K. Flay
| K.Flay | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kristine Meredith Flaherty |
| Born | June 30, 1985 |
| Origin | Wilmette, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
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| Website |
Official website SoundCloud |
Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known by her stage name K.Flay, is an American musician singer and songwriter from Wilmette, Illinois. Her album Life as a Dog, released in 2014, peaked on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart at number two, and on Billboard's Rap Albums chart at number 14. In 2016, she signed with Interscope Records as the first artist signed to Dan Reynolds' Night Street Records imprint.
Flaherty was raised in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. She attended New Trier Township High School.
When she was seven, Flaherty's parents divorced. Soon after, her mom remarried, bringing in an extended stepfamily. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting "all things girly."
When she was 14 years old, Flaherty's father, a guitarist who loved all musical genres, died. Many of her songs are a tribute to him.
In 2003, she entered Stanford University in California, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. According to Flaherty, many people she met during her time at Stanford influenced her musical style.
K.Flay began her music career in 2003, believing that most hip hop hits on the radio were "simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic". After bragging to a friend that she could write similar songs, she wrote "Blingity Blang Blang", which she described as a “low budget rap parody that contained far too many obscenities". After writing and performing the song, Flaherty realized that she enjoyed writing and recording music.
Flaherty continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape, Suburban Rap Queen, in 2005, which she produced on her laptop and began performing in the local music scene.
In 2010, K.Flay released her self-titled EP, and in 2011 self-released the mixtape I Stopped Caring in '96, which she later remarked was a career turning point.
K.Flay signed with RCA Records in 2012, releasing two EPs: Eyes Shut in 2012, with songs produced by Liam Howlett from the British band The Prodigy, and What If It Is in 2013. She parted ways with RCA Records in 2013 because of differences of opinion. Upon leaving RCA Records, she left behind more than 60 songs she had written while signed under RCA Records, but no longer owned the rights to. K.Flay has described her time with RCA Records as similar to "an ill-advised marriage."
K.Flay announced the release of her 2014 album Life as a Dog, by offering fans the ability to pre-order via PledgeMusic, reaching 196 percent of her initial goal. She wanted the project to be "DIY [and] self-motivated". It was recorded and produced in New York City, Los Angeles and San Francisco, with the final mix produced at San Francisco's Different Fur.
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