KAINA creates generational music that surpasses borders, a unified expression of her native Chicago, and her Venezuelan and Guatemalan heritage. Her newest album ‘It Was A Home’, released through the independent label City Slang, explores themes of community and self-reflection while pushing the production and songwriting to a new level. You can see this on a full, colorful display in her NPR Tiny Desk, in which KAINA is surrounded by the musicians, illustrators, friends, and family who had a hand in the production of the album. ‘It Was A Home’ is a celebration of togetherness, and collaboration while also being a project that is intended to feel like you’re talking with your best friend.

Her warm and inviting brand of cultural fusion was initially illustrated on her 2019 debut full-length album Next To The Sun—a project that established her as a leader in a movement of artists whose work hinges on identity and representation. While promoting this record, KAINA went on national tours with artists from Sleater-Kinney and Cuco to Durand Jones and the Indications, effortlessly finding a home in front of adoring and diverse audiences.

From her debut EP, 2016’s sweet asl. to It Was A Home, KAINA has continued to push this narrative through her brand of sweet-hearted optimism, which she uses to uplift and build community. Over the years, she has crafted a sound that is gentle, yet full of intent, and built a songwriting practice that explores love, legacy, and ancestry.