Kinnie Starr

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Kinnie Starr

| image = Kinnie Starr at Westfest 2008 - 3.jpg

| caption = Starr performing in Ottawa, Ontario at Westfest 2008

| image_size =

| landscape = yes

| birth_name = Alida Kinnie Starr

| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1970}}

| birth_place =

| background = solo_singer

| origin = Calgary, Alberta, Canada

| instrument =

| genre = Canadian hip hop, alternative rock

| occupations = {{flatlist|

Singer
rapper

}}

| years_active = 1995–present

| label = Aporia Records (current), Mercury/Def Jam

| associated_acts =

| website ={{URL|kinniestarr.ca}}

| module = {{Infobox academic

| honorific_prefix =

| name =

| honorific_suffix =

| image =

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption =

| native_name =

| native_name_lang =

| birth_name =

| birth_date =

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| death_cause =

| nationality =

| citizenship =

| other_names =

| occupation =

| period =

| known_for =

| title =

| boards =

| spouse =

| partner =

| children =

| parents =

| relatives =

| awards =

| website =

| education =

| alma_mater = Queen's University

| thesis_title =

| thesis_url =

| thesis_year =

| school_tradition =

| doctoral_advisor =

| academic_advisors =

| influences =

| era =

| discipline =

| sub_discipline =

| workplaces =

| doctoral_students =

| notable_students =

| main_interests =

| notable_works =

| notable_ideas =

| influenced =

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| signature_size =

| footnotes =

}}

Alida Kinnie Starr (born 1970) is a Canadian multidisciplinary singer and rapper.

Early life

Starr was born and raised in Calgary, where she attended Western Canada High School. Her ancestry is French, German, Irish. She is trilingual (English, French and Spanish). Starr has a BA in Race and Gender Studies from Queen's University.{{Cite web|date=2018-04-29|title=Vancouver's Kinnie Starr releases the "Big World" single|url=https://www.hiphopcanada.com/kinnie-starr-big-world/|access-date=2020-10-21|website=HipHopCanada|language=en-CA}}

After moving to Vancouver, Starr formed her first band in 1992. According to legend, the true extent of her talent was first revealed on trip to New York City, when a friend pushed her onstage at an East Village club's open-mic night, where her impromptu spoken-word poetry met an enthusiastic reception.

Career

Following a self-released demo called Learning 2 Cook in 1995, she released her debut album Tidy in 1996, mixing rock, punk, pop, and hip-hop, along with her trademark spoken-word poetry. On that album, she rapped in three languages: English, Spanish, and French.

Starr signed to major label group Island/Def Jam in 1997, following a massive bidding war during which Clive Davis personally flew out to dine the young artist to try and sign her to his roster of pop stars.{{cite web|url=http://issuu.com/manifestomagazine/docs/manifesto_festivalmagazine_vol5 |title=Manifesto Festival Magazine Vol.5 (p. 29) by Manifesto Community Projects |publisher=ISSUU.com |date= 9 September 2011|accessdate=2 April 2015}} The next year, Seagram bought Polygram, the parent company of Island Def Jam, and merged it into Universal Music Group. In the resulting upheaval, Starr felt she was lost in the shuffle and she asked to be released from her contract. The material she recorded for her first album with Island Def Jam, 1998's Mending was never released, though some record labels have talked of releasing the lost album.

In 1997, Starr appeared on the Lilith Fair tour. In the late '90s and in 2004, she toured Canada with Veda Hille and Oh Susanna as part of the "Scrappy Bitch Tour".{{cite magazine|author=Larry LeBlanc|title=Singer/Songwriter Oh Susannah aims to break out with third set|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75|date=December 16, 2000|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=48 and 75|issn=0006-2510}}

She performed in November 2000 at Lee's Palace in Toronto.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20010724231526/http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2000/11/0702.cfm "LIVE: Kinnie Starr w/ Sook-Yin Lee & Tara Chase Tuesday November 07, 2000 @ 10:30 AM Nov. 3, 2000 Lee's Palace Toronto, ON"]}}. ChartAttack, Review By: Darrin Keene

Cirque du Soleil pursued Starr to sing in their productions, and in 2003 she contracted with them to perform in Zumanity for two years. After releasing her 2003 album Sun Again, she moved to Las Vegas. However, she was back home in Canada by the following year, where she continued to perform and record.

Her 2013 album "Kiss It" was made available to fans at Vancouver's Queer Arts Festival one week before the official release.{{Cite web|last=Marchand|first=Francois|date=2013-07-26|title=Kinnie Starr: Home is everywhere|url=http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Kinnie+Starr+Home+everywhere/8712632/story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215225857/http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Kinnie+Starr+Home+everywhere/8712632/story.html|archive-date=2018-12-15|website=Vancouver Sun}}

Her 2018 album, Feed the Fire explores finding one's truest self amidst the digital chaos of the 21st century.{{Cite web|url=https://www.sakihiwe.ca/artist-directory/complete-directory/display,artist/2/kinnie-starr|title=Kinnie Starr|last=Week|first=Aboriginal Music|website=Sakihiwe.ca|language=en|access-date=7 March 2020}}

=Musical style and influences=

Her musical style has been described as "hip hop aggro groove"{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}.

Starr has enlisted other Canadian musicians to appear on her albums over the years, including Swollen Members' Moka Only, Coco Love Alcorn, former Dream Warrior Spek and Tegan Quin of Tegan and Sara. Nelly Furtado credits Starr as an influence.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}

=Music videos=

"Ophelia" Director: Marsha Herle
"Month of Trickery" Director: Marsha Herle
"Nearer" Director: Marsha Herle
"Home is Everywhere" Director: Hannah C
"Go Go See It" Director: Hannah C
"High Heels" Director: Hannah C

=Film=

Starr's songs have been included on the soundtracks for the TV series The L Word and the movie Thirteen.

In 2001, Starr co-starred in Down and Out with the Dolls, a Kurt Voss movie about a fictional all-girl rock band.

Starr conceived of, and co-produced, the 2016 documentary Play Your Gender,[http://www.bcmusicianmag.com/playing-her-gender-kinnie-starr/ "Playing her gender: Kinnie Starr"] . BC Musician Magazine • 19 May 2017 which explores the gender gap in the music industry, asking why only 5% of professional music producers are female. Produced by Sahar Yousefi and directed by Stephanie Clattenburg, the film premiered at the Canberra International Film Festival in Australia.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/film-about-gender-gap-in-music-industry-screens-at-reel-2-real-festival-1.4053557 "Film about gender gap in music industry screens at Reel 2 Real festival"]. CBC News, 3 April 2017 At the 2017 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival the film was awarded "Best Music / Art Documentary" (in a tie).{{Cite web|title=Leaderboard|url=http://mdff.org.au|access-date=2021-08-11|website=Melbourne Documentary Film Festival}} In 2018, the film was screened at the Reeperbahn Festival as part of the "Key Change Festival Initiative".{{Cite web|date=2021-02-03|title=Film Programme Confirmed! - Reeperbahn Festival|url=https://www.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/news/article/items/film-programme-confirmed|access-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203205314/https://www.reeperbahnfestival.com/en/news/article/items/film-programme-confirmed|archive-date=3 February 2021}}

Starr composed the score for the 2018 Haida language film Edge of the Knife.{{Cite web|date=2018-09-28|title=Edge of the Knife|url=https://viff.org/Online/f32055-edge-of-the-knife|access-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928075120/https://viff.org/Online/f32055-edge-of-the-knife|archive-date=28 September 2018}}

Activism

Much of Starr's work engages positively with female sexuality, in contrast to male perspectives often associated with hip-hop culture.{{Cite web|date=2017-06-19|title=Can I Flaunt My Body and Be a Feminist? {{!}} Kinnie Starr|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/kinnie-starr/indiegogo-kinnie-starr_b_2298241.html|access-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619072323/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/kinnie-starr/indiegogo-kinnie-starr_b_2298241.html|archive-date=19 June 2017}} Starr identifies as bisexual, and has enjoyed popularity in the queer community.[https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/Kinnie+Starr+Home+everywhere/8712632/story.html "Kinnie Star: Home is everywhere"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215225857/http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Kinnie+Starr+Home+everywhere/8712632/story.html |date=15 December 2018 }}. Vancouver Sun

In 2006 she formally became a mentor for aspiring indigenous musicians as a faculty member with the Manitoba Audio Recording Industry Association's Aboriginal Music Program (AMP) Camp.

Starr appeared as a guest on The Rachel Maddow Show on 11 August 2006.{{Cite web|date=2006-10-21|title=Today's Show: Friday, August 11, 2006 {{!}} The Rachel Maddow Show {{!}} Air America Radio|url=http://www.airamerica.com/maddow/node/1928|access-date=2021-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021145420/http://www.airamerica.com/maddow/node/1928|archive-date=21 October 2006}} On 31 August, her single "Anything" was the first-ever No. 1 single on CBC Radio 3's new countdown show The R3-30.

Starr has often spoken out, for example during a 2013 performance at Vancouver Folk Music Festival,{{cite web|url=https://thenarwhal.ca/electro-artist-kinnie-starr-sings-water|title=Electro Artist Kinnie Starr Sings Out for Water|last=Thorkelson|first=Erika|date=9 August 2013|website=The Narwhal|accessdate=30 October 2018}} about the importance of protecting water.

Discography

class="wikitable" ! Album !! Year !! Label !! Producer
Learn 2 Cook (demo)	1995	align="center" \| \|
Tidy	1996	align="center" \| \|
Mending (Unreleased)	1998	align="center" \| Island/Def Jam \|
Tune-Up	2000	align="center" \| \|
Sun Again	2003	align="center" \| Maple Music \|
Anything	2006	align="center" \| \|
A Different Day	2010	align="center" \| Last Gang \|Chin Injeti
Kiss It	2013	align="center" \| Aporia \|
From Far Away	2014	align="center" \| Aporia \|
Feed the Fire	2018	align="center" \| Aporia \|

Filmography

2001: Down and Out with the Dolls. Director: Kurt Voss.
2016: Play Your Gender (host, curator & co-producer). Director: Stephanie Clattenburg. Producer: Sahar Yousefi.

Awards and recognition

In 2004, Starr was nominated for the Juno Award for New Artist of the Year.

Starr was featured in the Royal British Columbia Museum's major 2008 exhibition, "Free Spirit: Stories of You, Me and BC", as one of 150 cultural icons of BC.{{Cite web|title=Royal BC Museum Annual Report (2008-09)|url=https://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/assets/RBCMAnnualReport200809.pdf|website=Royal BC Museum}} (p.6){{Cite web|title=Visit Joy at the Royal BC Museum for a picture with her!|url=https://www.kogawahouse.com/wp/blog/2008/09/12/visit-joy-kogawa-at-the-royal-bc-museum-take-a-picture-with-her/|website=Joy Kogawa House|date=12 September 2008 }}

She produced the album We Are... by Digging Roots, which won the Juno Award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2010.

In 2011, Starr was honoured as a Pioneer in Canadian Hip Hop Culture by the ManifesTO festival.{{Cite web|url=http://www.mnfsto.com/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617214752/http://themanifesto.ca/hot-off-the-press-the-5th-annual-manifesto-festival-of-community-culture/|url-status=dead|title=MANIFESTO|archivedate=17 June 2013|website=Mnfsto.com}}

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
class="wikitable"
2004	Sun Again	Juno Awards, New Artist of the Year	{{nom}}
2010	Digging Roots' album We Are... (Producer)	Juno Awards, Aboriginal Album of the Year	{{won}}{{cite web \|url=http://m.newcanadianmusic.ca/releases/k/kiss-it/kinnie-starr/2013-08-20 \|title=Kinnie Starr – Kiss It Review \| New Canadian Music Mobile \|publisher=M.newcanadianmusic.ca \|date=2 August 2013 \|accessdate=2 April 2015 \|archive-date=5 April 2015 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405115543/http://m.newcanadianmusic.ca/releases/k/kiss-it/kinnie-starr/2013-08-20 \|url-status=dead }}
2014	Haida Raid 3: Save Our Waters — Kinnie Starr (Musician) & Amanda Strong (Director)	imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, Best Music Video	{{won}}{{cite web\|title=2014 Award Winners \|url=http://www.imaginenative.org/home/node/3771 \|website=imagiNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival \|url-status=dead \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731005256/http://www.imaginenative.org/home/node/3771 \|archivedate=31 July 2015 }}
2019	Edge of the Knife (Composer)	Leo Awards, Best Musical Score, Motion Picture	{{nom}}{{cite web\|title=2019 Nominees & Winners by Name \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621184602/http://www.leoawards.com/past_nominees_and_winners/nominees_and_winners_by_name_2019.php \|website=Leo Awards\|url=http://www.leoawards.com/past_nominees_and_winners/nominees_and_winners_by_name_2019.php \|archivedate=21 June 2020}}