Yorta Yorta, Yirendali and Kalkadoon woman Miss Kaninna performed an electric set to a sold-out crowd at The Vanguard in Newtown on April 6.
Her fresh blend of R&B and hip-hop got the room fired up as she performed hit tracks 鈥淏lak Britney鈥, 鈥淧ush Up鈥 and 鈥淧innacle Bitch鈥, as well as some new songs.
Fresh from supporting Irish language rap group Kneecap for the Australian leg of their world tour, Miss Kaninna showed that she is a powerful force who will be tearing up stages across so-called Australia for a long time.
Kaninna sparked when she spoke out for Palestine on Triple J in November 2023, playing 鈥淟ong Live Palestine鈥 by Lowkey, saying 鈥淔rom the river to the sea, Palestine will be free鈥 and correctly identifying Israel鈥檚 attacks as a genocide.
As the corporate media went into a frenzy, and the ABC cowered, Miss Kaninna refused to back down.
She told the crowd she wrote the song 鈥淒awg In Me鈥 about her refusal to concede to censorship and silencing.
In between songs she led chants of 鈥淔ree free Palestine鈥 and 鈥淔rom the river to the sea鈥, which the crowd enthusiastically took up.
Hailing from lutruwita/Tasmania, Miss Kaninna spoke about the difficulty of being the only Aboriginal girl in her friend group, and the racism she experienced growing up.
鈥淭his land was never ceded, it was stolen 鈥 and we are still being killed by police, killed in custody to this day,鈥 she said.
She said she wrote 鈥淏lak Britney鈥 in response to racism against First Nations people and to give young Aboriginal women something positive to aspire to.
The song calls out all those who continue to oppress First Nations people: 鈥淚'm a, a pig hater, death to invader, and all the land takers, and all the treaty breakers, and all the dictators, and all manipulators.鈥
Kaninna said it was 鈥渘ot about Black people and people of colour against white people, but Black people and POC against racism鈥.
Rhia Alone, who last year won the 2024 Triple J Unearthed High Indigenous Initiative, opened the night with covers and original songs that showcased her soulful melodies and unique voice.
She explained that her vibrant musical sound is inspired by her Aboriginal, Tongan, Fijian and Italian heritage.
Make sure to catch Miss Kaninna and Rhia Alone if you get a chance. You鈥檒l be sure to hear a lot more from them in future.
[Miss Kaninna is performing at the Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid, get tickets .]