Kanii

D.C.-born singer Kanii is focused on the future. Though he’s just graduated high school, he’s

looking ahead to where his boundary-pushing music is taking him next with a fearless proclivity

for new sounds and styles he might conquer. In doing so, Kanii continues to create energetic

anthems like “I Know” from his debut EP exiit via Masked Records / Warner Records which

became a cultural phenomenon amongst young people all over the world and is now RIAA

Certified Gold status. On his new EP, it was nice knowing u, Kanii trades in dancefloor-ready beats

and dynamic synth melodies to create addictive refractions of R&B. Kanii may still be a teenager,

but he already displays the songwriting chops of a seasoned veteran. It’s a blend of old-school

wisdom and new- school ingenuity, informed by the music he grew up listening to plus the digital

recording software he taught himself to use. Kanii acknowledges his influences but refuses to be

pigeonholed: He wants to be boundless. Throughout it was nice knowing u, Kanii shows he isn’t

willing to rein himself in or commit to any one musical subgenre. His brilliance as a songwriter lies

in his ability to fuse strands of pop, R&B, and jersey club—and all sorts of otherworldly sounds

beyond that— into a style that feels informed by just about everything you can think of, while

never sounding like any one thing in particular. He takes the familiar and makes it sound wholly

new.