Feature: Miss Kaninna – KANINNA- EP
Proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman Miss Kaninna reveals her debut EP KANINNA – A slick, confident body of work that serves to challenge social perceptions of Aboriginal music.
Using her powerful voice to explore freedom, sexuality and reassertion of dominance atop irresistibly tight production that moves fluidly across hip-hop, pop, R&B, soul, funk and beyond; KANINNA is aptly named for its creator as the culmination of Miss Kaninna‘s whirlwind 16-month career in music.
Rhythmic, intoxicating focus track ‘Friends‘ – described by Miss Kaninna as her favourite off the EP, “especially” its impossibly heady bridge – is a slinky, upbeat cut that acts as grittier extension of ‘Push Up‘, showing off her ability to draw the listener all the way in, whether she’s putting her formidable vocals front & centre or holding back coolly. The track features guitar via Jerome Farah, bringing in Middle Eastern influences via producer YAOB (aka Jacob Farah)’s cultural heritage as well as paying homage to iconic 00s R&B/pop acts Miss Kaninna grew up on like The Pussycat Dolls.
Club-ready music with resistance at its core, underpinned by unashamed authenticity, truth, and intensity; KANINNA makes a powerful and vulnerable statement of arrival and expression of the artist’s experiences as a young Black woman in the colony, drawing from a rich cultural heritage with a mission to bring new representation to the scene and an urgency to dismantle oppressive structures –
MissKaninna explains:
“It took me a while to finally name the EP KANINNA. I had other names circling in my head but none of them really felt right. This being my first body of work as an artist I wanted to name it something I can be proud of and look back at in years time and still feel a connection to it. That’s when I realised it had to be my name. Since releasing music, people often ask me “what my real name is” which is so funny because my name is so unique that people must think it’s made up. As a child I was given a nickname because people either couldn’t be bothered learning how to say my name – or were just racist. A lot of the time when I introduced myself people would say “do you have an easier name I can call you” which really affected my identify and made me ashamed of my name. Now as a young adult I find empowerment in reclaiming my name and make sure people make an effort to say it right. I no longer accept people saying my name wrong or not making an effort to my face as my name hold power and deep meaning in my culture. This is why it was so important to name the EP KANINNA – it’s my name and you will know my power.”
MISSKANINNA is available to stream now via Soul Has No Tempo.
