Miss Kaninna has dropped a hot new single “Backstreets”, showcasing a different sound to previous releases.
Slowing it right down and heading into pop/R&B territory, singing instead of rapping, Miss Kaninna is both vulnerable and tough on the new song.
The proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali woman says the song came from a place of difference in past relationships.
“When I was in my early 20s I had a few boyfriends that were really……really white and it was hard to communicate, we have just lived such different lives and grew up with different values and ways of being. They were also in a much higher class bracket to me so it was very dystopian to live what seemed like double life. I was put into a lot of really vulnerable situations and had to compromise my cultural safety for the benefit of them and their families. I was conditioned for a very long time to be quiet about my experiences and to put others’ needs before my own,” she explains.
“‘Backstreets’ is a memoir of those years and how I felt. I haven’t released any music related to these experiences as I found them quite hard to talk about until recently. I found myself clinging to a relationship I didn’t even want to be in but a mixture of manipulation and my own abandonment issues held me there. I still struggle with fear of abandonment and I’m still recovering.”
Inspired by older pop rock from the late ’80s to early ’90s, Miss Kaninna says she was heavily rotating this music when going through these experiences, so “it was only fitting”.
“I feel like I’m time traveling back to that time but I’m in my own music video like outside of myself, fly-on-the wall type shit.”
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Currently in the UK and Europe on tour supporting Kneecap, as well as performing her own headline shows, Miss Kaninna has had a killer year. She signed a global deal with AWAL Recordings in May and was picked up by Primary Talent International for global bookings ex Aus, following stand out performances at The Great Escape.
Her debut EP, KANINNA, arrived to critical acclaim with sold out shows across the country. It went on to win Best Independent Hip-Hip EP/Album at the 2025 AIR Australian Independent Music Awards where she also took home the award for Breakthrough Independent Artist of The Year. She was also nominated for Best Hip Hop/Rap Release, Best Independent Release and Best Australian Live Act at this year’s ARIA Awards.
Miss Kaninna’s “Backstreets” is out now.
