Some people, like family and old schoolteachers, know him as David Robertson.
But on stage, with microphone, dark sunglasses, gold watch and some rhythm and melodies behind him, David Robertson becomes rap artist Killa D, or KD for short.
Robertson is a rap artist, musician, writer, producer and "proud father"from Levin, and an all-round nice guy, too.
But peel back even more layers and the 31-year-old father of five has been a market-gardener, scaffolder, gib-stopper, meat worker, greenhouse builder and furniture remover.
But always with a beat in his head and a song in his heart.
"I do what I can to support my family and support my music ... all these things have helped."
While Robertson makes his music after hours these days - he and his wife both work to support their five children Juelz, 14, Kortex, 8, Karter, 6, Kaziah, 2, and baby Jensen - the desire to make hip hop is as strong as ever.
His new album, so far titled "The Strathtown Album", had just been finished in the studio and was due for release soon, once video clips had been edited.
The first single on "Strathtown" due for release is called The Fast Life (feat. Y.T), and was one of a number of collaborations to feature on the album.
Robertson was into breakdancing as a youngster growing up in Levin, and discovered the hip hop genre as a 13-year-old student at Waiopehu College.
He was hooked and couldn't help but hum his own tunes, and had the foresight to start writing down those ditties as they came to his head.
"I would make sure I wrote down at least a paragraph each day after school ... sometimes while I was at school," he said, laughing.
It led to him enrolling in a DJ course at Whitireia Polytechnic on Porirua, which introduced the then 17-year-old to the underground Wellington hip hop scene - Welly Deep - and the likes of Gutta Side, Delta Sierra, The Chosen Few, The Wanderers and Fatty Lumpkins.
Known now as Killa D, he toured with the likes of Scribe, Donnell Lewis and Kennyon Brown, and has opened for the likes of Che Fu, Sid Diamond, Darnell Wilson and Dalz NZ, and began playing with The Block Boyz.
His biggest international show was for American artist Xzibit in Wellington, featuring hip hop artists Tech Nyne and Krizz Kaliko.
On his return to Levin, he found he wasn't alone in his love of hip hop, as a scene began to flourish. Like-minded artists and hip hop lovers would get together each month and perform at an underground central Levin location.
"It was just about providing an outlet for any artists in Levin that want to get up on stage," he said.
Now, Robertson is one of the founding owners of a record label GHS (Grand Hussle and Shine), who are fast forming as a collective with an investor, manager, producer, president and executive committee.
GHS is enabling artists like Robertson an outlet to release their talents and their music.
"We have learnt so much and we kind of know what we are doing now," he said, and that meant a lot of collaborative releases between the likes of Y.T., Spike Lee and Mets.
KD's style of songwriting meant he listened to a beat first to pick up on a vibe, and the words come after that.
"You listen to the beat and start writing to what you feel in the beat. Then something will come up - is it a sad beat? Is it a happy beat? Is it a gangsta beat? You work with the beat," he said.
"It can be diverse. I can write anything. But I try and keep it simple, I guess."
In the past he had taken to the streets with hundreds of CDs to get his music out there, but as the music world evolves, it is about getting savvy with all multimedia platforms.
David Robertson, aka Killa D.
His last album "Life Of Time" was released in 2017 and streams on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and other sites, and you can follow KD on Facebook, You Tube, @killaD and Spotify.
On the weekend Robertson performed on stage to a small crowd in support of the annual Levin expo Te Hauora Tangata Ki Horowhenua, held at Levin RSA.
