Karly-Marina Loaiza, professionally known as Kali Uchis, is a Colombian-American singer, songwriter, record producer, music video director, and fashion designer. She released her debut mixtape, Drunken Babble, in 2012 that is influenced by music of the 1960s, with its mix of early soul, R&B and doo-wop. The release was followed by her debut EP, Por Vida, released in 2015. She signed with Virgin EMI Records to release her debut studio album Isolation (2018), which peaked at number 34 on the Billboard 200 and saw widespread acclaim. She then signed with Interscope Records to release her second studio album and first Spanish-language project, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) (2020). It spawned the single "telepatía", which first gained virality on TikTok and marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 25, also receiving double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Early life
Uchis' father moved from Pereira, Colombia, to the United States, where he met Karly's mother during the early 1990s. Her mother had children from a previous marriage. Karly is their only child together. Her father moved back to Colombia when Karly was in high school in order to take care of his mother, who had fallen ill. Uchis stayed in Colombia with her father and aunts during the summer. Growing up in an immigrant and working-class home, her home life was often filled with hard manual labor. In high school, Loaiza learned to play piano and saxophone. She participated in a jazz band, before her graduation from T. C. Williams High School. She often skipped classes to spend time at the photo lab, making experimental short films. Her interest in photography led to her creating mixtape cover art. Skipping class and breaking the curfew set by her parents led to her being kicked out of her home. During this time, she lived in her car and wrote songs on her keyboard which would later come in the form of her lo-fi mixtape, Drunken Babble. She also wrote poetry, songs and music, but did not initially intend to sing, being rather more interested in directing films than being in the spotlight.
Career
2012–2016: Drunken Babble and Por Vida
Shortly after graduating, Uchis released her debut mixtape, Drunken Babble, on August 1st, 2012 on her old SoundCloud account. The mixtape was described as "genre-defying", noted for its influences from doo-wop, reggae and early 2000s R&B. In 2014, she collaborated with rapper Snoop Dogg on the song "On Edge" for his mixtape, That's My Work 3.
In February 2015, Uchis released her debut EP Por Vida for free download on her official website, and later on iTunes. The project featured production from various musicians, including Diplo, Tyler, the Creator, Kaytranada and BadBadNotGood. She embarked on her first tour during October 2015 with Leon Bridges, touring through the United States and parts of Canada.
2017–2018: Breakthrough with Isolation
In April 2017, Gorillaz's fifth studio album, Humanz, was released, including songs that feature Kali Uchis, namely, "She's My Collar", and the bonus track, "Ticker Tape". The following month, Uchis released "Tyrant", featuring Jorja Smith, to serve as the lead single from her then-upcoming debut studio album. In June 2017, she announced her first headlining tour, specifically a North American tour in support of the album. The tour took place from August to October 2017, starting at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in San Francisco, with a stop at the Pop Montreal music festival. Uchis then released "Nuestro Planeta", featuring Reykon, as the second single from the album, on August 25th, 2017. In October 2017, Uchis was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "El Ratico", her collaboration with Colombian musician Juanes. She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for "Get You", her collaboration with Canadian singer Daniel Caesar.
Uchis supported Lana Del Rey on select North American arena dates of her world tour, the LA to the Moon Tour, from January 15th to February 16th, 2018. "After the Storm", a track featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins, was issued as the third single in January 2018, followed by the announcement of Isolation, in March 2018, which took place during Uchis' appearance on The Tonight Show. Isolation was officially released worldwide on April 6th, 2018. It received widespread acclaim from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 87, based on 17 reviews. The album's fourth and final single, "Just a Stranger", featuring Steve Lacy, was released on October 30th, 2018.
2019–2021: To Feel Alive and Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)
In June 2019, Uchis collaborated with American R&B band Free Nationals and American rapper Mac Miller on the single "Time", which was the first official posthumous release by Miller since his death on September 7th, 2018. In December 2019, Uchis released "Solita", originally planned to be the lead single of her upcoming second studio album, it was later excluded from the final tracklist. However, the song would be included as a bonus track on the vinyl release of the album. On December 9th, 2019, Kali Uchis was featured on the single "10%" by Canadian producer Kaytranada, which was taken from his album Bubba. The song would go onto win a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. Later on, Uchis was featured on Little Dragon's 6th studio album, New Me, Same Us for a remix of the song, "Are You Feeling Sad?". April 24th, 2020, Uchis released an extended play titled To Feel Alive. The EP was recorded entirely in isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 7th, 2020, Uchis released the song "Aquí Yo Mando" alongside American rapper Rico Nasty. The song was previously previewed in an episode of the HBO series Insecure. "Aquí Yo Mando" serves as the lead single from Uchis' second studio album, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios), which is her first project predominantly sung in Spanish. "La Luz" with Jhay Cortez was released as the album's second single on October 1, 2020. Later that month, a music video for the song was released on October 26th. On November 6th, the album's pre order was released, with the track list later being revealed on November 13th. On November 17th, "Te Pongo Mal (Préndelo)" with Jowell & Randy, was released as the album's sole promotional single. The album was released on November 18, 2020, and would peak at number 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums Chart.
Following a lip-sync challenge on the platform TikTok, "Telepatía" from Uchis' second studio album saw a surge in popularity in early 2021. Before being issued as a single, the song debuted inside the top 10 of Billboard's Hot Latin Songs chart and later reached the summit of the chart on the week of May 22nd, 2021. The song also reached number 3 on Spotify's US Top 50 and number 2 on the service's Global Top 50. "Telepatía" has so far peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Following the resurgence of the song, the success garnered Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) to chart on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 52. On June 18th, 2021, rapper and boyfriend Don Toliver released a collaboration with Uchis titled "Drugs N Hella Melodies", which was issued as the second single from Toliver's second studio album, Life of a Don. On September 29th, 2021, Uchis released the single "Fue Mejor" with SZA. The song is featured on the deluxe edition of Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios).
2022–present: Red Moon in Venus and ORQUÍDEAS
On April 21, 2022, Uchis announced on the red carpet of the Latin American Music Awards that she has completed her third and fourth studio albums, with one in Spanish and one in English. On August 15, 2022, she shared a snippet of a house-influenced song titled "NO HAY LEY" on her social media, which was released as a single on September 2, 2022.
On January 19, 2023, Uchis released the song "I Wish you Roses", alongside a music video, as the first single for her upcoming album. On January 23, 2023, Uchis announced her third studio album Red Moon In Venus, which was released on March 3, 2023, with an accompanying tour featuring special guest Raye. The tour began on April 25, 2023, in Austin, Texas and concluded on May 30, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona. On February 15, 2023, Uchis' boyfriend Don Toliver released a collaboration with her titled "4 Me", a single for Toliver's studio album Love Sick. On February 24, 2023, Uchis released the song "Moonlight" as the second single for Red Moon in Venus, featuring production credits from Benny Blanco, Cashmere Cat, and Leon Michels. Red Moon in Venus was released on March 3, 2023, featuring guest appearances from Omar Apollo, Toliver, and Summer Walker.
In July 2023, Uchis announced a "new era" for her music, along with a new single titled "Muñekita", with Dominican rapper El Alfa and American rapper JT from City Girls, as the first single for her upcoming album. The single was released on August 4, 2023. On August 11, 2023 "Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)" album of the Colombian singer Karol G was released on which Uchis collaborated on the song "Me tengo que ir". On October 11, 2023, Uchis announced her fourth studio album, titled ORQUÍDEAS, which released on January 12, 2024, alongside the album's cover art. On October 16, 2023, Uchis announced the second single, titled "Te Mata", for her upcoming fourth album, released on October 20, 2023, alongside a music video.
Fanbase
Kuchis/Kuchis Gang
Around 2017 when Kali started to gain popularity she did not have a name for her fandom and fans started calling themselves "Kuchis". Kali revealed that she found it amazing and that she would like to add Gang. The term "Kuchis" is the fusion of Kali and Uchis.
Personal life
Kali has been a troubled kid, and her parents thought music had made her this spoilt kid. Kali bunked her classes and broke the curfew set by her parents, because of which her parents threw her out of their house when she was just a teenager. She was uncontrollable at the moment and was involved in alcohol. She lived in her car and recorded songs on her keyboard throughout this time, which would later appear in her lo-fi mixtape, Drunken Babble.
Kali also drafted poetry, songs, and music but did not originally intend to sing, rather more involved in directing movies than in the limelight. Living an uncomfortable life made her value her parents and the privileges of her life, and she took her stage name as Kali Uchis. The name her father used to call her by out of love. In one of her interviews, Kali said thank you to her parents for kicking her out and teaching her a session. She said that she still would have been that spoiled kid if her parents hadn’t taken strict action against her. She wrote her songs while struggling to earn a living and find a place to live. Kali realized she was privileged to have them by her side, and now she was grateful for them.
Kali confirmed that is openly bisexual[1] and her pronouns are she/her. She has been in a relationship with American rapper Don Toliver since 2020. In January 2024, she announced that she was expecting her first child with Toliver via the music video for her songs "Tu Corazón Es Mío" and "Diosa". She gave birth to a son in March.
Gallery
Main Article: Kali Uchis/Gallery
Discography
Main Articles: Discography & Videography
Trivia
- Kali's pronouns are she/her.
- Kali’s sexuality is bisexual.
- Kali stated that she is influenced by music of the 1960s, with its mix of early soul, R&B and doo-wop, saying: "Musically and aesthetically, the culture of it just inspires me."[2] She also mentioned that she enjoys jazz, stating during her career beginnings that she draws musical inspiration from Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.
- One of Kali's favorite singers is Mariah Carey, she said that admires her.[3]
References
