Sing for the Underrepresented

Natasha Kmeto pictured here at the Holocene in Portland after a sound check and before a performance with the group Chanti Darling, a side project of hers.

written by Dom Sinacola | photo by Shauna Intelisano


Natasha Kmeto pictured here at the Holocene in Portland after a sound check and before a performance with the group Chanti Darling, a side project of hers.

Though Natasha Kmeto came from a very musical family, writing wasn’t second nature to her. She admitted that it wasn’t until Inevitable (2015) that she found her inherent sound.“[It] captures a moment in my life where I started to see myself,” said Kmeto, a Sacramento native living in Portland for the past decade.

Inevitable is pure electro-R&B. Kmeto’s voice is etched in echoes and dream-like beats, featuring guest vocals from Tunde Adebimpe. Like her cohort, Kmeto doesn’t espouse her genre’s popular themes, instead “reflecting on narratives underrepresented in mainstream culture.” Appropriately, Inevitable is a document of self-embrace. “At the moment, my queer and female-identified communities are the most influential thing for me,” she said. “It’s tough living under the burden of being told what we should be.”

With new music coming late 2016 and a revamped live presence, Kmeto seems to have shed that burden completely.

Listen to Natasha on Spotify


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