Chicago artist interlacing R&B and indie in her unique sound, FFO Cuco, VICTOR!, Jamila Woods, Sen Morimoto, Nao
KAINA
Shares the video for multilingual new single, "Could Be A Curse" with Sen Morimoto
Debut album Next To The Sun due 12th July on Sooper Records
Photo credit: DDesigns [Larger Image]
"Pine fresh - and near pitch perfect." - Uncut, 8/10
"KAINA hails from Chicago, but creates music that seamlessly blends genres and surpasses borders." - The Fader
“Chicago’s push to the forefront of hip-hop and R&B has come with an earnestness and clarity that feels particularly needed, and newcomer Kaina is offering her own soulful spin on the Windy City salve.” - Clash Magazine
Rising Chicago artist KAINA has shared the visuals for her new single, “Could Be a Curse”. Featuring label mate and good friend Sen Morimoto, the video was directed by Ashley Thompson of VAM STUDIO. Taken from her forthcoming, debut album Next To the Sun out July 12th via Sooper Records, the video and song explore a close relationship between friends.
Produced by KAINA and Sen Morimoto, the album is indebted to Latin music while remaining bound to the soulfulness of Chicago; a theme not only expressed through her music but through her unique come up in the burgeoning Chicago scene. Having worked and sang with the likes of Saba, The O'My's, and Sen Morimoto, working behind the scenes with Jamila Woods and Ravyn Lenae KAINA has lived in, developed and been accepted by rap, R&B, and indie worlds.
KAINA - Could Be A Curse ft. Sen Morimoto
https://youtu.be/_WYbP-iBz_o
KAINA says of the track, “This song is about feeling down and not knowing whether that feeling will last forever or if it’s temporary. There are the moments you lay in bed wondering if a terrible feeling will last forever. Some of my verse has to do with what some of those thoughts are in that moment, like generational traumas and habits. Once Sen and I wrote the chorus together, we decided to write our verses in Spanish and Japanese based off a dream I had. It was exciting to write verses we wouldn’t understand from each other but we could still feel the intention. The production was inspired by boleros like Besame Mucho and this is our take on those classics.”
Next To The Sun Album Artwork
KAINA is a first-generation Latina, born and raised in Chicago. Apart from her parents and brother, she didn’t grow up around any other blood family in her hometown, which ultimately led to a detachment from her cultural identity. “I think ‘Green’ is the piece that connects it all for me,” she says. “I feel alone a lot, but I also know that it took so many people for me to exist and collectively, us as generations have seen many days and times and ‘moons.’ I am always connected even when I’m literally far away, or even lineages away — or my history has been taken from me, or I didn't get to learn it.” While lineage has always been at the root of KAINA’s music, “Green” marks a pivotal moment for the 23-year-old; a moment where she finds peace with her sense of self.
From her debut EP, 2016’s sweet asl. to 2018’s 4U, and her anticipated album Next To The Sun, KAINA has continued to push this narrative through her brand of sweet-hearted optimism, which she uses as a means to connect with and lift her listener’s spirit. From collaborating with peers like Saba, The O’My’s, and Sen Morimoto, and through multidisciplinary work around the city with various organizations, she has found a sound for herself that is gentle, yet full of intent.
Songwriting has thus become a vital aspect of KAINA’s personal canon. “I don't write songs until I feel it coming up,” she says. “I don't really edit my songs either; I feel like I said what I said and meant it the way I said it.” A listener can feel the intimacy resonating in her lyrics, as she pens odes about love, legacy, and ancestry, and how those concepts become more complex as one grows older.
KAINA folds all of her fears and hopes about identity into Next To The Sun. Spanning nine songs, the album is indebted to Latin music while remaining bound to the soulfulness of Chicago. “Green” is a nod to salsa, while the bassline on the title track is an acknowledgment of Latin music’s sultry aesthetics; the Morimoto-supported “Could Be A Curse” — the album’s only feature — is akin to bolero. But on songs like “Ghost,” “What’s A Girl,” and “Waiting On A Day,” KAINA switches hats with ease, the album’s Latin-inspired sonics blending seamlessly with Chicago soul, R&B, and blues.
“Put me in the clouds, right under heaven, next to the sun / Wanna feel it all, the burn and the lesson, the fall,” she sings on the title track. Above all, Next To The Sun is cathartic, a space for KAINA to expose herself to the often painful process of self-exploration. With her, together, we experience life’s warmth and beauty, while also enduring its growing pains.
Next To The Sun TRACKLISTING
House
Ghost
Next To The Sun
What’s A Girl
Waiting On A Day
Joei's Secret
Could Be A Curse ft. Sen Morimoto
So Small / So Vast
Green
CONNECT
https://www.facebook.com/kainamusic/
https://twitter.com/kainacastillo
https://www.instagram.com/KAINA/
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