In 2018, American-Columbian artist, Kali Uchis was nominated for her first Grammy in the category of Best Dance and R&B Performance, unfortunately, she lost to Bruno Mars. Making a cool comeback at the 2021 Grammy Awards with a win for Best Dance Recording. The song ‘10%’ by Kaytranada featuring Kali Uchis is the tune that’ll be playing on a constant loop as soon as the clubs reopen.
Kali’s new hit song; ‘Telepatia’ is a light and ethereal tune with meaningful lyrics transitioning between both Spanish and English, always embracing her heritage. The song is growing in popularity and increasingly circulating the TikTok scene. As a result, Kali posted her own TikTok revealing the reason she believes the song connects to such a huge audience. As an artist she created her music with the intention to release serotonin for people. The meaning behind the lyrics stem from deep spirituality, expressing her raw emotions through a story of her connection to someone she could not physically be with. This emotion she felt was emulated within her music, so much so, she believes her song sends telepathic healing energy to anyone who listens. This aspect of her music makes the audience form an intimate connection with Kali through her artistry.
The newly Grammy winner took to Instagram to celebrate her success, posting a Facetime video of her live reaction shared with Kaytranada, as well as a couple of studio shoot photos. It is clear that her talents as an artist go beyond musical genius and to extend to a style guru. This fire outfit she posted consisted of a cut out, black and nude piece. The the use of contrasting bold lines to outline her figure looks so sharp and chic, almost as if it is painted onto her skin. Her outfit flows beautifully along the natural curves of her body, every detail from her gloves to her shoes play a crucial role to execute this artistic form of fashion.
In previous interviews Kali has stated both her style and music do not follow trends, for Kali, a big part of being an artist is the innovation of trends, and wearing what you want. She avoids keeping up and following others for the sake of staying current. It is an admirable and inspiring mind-set that she adopts and her musical success has stemmed from this persistence to stay true to herself. Backing her own taste and aesthetics plays a huge role in Kali’s career; for example, she styles her own photo-shoots and directs her own music videos. It is refreshing to see the artist take control of all elements surrounding her image. This confidence is emulated through her fashion; in turn she is becoming a style icon with her unique and individualistic choices. Even in her school years, Kali enjoyed thrifting and up-cycling clothes to make her own stamp on them; she had her own real-life depop-esque shop, where she would sell her re-vamped charity shop finds from the boot of her car.
Kali Uchis in 2016
Her creative flair is evident through all aspects of her image, whether that is her Grammy-award-winning music or her iconic and unique style showcased in music videos, photo-shoots or day-to-day life on Instagram. Her confidence in herself is a huge factor in her attraction and appeal; this mind-set has lead to her success. She has established a strong image of herself, promoting important values for her audience; Kali is an artist to look out for, in all aspects of life, this inspiring artist is on the rise.
Words By Theodora Wood
