Kat Dahlia

Kat Dahlia

Kat Dahlia poses for Complex in 2014
Background information
Birth name Katriana Sandra Huguet[1]
Also known as Kat Hue
Born (1990-07-29) July 29, 1990[2]
Miami, Florida, United States
Origin Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2011–present
Labels
  • Vested in Culture
  • Epic
Website Official Website

Katriana Sandra Huguet (born July 29, 1990), better known by her stage name Kat Dahlia (formerly Kat Hue), is a Cuban-American recording artist from Miami, Florida. Dahlia, a singer, songwriter and rapper, is known for her "razor sharp" lyrics and her "unique, aggressive flow".[3][4][5] She released her debut single "Gangsta", in March 2013, to rave reviews. Dahlia released her debut studio album My Garden, in January 2015, with Vested in Culture and Epic Records, the latter of which she secured a recording contract with in 2012. In 2013, Dahlia ranked number eight on Billboard's "Next Big Sound".[6]

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, Florida.[7] She began rapping at the age of eight and writing songs at the age of 15, ripping instrumentals from YouTube, in lieu of a band.[8] 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."[4][9] 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."[10] 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.[11]

Musical career

After self-financing an extended play (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.[12] 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. Dahlia's debut album was originally set to come out in 2014, becoming VIC's inaugural release.[13][14][15]

Dahlia's first single and video for VIC, was the track "Gangsta", which MTV called "filled to the brim with fierce rapping". The video, filmed in Miami, reflects the difficulties of her earlier life.[16] The video was directed by Samantha Lecca[1] and premiered via Vevo, on March 5, 2013.[17] Also in March, Dahlia was selected as a BET "Music Matters" artist.[18] "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 was released on January 15, 2015.[1] The album debuted at number 54 om the US Billboard 200 chart. My Garden received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 63, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on four reviews.[19]

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".[20]

Artistry

Dahlia's musical style has been described as being "razor sharp" lyrics and her unique, aggressive flow.[4][5] Dahlia cites artists BB King, Miles Davis, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Bob Marley, Frank Sinatra, and Celia Cruz as musical influences. Also, in interviews, Dahlia has mentioned that legendary reggae 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 is everywhere in the clubs. It’s not only playing Hip Hop.”[21]

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums, with selected chart positions
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
My Garden
  • Release date: January 13, 2015
  • Label: Vested in Culture, Epic Records
  • Format: CD, Digital download
 54

EPs

List of extended plays, with selected details
Title Details
Shades of Gray[22]
(as Kat Hue)
  • Released: February 29, 2012
  • Label: No Days Off Entertainment
  • Format: Digital download
20s, 50s, 100s[23]
  • Released: May 9, 2016[24]
  • Label: Self-released
  • Format: Free download

Mixtapes

List of mixtapes, with selected details
Title Details
Seeds[25]

Singles

List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US US
R&B/HH
Airplay
[27]		 US Latin
Airplay
[28]		 US
R&B/HH[29]		 US
Rhythm
[30]		 US
Heat
 US
R&B
"Gangsta"[31] 2013 112[32] 48 — — 25 13[33] 13[34] My Garden
"Crazy"[35] 2014 — — 45 40 26 — —
"Money Party"[36]
(featuring Polly A.)		 — — — — — — — non-album single
"I Think I'm in Love"[37] 2015 — — — — — — — My Garden
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, was not released in that territory, or did not receive certification.

Guest appearances

List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Album Artist(s)
"Lluvia Negra"[38] 2012 Puro Heny Puro
"Helen Keller" 2013 Suffering from Success DJ Khaled
"Ain't Seen A Thing"[39] 2014 Hardships and Humiliation Decon Chrome
"Mash It Up"[40] 2015 Black Lion Reggae Invasion Vol. 1 Black Lion, The Wizard, Nyanda, The Kemist

Music videos

Song Year Director
"Devil's Command" 2013 Edwin Escobar
"Gangsta" Samantha Lecca
"Happy and I Know It" 2014 X Marlon Santini
"The High" Michael Garcia
"Crazy" Rankin
"My Garden" 2015 Michael Garcia
"I Think I'm In Love" Sam Lecca
"Run It Up" 2016 N/A[41]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Life Through the Mic: The Kat Dahlia Interview
  2. ↑ @KatDahlia (Verified Account)
  3. ↑ http://www.mtv.com/artists/kat-dahlia/biography/
  4. 1 2 3 "Kat Dahlia Talks Musical Beginnings and Working With Sylvia Rhone", Vibe, January 26, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013
  5. 1 2 "Gangsta". December 12, 2012. XXL. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  6. ↑ "Kat Dahlia - Chart history". Billboard. Billboard.com. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.complex.com/music/2013/04/who-is-kat-dahlia/growing-up-in-miami
  8. ↑ Medina, Loren. "Introducing Kat Dahlia". March 8, 2013. Corriete Latina. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "Kat Dahlia Interview With Vibe TV". March 13, 2013. Huffington Post. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Gonzales, Nicole. "New Artist Kat Dahlia". February 28, 2013. Latin Recap. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  11. ↑ Lamarre, Carl (September 2, 2014). "Artist of the Week: Kat Dahlia". Pepsi.
  12. ↑ "Kat Dahlia's Gangsta Video". March 5, 2013. Broadway World. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  13. ↑ Mitchell, Gail. "Sylvia Rhone Talks Vested In Culture". February 5, 2013. Billboard. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  14. ↑ Vena, Jocelyn (2013) "Kat Dahlia Is Prepping 'Swaggy' Follow-Up To 'Gangsta'", MTV, January 31, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2013
  15. ↑ "Sylvia Rhone Announces Joint Venture". January 30, 2013. Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "Buzzworthy". March 5, 2013. MTV. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  17. ↑ "Kat's Gangsta". March 5, 2013. The 305. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  18. ↑ "BET Music Matters". March 3, 2013. BET. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  19. ↑ "Reviews for My Garden by Kat Dahlia - Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  20. ↑ http://rnbxclusive.org/kat-dahlia-20s-50s-100s-ep/
  21. ↑ http://www.latinrapper.com/kat-dahlia-interview-4-23-2013.html
  22. ↑ http://www.latinrecap.com/2013/02/28/new-artist-kat-dahlia/
  23. ↑ http://www.thefader.com/2016/06/10/kat-dahlia-run-it-up-music-video
  24. ↑ http://fundrom.com/item/kat-dahlia-20s-50s-100s/
  25. ↑ "Kat Dahlia To Release 5 Song EP "Seeds"". Epic.com.
  26. ↑ http://www.rap-up.com/2013/11/21/new-mixtape-kat-dahlia-seeds/
  27. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/1558468/kat-dahlia/chart?f=364
  28. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/1558468/kat-dahlia/chart?f=1225
  29. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/1558468/kat-dahlia/chart?f=367
  30. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/1558468/kat-dahlia/chart?f=378
  31. ↑ "Kat Dahlia - Gangsta". Amazon.com.
  32. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f0=ts_chart_artistname%3AKat%20Dahlia&f1=itm_field_chart_id%3A344&f2=ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=Kat%20Dahlia
  33. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f0=ts_chart_artistname%3AKat%20Dahlia&f1=itm_field_chart_id%3A887&f2=ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=Kat%20Dahlia
  34. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/biz/search/charts?f0=ts_chart_artistname%3AKat%20Dahlia&f1=itm_field_chart_id%3A1230&f2=ss_bb_type%3Achart_item&type=2&artist=Kat%20Dahlia
  35. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/crazy-single/id816441951
  36. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/money-party-feat.-polly-a./id943257292
  37. ↑ http://katdahlia.tumblr.com/post/110924608722/listen-to-kat-dahlias-new-single-i-think-im-in
  38. ↑ http://www.datpiff.com/Puro-Puro-mixtape.644436.html
  39. ↑ DaykoN. "Decon Chrome - Ain't Seen A Thing Ft Kat Dahlia". SoundCloud.
  40. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/black-lion-reggae-invasion/id937587042
  41. ↑ http://hypetrak.com/2016/06/kat-dahlia-run-it-up/
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