Kahvinya caused quite a buzz in the music scene with the release of her meditative track “Up in there”, produced by M3. At 18, the Afro-pop artist will be the youngest performer at Blankets and Wine in the City concert series this coming April.

Her first release, “Heartbeat” in late 2015 garnered her a lot of attention, especially online. She says she moved from being terrified of the stage to establishing a flow with her audience.

                   “I like my performance to be an experience,” she says.

 And although she is young, her music tastes are old. ‘Not super old,’ she’s quick to add.

Kahvinya’s jazzy sounds are evocative of her influences: Erykah Badu, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, while the Afrobeat infusions can be traced to her love for Miriam Makeba. Among her favourite performances is the Stevie Wonder tribute by Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Gary Clark Jr, to which to date she remains in awe of.

For her own live shows, she likes to gauge her audience; vibing them as they vibe her back.

Material for her music is drawn from her environment and “everything about life”. For instance, she was spurred to write the acappella song “Incubator” after watching David Cameron’s film, Avatar. The deceptively-simple performance clearly shows her love for nature and is reinforced by the deep, layered tones.

Kahvinya says her next release, “Sensual”, will be vivid and explicit. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” she adds.

Catch Kahvinya on 9^th April 2017 at Ngong Racecourse for Blankets & Wine

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