PNG born, now Naarm/Melbourne based, Kaiit Waup burst onto the scene in 2017 with her debut single Natural Woman. Creating waves online and commanding the attention of soul and hip-hop tastemakers, the subsequent release of her debut EP Live From Her Room (in particular, the smooth love ballad OG Luv Kush Pt 2) fuelled her first sold out national tour and established her as a must-see act at the BIGSOUND festival/showcase in 2018. 2018 also saw her win Music Victoria’s Archie Roach Award for Emerging Talent and be named in Red Bull Music’s global Top 25 Rappers Under 25.
Kaiit has gone on to build a truly global community of fans, amassing over 15 million streams and 50,000 followers on Spotify alone. She achieved a career highlight when she took home Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2019 ARIA Awards for the sun-speckled bop Miss Shiney. On the live front, Kaiit has sold out multiple national tours, performing in 2019 at WOMADelaide and Splendour in the Grass, at the 2020 Laneway Festival and supporting a number of international heavyweight acts including SZA, The Internet and Christine & the Queens.
Drawing musical inspiration from her idols Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill and contemporary peers such as Noname, Kaiit’s passion for jazz and soul is evident in her music – so much so that neo-soul queens Jill Scott and Erykah Badu claimed her on Instagram as their ‘musical love child from Down Under’.
At only 23 years old, and with unlimited potential, Kaiit effortlessly charms audiences as she flips between chilled soul and feisty rhymes and no doubt her new music – due out by April 2021 – will only strengthen her reputation.