Kali Uchis is Finally Getting the Attention She Deserves and It's NOT because of TikTok.

Kali Uchis.

That should be all I need to write for this blog. Deadass.

Kail Uchis released her sophomore album. “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios)”.

Kali Uchis’ album is as diverse and versatile as ‘Parasite’, I feel very few of you will understand that film reference Mehhhh.

In a simpler way, Kali Uchis album isn’t just pop or reggaeton. It is way more complicated than that. She uses her angelic, thick and sultry voice to create parallels to classical jazz, infused with soul, and bolero music, and of course reggaeton. The range in this (very ) short album tells a beautiful, empowering story of a badass woman, who realizes by the end that she don’t need no man, but she needs only herself.

For the record I need to say this… I saw Kali Uchis live three years ago. “After the Storm” featuring Tyler, the Creator had just dropped the week before. Kali Uchis was opening for the Queen, Lana Del Rey. Even though Kali Uchis is a Queen herself, too.

Can you believe that shit?! I LITERALLY saw my two favorite artists the same night. Here we are three years later and Kali uchis is absolutely dominating EVERY music chart.

The biggest question is “why is her album still so prominent four months later?”

There are multiple reasons, yes, TikTok is one. But it is not solely because of TikTok. Kali Uchis was very honest and blunt in the months leading up to her second album. She said it was going to be mostly in Spanish, but that it was going to bend and change the “Latin” genre music category forever. Well, I think we can all agree that is exactly what she is doing.

Now, I do want to bring up a few points. Firstly. Kali Uchis called out her English-speaking fans, stating in a tweet, back in October, “today I drop another song in Spanish which I know means another day of disappointment for my English-speaking fans who do not wish to make the attempt to listen to music in languages they can’t understand.”

With that statement she puts so many people on blast, RIGHTFULLY SO, which we see this is not only a massive problem in the music industry, but in the film industry as well. I mean if we are being completely honest it’s an issue worldwide. Americans do not want to attempt to listen to music in a language they don’t understand. Americans also don’t want to read subtitles for a film in South Korean, because it is too much work. Bong Joon Ho said this in his Oscar speech in 2020 after winning best film for ‘Parasite’, a South Korean film. It baffles me that people are that lazy or just that small-minded.

Secondly, she wasn’t just calling out people or fans who didn’t want to attempt to understand a song in a different language. She called out the music industry for grouping all Latin music under one genre, Latin. There are probably the same number of genres in Spanish music, if not MORE, as their genres in American music.

I don’t know… I might fuck around and categorize Country music and Rap music as the same.

ANYWAY…

Other artists came out in support of Kali Uchis, The Marias being one of them. They also have a good balance of singing in both Spanish and English.

I could name so many Spanish genres, but at the end of the day people would just be like “soooo Spanish music”.

Now, back to what I said earlier, yes, TikTok is somewhat responsible for the popularity and responsible for more people wanting to understand the meaning of the lyrics. But I mean we live in a society (A HA, folks… we live in a society) where theme songs from shows blow up and become #1 for a hot-second, yes, I’m talking about “Agatha All Along”. But… Kali Uchis didn’t create just a catchy album or song, she created a work of art, a masterpiece, that brings multiple cultures, genres, and languages together. Many artists have tried to do that, and some have succeeded, but not of this multitude. The best part is that she is a Latina. I mean she was so confident in herself in this album and you can hear it in every note.

The passion. The passion in this album is second to none. I deadass can’t stop listening to her. Every day my ass be driving in Downtown Austin singing the fuck out of the album.

Her confidence made it seem like this was her sixth studio album and that she had been doing this for years. Which I think is a big part of the overall theme in this album… confidence, women empowerment, and a badass attitude.

Currently Kali Uchis is breaking records every day and I hope they keep breaking.

As a first-generation Guatemalan American seeing this achievement from another Latin person, better yet a Latin WOMAN, it makes me proud to be Latino.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go check out Kali Uchis’ second album “Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios). Streaming on all platforms.

Check out all of Kali Uchis music. There is not a single song I don’t like of hers. She NEVER misses.

What is your FAVORITE Kali Uchis song?

P.S. the podcast is coming very soon. It's been a busy ass two weeks. I've had some interviews for creative agencies and I am working 2 jobs, so it's been a bit tiring.

Love you all... until next time. Stay Safe.

- Luis Antonio Ruiz, RED Creatives