A proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman, Miss Kaninna is a Naarm-based (Melbourne) First Nations artist, hailing from lutriwita/Tasmania. Making waves with her breakout debut single Blak Britney in May 2023, the rapper/singer/songwriter has been on a meteoric rise, emerging as a potent voice of punk and power in so-called Australia.
Raised on the shores of Bruny Island, Miss Kaninna has been commanding stages from a young age, carrying forward the storytelling of her ancestors and fearlessly bringing them into the present. Her art serves as a powerful expression of her experiences as a young Black woman on stolen land, drawing from her rich cultural heritage and paths paved before her by her Matriarchs.
Blak Britney arrived to critical acclaim, immediately captivating audiences with Miss Kaninna’s ferocious charisma. An anti-establishment anthem written to amplify the voices of Black women, the single garnered widespread acclaim, landing full rotation and within a fortnight was the #1 most-played song on triple j.
In the wake of its success, she commanded stages across the nation, her electrifying live performances spreading like wildfire. Securing coveted spots at premier festivals such as Meredith Music Festival, Haydays Music & Arts Festival, Beyond the Valley, Wildlands, Sun Cycle, and a spot on the national 2024 Laneway tour alongside Stormzy, Raye, and Steve Lacy, she solidified her status as a rising star. Her standout performances at the inaugural SXSW Sydney earned her the inaugural Justin Crosby Award for Best Emerging Artist, further cementing her as one to watch.
Showing no signs of slowing down, her follow-up single Pinnacle Bitch – co-produced by YAOB (Baker Boy/Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis/Jerome Farh) – arrived as a club-ready call-to-arms, celebrating subversion and the freedom to be your genuine self, adding to her discography of party music with fury and resistance at its core. Using the stage as a platform to shed light on the oppression faced by First Nations people globally, Miss Kaninna’s ability to simultaneously engage and entertain captivated audiences far and wide, with Pinnacle Bitch featuring on Apple Music’s The Ebro Show and amassing 250,000 streams within months.
Recognised for her groundbreaking work, she was named the 2023 triple j Unearthed Artist of The Year and invited to perform on the international stage at SXSW, Texas, where her sets drew record crowds and garnered glowing reviews. Beyond the stage, airwaves and streaming platforms, her music infiltrated TV screens, with both Pinnacle Bitch and Blak Britney landing key placements on the Netflix hit series Heartbreak High for its second season.
Defying the odds, Miss Kaninna’s background in musical theatre and her genre-defying approach to performance provide a staunch foundation for a new artist with an urgency for change. Floating effortlessly between Hip Hop, Neo-soul, and R&B, Miss Kaninna arrives to claim BLACK POP in so-called Australia.
