Photo Credit: Matthew Nicholson
The singer helms from South Africa, which has a large population of very diverse people. “There are a lot of crazy talents coming out from there. The rap scene is a big scene. The industry is definitely booming right now.” admits Cruz.
Her single “Fallen Angels” takes after a combo of afro beats and R&B grooves. Her EP Buffering is a unique take on the genre as it blends the harmonies of 070 Shake and Alicia Keys grooves.
Equate sat down with the singer in Los Angeles to talk her background, Crypto Space, and the challenges she faces as a South African queer woman.
Words by Robert Frezza
EQ: Do you think it was easy for you to break through as a Female, POC, Queer artist in 2021?
K: Obviously, I’m aware that the current day we live in it’s been more accepted, in general, and the public is more open minded. It’s been easier getting more attention because people are highlighting more queer stories and black POC stories. Coming from South Africa, I still had to break through a large crowd. There is a large pool to break out of. When I started out, it was more of a disadvantage though.
EQ: What challenges did you have to overcome making the move from South Africa to Los Angeles?
K: I did feel culture shock. Then in 2020, COVID hit, that was bit of a world shock. I didn’t have a network in Los Angeles. I was just roughing it out. If I went home, I wouldn’t meet the people I needed to meet. I got through it, though.
EQ: You funded your music career through Crypto Space and NFT.
K: It caught my attention as an independent artist trying to navigate the industry. I came across a lot of weird situations and contracts that were not fair to me or my team. I wanted to try to find people who believed in my vision and give us what we truly deserve. My director introduced me to Crypto space. Once I saw what opportunities this space was providing, I saw how creatives and digital artists get what they deserve and not deal with third parties that are taking most of their money. With blockchain technology it’s very hard to forge things. It changes things on the business side of it. I wanted to be in a community that supported me directly. Even as a simple thing as merch, the label takes a huge percentage of. Blockchain technology helps artists creates their own labels and business structures. It supports the artist and not the label.
It’s like there’s no middleman involved. You can trace your own money and you know who is touching your money. It’s very coded. It’s very transparent and open. It provides a space where you can do business fairly. It creates a lot of opportunities for business owners as well. It’s fair for everyone.
K: It was very unexpected. It was like I was at the right place and at the right time. Probably after one of my songs came out, a Universal Music DJ called me and told me I was going to tour for Bieber in South Africa. I was in shock and obviously not going to miss this opportunity. My song “Love Me In The Dark” ended up charting on Apple Music and was playing all over Africa. I went from singing to 500 people to 90,000 people. I guess at that point if I can do that, I can have a career in music. That’s the mindset I went in with.
EQ: Do you think it’s Kaien’s time now?
K: I’m 23 now. I started writing songs when I was 8 years old. I’m curating these stories and visuals now. As long as I give myself room to keep developing even beyond this point and not get stuck in anything as I progress in my career. I want to do things that are true to me and not what people expect.
