Wisemen / Salute brand. Merch and pop-ups will likely come via Black Day In July Productions.

To stay locked in, you can follow me on Instagram and X, and check Black Day In July for updates and upcoming shows. I try to respond when I can because everything’s built with y’all in mind.