Kat Dahlia
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Katriana Sandra Huguet (born July 29, 1990), better known by her stage name Kat Dahlia (formerly Kat Hue), is a Cuban-American recording artist. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Dahlia is a singer, songwriter and
rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
, known for her "razor sharp" lyrics and her "unique, aggressive flow".Kat Dahlia Talks Musical Beginnings and Working With Sylvia Rhone
, ''
Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...
'', January 26, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013
She released her debut single "Gangsta", in March 2013, to rave reviews. Dahlia released her debut studio album ''
My Garden ''My Garden'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Kat Dahlia. It was released on January 13, 2015, by Epic Records, distributed by Vested in Culture. The album was supported by two singles; "Gangsta" and "Crazy", as well as the ...
'', in January 2015, with Vested in Culture and
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
, the latter of which she secured a recording contract with in 2012. In 2013, Dahlia ranked number eight on ''Billboard'''s "Next Big Sound".


Early life

Kat Dahlia was born Katriana Sandra Huguet on July 29, 1990, to a Cuban mother and her Lebanese-Cuban father, in
Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
, Florida. She began
rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
at the age of eight and writing songs at the age of 15,
ripping Ripping is extracting all or parts of digital content from a container. Originally, it meant to rip music out of Commodore 64 games. Later, the term was used to extract WAV or MP3 format files from digital audio CDs, but got applied as well to ext ...
instrumentals from YouTube, in lieu of a band. At the age of 18, after saving money from jobs as a waitress, Dahlia decided to leave Miami, and moved to New York City a month later, "on a whim." Thereafter, Dahlia became involved in what she describes as a "toxic relationship", which she would later come to regard as a source of inspiration and "writer's gold." She chose the name Kat Dahlia as her stage name after her producer suggested it and kept it, because its soft and beautiful, but still has a dark undertone to it.


Musical career

After self-financing an
extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.
(EP) and a music video, Dahlia was discovered by Vested in Culture VP of A&R Amanda Berkowitz. Berkowitz quickly brought Dahlia to the attention of veteran record executive
Sylvia Rhone Sylvia Rhone (born March 11, 1952) is an American music industry executive. Since 2019, she is the chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Rhone served previously in senior positions at Vested In Culture, Unive ...
. In 2012, describing Dahlia as "more than just a pop artist", Rhone signed her to her newly launched label, Vested in Culture (VIC), a joint venture with
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
. Dahlia's debut album was originally set to come out in 2014, becoming VIC's inaugural release.Vena, Jocelyn (2013)
Kat Dahlia Is Prepping 'Swaggy' Follow-Up To 'Gangsta'
,
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, January 31, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013
Dahlia's first single and video for VIC, was the track "Gangsta", which
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
called "filled to the brim with fierce rapping". The video, filmed in Miami, reflects the difficulties of her earlier life. The video was directed by Samantha Lecca and premiered via ''
Vevo Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, di ...
'', on March 5, 2013. Also in March, Dahlia was selected as a
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
"Music Matters" artist. "Gangsta" was featured in the background of the September 24, 2014 Season 16 Premiere of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ''Girls Disappeared''. Dahlia digitally released three songs, "Gangsta", "Money Party", and "Mirror" on March 5, 2013. On December 17, 2013, she released her song "Crazy" for free on her website. Her debut ''
My Garden ''My Garden'' is the debut studio album by American recording artist Kat Dahlia. It was released on January 13, 2015, by Epic Records, distributed by Vested in Culture. The album was supported by two singles; "Gangsta" and "Crazy", as well as the ...
'' was released on January 15, 2015. The album debuted at number 54 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. ''My Garden'' received generally positive reviews from
music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
s. At
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an
average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...
score of 63, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on four reviews. Kat Dahlia released her third EP, titled ''20s, 50s, 100s'', via SoundCloud on May 9, 2016, which features three songs, "Run It Up", "Voices in My Head" and "Lion". In May 2017, Dahlia released the song "Friday Night Majic", which was intended as the lead single from her planned second studio album, ''Naked Lady and a White Horse''. The album was produced by J Roc and originally scheduled to be released in July 2017, but did not eventuate. On July 21, 2017, Dahlia released the single "Body and Soul" to all streaming platforms and also uploaded a lyric video to her YouTube Vevo channel. On May 4, 2018, after creating his For the Culture Playlist, which included Miguel's single "Come Through and Chill",
Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...
released the EP ''South Beach Social Club'', a collaboration with Dahlia.


Artistry

Dahlia's musical style has been described as being "razor sharp" lyrics and her unique, aggressive flow. Dhalia sings and raps in both English and Spanish. Dahlia cites artists Christina Aguilera, BB King,
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
,
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...
,
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, and
Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during t ...
as musical influences. Also, in interviews, Dahlia has mentioned that legendary
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
recording artist Bob Marley, has had a great influence on her musical style. She has said: "I listened to a lot of Bob Marley, especially down here. I used to go to Purdy Lounge on Monday night, they always had reggae bands. Reggae is just everywhere down here,
dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
is everywhere in the
clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
. It's not only playing Hip Hop."


Discography


Studio albums


EPs


Mixtapes


Singles


Guest appearances


Music videos


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dahlia, Kat Epic Records artists American women rappers 1990 births Living people American female hip hop singers American female hip hop musicians American women singer-songwriters 21st-century American singers American people of Cuban descent American rappers of Caribbean descent Spanish-language singers of the United States Hispanic and Latino American rappers Rappers from Miami American people of Lebanese descent Women in Latin music Cuban women rappers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century women rappers 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Florida