Kali Uchis

The stylistic range of left-field pop artist Kali Uchis is reflected in the variety of her collaborators — an extensive genre-crossing list that includes Tyler, The Creator, Gorillaz, Daniel Caesar, Juanes, and BadBadNotGood. A singer, songwriter, and producer, as well as a video director, Uchis truly arrived on her own with the self-released Por Vida (2015), an EP that led to a deal with Virgin EMI. By the time she released her lively debut full-length, the Top Five Billboard R&B/hip-hop hit Isolation (2018), Uchis had already been nominated for Grammy Awards through her featured appearances on Caesar’s “Get You” and Juanes’ “El Ratico.” More Grammy nominations followed for the Kaytranada collaboration “10%,” which won the award for Best Dance Recording, and Uchis’ predominantly Spanish-language second album, Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ (2020), featuring the multi-platinum hit “Telepatía.” She has since returned with Red Moon in Venus (2023), her aching and elegant third album.
Born Karly-Marina Loaiza, Kali Uchis experienced the majority of her upbringing in Virginia and also spent time in her parents’ native Colombia. As a teenager growing up in Alexandria, just south of Washington, D.C., she learned to play piano and saxophone and also developed a deep interest in visual arts. Her recorded debut was made in 2012 with the self-released mixtape Drunken Babble. Within three years, she had several singles to her credit, including “Know What I Want” and “Lottery,” typically promoted with videos she directed, as well as collaborations with Snoop Dogg, GoldLink, Tyler, The Creator, and Major Lazer. Following the 2015 independent release of Por Vida, a free digital-download EP with tracks produced by Diplo, Kaytranada, and Tyler, Uchis started releasing her material through major-label Virgin EMI. A DJ Dahi-tweaked version of Por Vida’s “Ridin Round,” issued that November after a move to Los Angeles, was the artist’s first single for the major label. “Only Girl,” a relaxed Kaytranada production featuring Vince Staples and the Internet’s Steve Lacy, followed in April 2016. She was also featured that year on Daniel Caesar’s “Get You.”
Throughout 2017, Uchis added to her discography of featured appearances via tracks by Juanes, Gorillaz, Tyler, Bootsy Collins, and Miguel, and she previewed her debut album with the singles “Tyrant” (featuring Jorja Smith) and “Nuestro Planeta” (featuring Reykon). By the end of the year, “Get You” had been nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best R&B Performance, and Juanes’ “El Ratico” made Uchis a Latin Grammy nominee when it was up for Record of the Year. January 2018 saw the release of the BadBadNotGood-produced single “After the Storm” (featuring Tyler and Bootsy). Uchis issued her debut album, Isolation, three months later. It debuted at number 32 on the Billboard 200 and entered the R&B/hip-hop chart at number four. Toward the end of 2019, she appeared on Kaytranada’s Bubba album with a featured role on “10%.” Issued as a single early the following year, “10%” would win Best Dance Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
The EP To Feel Alive arrived in April 2020 and included the song “i want war (BUT I NEED PEACE),” and later that year Uchis released her first Spanish-language LP, Sin Miedo (Del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞. The album featured the multi-platinum, number 25 pop hit “Telepatía,” and was among the first Grammy nominees for Best Música Urbana Album. A deluxe edition of the LP appeared in 2021 and included the single “Fue Mejor” with SZA, and was followed by a short EP of acoustic versions. Uchis subsequently appeared on Omar Apollo’s “Bad Life,” and collaborated with Ozuna on “Another Day in America.” In 2022, she contributed a cover of “Desafinado” to the Minions: The Rise of Gru soundtrack and offered a couple non-album singles. This activity led to the arrival of Red Moon in Venus, a set that added the likes of Darkchild, WondaGurl, and Sir Dylan to Uchis’ collaborative network. Just ahead of the album’s release in March 2023, lead single “I Wish You Roses” became her second Hot 100 single as a lead artist. ~ Andy Kellman