LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Steven Kidwell grew up on the streets of Lexington, where he has a mix of memories — both good and bad.
"When I say came from the bottoms but we made it out, I'm talking about this area right here," Kidwell said.
The local musician would walk through his neighborhood creating songs, but the area also held darker memories tied to addiction and street life.
"A lot of the times we would gather underneath this bridge and when we were younger we would gather and we would play, but as we got older this became a spot to where we would use that and you know we would meet up and do all the type of destruction that comes along with active addiction in the street life," Kidwell said.
In 2016, Kidwell was incarcerated in Fayette County, where he went through what he described as the worst detox of his life. However, he views that experience differently now.
"All those things were happening for me because I didn't get locked up. I got rescued," Kidwell said.
Kidwell is 10 years sober now and has made it a mission to turn that past pain into purpose through his music. One of his lyrics captures this transformation: "I turn my pain into purpose like it's alchemy."
Joining Kidwell in his Pain2Purpose movement is Brett Harris. The two met in April and have been performing together since.
"I meet Steven and he plays this song called Made It Out, and I'm listening to it. I'm like, dude, this is really awesome, man. I'll sing if you want," Harris said.
"As soon as I started to let him hear the song, he knew he was gonna be on it," Kidwell said.
Kidwell and Harris first performed at the Manchester Music Hall on September 26. They have another big performance coming up with Waka Flocka on November 15.
"There's been points in my life where I didn't know if life was going to get any better. I was so down and out and had nothing and I am just so grateful and blessed to be where I'm at today," Harris said.
"As long as I pursue my dreams and put one foot in front of the other, anything's possible," Kidwell said.
Listen to their song "Made It Out" on YouTube.
