K Flay – Mixing It Up

Channel surfing one night, I stumbled upon a video of a young woman performing on Carson Daley’s Last Call.  She was rapping and singing what appeared to be original material. It was infectious.

Accompanied by a drummer and a man working computer keys and other electronic gizmos, I was fascinated by what appeared to be a hybrid rap-hip-hop-electronic music. Her stage presence had none of the street-wise bravado and neither was she pandering to the audience, nor putting her body on display. She seemed lost in her own world; pacing about the stage, engulfed by the music, earnestly gesturing while rapping and singing.

I had seen other artists perform in this style, but never with this kind of sound and stage presence. Whatever the big “it” is, meaning star quality, K Flay aka Kristine Flaherty, has it in spades.

Her songs sound fresh, her ideas original and free from self-consciousness and her voice will get under your skin. K Flay has big things coming her way. It’s just a matter of whether or not the music industry will recognize and embrace her originality.

We talked about her new album, Life As a Dog, and what it’s like to be in a male-dominated genre, stereotypes, getting faded and her ambitions.

A tiny disclaimer: K Flay has the occasional naughty word on her album. If you are offended by that, then don’t say I didn’t warn you.