Kat Dahlia uses her voice as a weapon. It's a voice that cuts sharp and deep, straight to the chambers of the heart. Like the beautiful variations of the flower genus her name represents, the Miami-born rapper-singer-songwriter is complex, intoxicating and unforgettable.
There's no one quite like Kat Dahlia, who has the sultry inflection of Nelly Furtado, the disposition of Rihanna, the flow of Santigold, the presence of Gwen Stefani and the majestically raw vocal prowess of Amy Winehouse and Adele. She is an artist of her own making. "There's no other way to stand out than just being yourself," she says. "I write my own music. People say my voice is very unique and I do this rappy thing that's kind of different, but if you really want to break it down, I'm just being myself."
Born Katriana Huguet (and formerly known as Kat Hue), she's the rare artist who will go into the studio and record nine songs in one day. Tell her she can't do it; and she'll prove the naysayers wrong. For years, she waited tables six days a week to save up enough money to independently fund studio sessions, a music video and an EP all on her own. That combination of hustle and infectious vocals is why music industry veteran Sylvia Rhone swiftly signed Kat to her Vested in Culture label with Epic Records the very first time she heard her demos.
It's easy to understand why Rhone didn't want to let Kat Dahlia slip away. She's a natural born storyteller whose material comes directly from the hard knocks that life has served her. "My songwriting is all stories. It's influenced by a lot of blues, Elvis, and the Buena Vista Social Club, which are all made up of stories." In her song "Tumbao," for instance, Kat playfully questions the stereotype associated with being a Latina recording artist: "Sí, yo hablo Español / But, baby, I ain't trying to fit that mold / I'ma keep my creative control / I'm just a South Beach girl with a lot of soul."
The spirited 22-year-old was raised by Cuban-born parents in Miami Beach. Though fluent in English and Spanish, her French surname, Huguet, is owed to her paternal great-grandparents who came to Cuba from Lebanon. Kat's parents emigrated to the U.S. as children and their island culture carried over into the language and salsa music that was fundamental to her upbringing, as Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Willies wafted through the air in her abuela's kitchen. Kat performed her first solo, "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie, at a benefit when she was 8-years-old. "I always knew I wanted to do music. I just didn't know how I was going to get there." At 15, she started writing her own songs. "I would rip instrumentals from KZfaq to make songs because I didn't have a producer or a band."