This Singer/Songwriter Is Rejecting Identity Fetish And Calling For More Black Representation In Music

By Annabel Tamara Oromoni

Katasha J is a gifted RnB singer/songwriter and skillful pianist living in the West End of Toronto.

With song releases like Soft, Variation, James, Want U, and Secret lover, the remarkably skilled and versatile singer, faces no difficulty in stirring emotions and transporting listeners with her soulful voice and relatable lyrics.

Raised in a Jamaican-Canadian family heavily bonded by music, Katasha became a Music Industry, Arts & Performance college graduate. She made the decision to pursue her professional music career in 2018.

She recalls singing and playing the piano with her mom and aunties at the age of five. Her mom, an equally talented singer, performed around Toronto but never pursued singing professionally.

Katasha spent her childhood near Victoria Park and was homeschooled until the age of 16. At 14, her family moved to the West End of Toronto, where she attended Western Technical Commercial High School from grade 10 to 12. 

She sang several times at the talent shows her school organized every semester. 

Her first musical performance was at a Black history assembly. 

“From that day onwards, they’d ask me to sing the national anthem sometimes. I was pretty much at every talent show I can think of from grade 10.” Katasha said.

Yet, even with an extensive musical background, the decision to pursue music professionally was not always certain for the singer.

She spent a long time searching for producers and a tribe for her art at the onset of her career. 

“I would write things, but I wouldn’t put things out. Just frustrated,” said Katasha.

Nonetheless, having patience and being surrounded by positive energy has been incredibly helpful in keeping her grounded.

“Sometimes, things can bring you down, but you just gotta remain positive and surround yourself with positive people.” Said Katasha.

Deeply inspired at night, the singer often writes songs when her room is dark, pulling inspiration from her life experiences, friends, family and social environment.

“My song, Rewind, is about a past relationship, and I wrote a song called Auntie Ange, which is about my aunt who passed away,” she said.

Her song, James, was written about her dad, who is of Irish descent. 

She is currently working on an upcoming project titled Braids N Gold, with Toronto Rapper Namen Chakras.

Displeased with colorism in the Black community, Katasha said the upcoming project will represent Black beauty and celebrate differences in Black people.

“It talks about Black people and Black beauty,” she said. “Just kind of representing everyone because you know, there’s still a lot of colorism and all that light-skinned and dark-skinned bullshit. Like, we are all Black people.”

Though she does not experience colorism, Katasha said her friends often share their experiences with colorism and the, “you’re pretty for a dark-skinned girl” comments they usually receive. 

Katasha received a lot of attention throughout her life because of her mixed-race identity. Due to this, she often leaves out her Irish background.

“I am mixed, but it’s not a big deal. People get so excited, and it’s like, what if I wasn’t? People can be my complexion and just be Black,” said the singer.

“What if I said my dad was Black too?” she asked. “They have this weird fascination and this weird fetish with mixed people. It’s just weird and people still do it all the time.”

For Katasha, representation is essential, and there is still not enough black representation in the media. 

“There’s only a certain type of girl in the media sometimes. Lots of mixed girls, and that’s fine, but dark-skinned girls need to be represented too,” she said. “There are different kinds of people, and there’s not only one type of Black person.”

She intends to shoot the Braids N Gold video at the end of March 2021.

For the Toronto native, having a good variety of artists and producers to collaborate with is essential. It comes as no surprise that this soulful singer flawlessly adds more jazz, guitar and acoustic sounds in her music style.

Her latest single, Variation, released November 2020, revealed the story of a lover’s infidelity over a mellow acoustic guitar tune.

Much influenced by legendary artists like Mariah Carey, Brandy, Stevie Wonder and Motown, Katasha has released an EP and debut album since she began recording music in 2018.

Her EP Lullaby debuted in 2019, and the first song, Soft is all that’s needed to fascinate her audience. 

The necessary decision to cancel all live performances due to the pandemic could not stop this emerging artist’s growth. With music platforms like Spotify and virtual live performances, the singer has attracted listeners worldwide.

“It probably would have been better if I was able to go out and perform at that time,” she said. “But even though I was in my house, I would get messages from people saying they like my songs,” said Katasha.

The RnB singer remains creative by working on new music and collaborating with other artists. Her most recent collaboration, Precious Gold, with fellow Toronto artist, Nova, was released on February 11.

She also teased her Instagram followers on Valentine’s Day with an upcoming music feature, titled Nonsense with RnB, Hip Hop and Reggae artist Primo Green.

Katasha is enthusiastic about her music career and plans to continue growing her fanbase and booking gigs. Success and happiness are the core elements of building a music career for Katasha. She looks forward to the day she can travel outside of the city to reach more people with her music.

Katasha can be found as Katasha J on all major platforms.