Kadhja Bonet

Kadhja Bonet
Bonet performing in 2017
Born (1988-01-31) January 31, 1988 (age 38)
California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Years active2014–present
Notable workChildqueen
RelativesLisa Bonet (half-sister)
Musical career
GenrePsychedelic soul
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
Labels
Websitekadhjabonet.com

Kadhja Bonet (/ˈkɑːdjə boʊˈneɪ/ KAHD-yə boh-NAY; born January 31, 1988) is an American singer and songwriter. In 2014, she released her debut single, "Tears for Lamont". Later that year, she self-released her debut EP, The Visitor EP (2015), and in 2016 she re-released it as an album under Fat Possum Records and Fresh Selects, which received critical appraisal. Her second album, Childqueen (2018), charted in US Billboard's Independent Albums and Heatseekers Albums. The same year, she released her second EP, Childqueen Outtakes (2018). Her third EP, California Holiday (2022), was released. She also collaborated with many musicians.

Early life

Bonet grew up in Los Angeles, California, to Allen Bonet, an opera singer of African-American heritage from Texas, and Deborah Church, a musician. She is the middle child of seven siblings and studied classical music from an early age, playing the violin. She taught herself guitar and other instruments. Her half-sister is actress Lisa Bonet through her father.

Career

Bonet's debut, the single "Tears for Lamont", was produced by Itai Shapira and released in 2014. Later that year, while participating in the Red Bull Music Academy program in Tokyo, she collaborated on and released "Late Night Munchies."

The mini album The Visitor EP was first self-released in September 2015, then re-released with new bonus tracks under the name The Visitor in October 2016, as a partnership between two independent record labels, Fat Possum Records and Fresh Selects, receiving critical praise and extensive radio air play.

Her second album, Childqueen, written while touring abroad, was released on June 8, 2018.

She has also appeared on albums from other musicians, including Anderson .Paak, SiR, Bonobo, Khruangbin, Free Nationals, and more.

Critical reception

Bonet's music has been described as psychedelic soul while, for other critics, it "amalgamates folk, jazz and soul," or evokes "Billie Holiday, whisky, and 1940s Disney" in a "genre-defying" way.

Clash magazine wrote that her second album "places Kadhja Bonet in a league of her own." The single "Delphine" from the album was described as "spellbinding" and the album itself as "proof of her idiosyncratic genius."

Discography

Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Collaborations

References

  1. 1 2 Moon, Tom (May 31, 2018). "First Listen: Kadhja Bonet, Childqueen". NPR. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Lisa Bonet on family, husband Jason Momoa & working with Bill Cosby". Porter Edit / NET-A-PORTER.COM. March 9, 2018. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018. Bonet was born in the heart of the hippie movement, in November 1967 in San Francisco, to a white Jewish schoolteacher mother and a black opera-singing father.
  3. 1 2 "Kadhja Bonet's Quarter-Life Crisis Led Her Home – To Music". NPR. December 20, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  4. ↑ Valle, Victor (February 26, 1987). "BONET'S 'ANGEL' HEARTACHE". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 Beswick, Katie (February 24, 2017). "Kadhja Bonet – the Los Angeles artist conjuring that 1940s Disney feeling". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Forty Five Ten Brings Some Texas Swagger to Hudson Yards". Town & Country. May 3, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ Rogovoy, Seth (October 13, 2020). "Lenny Kravitz pays loving tribute to his Jewish grandparents — and their kasha varnishkes". The Forward. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  8. ↑ Monger, Timothy. "Kadhja Bonet: Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  9. ↑ Kellman, Andy (October 21, 2016). "Allmusic: Kadhja Bonet – The Visitor". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  10. ↑ Smith, CF (September 15, 2015). "Album Of The Week: Kadhja Bonet – The Visitor EP". Twisted Soul Music. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  11. ↑ Dowling, Marcus K. (November 8, 2016). "Pitchfork Review: Kadhja Bonet – The Visitor". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  12. 1 2 Murray, Robin (March 4, 2018). "Kadhja Bonet's 'Mother Maybe' Has A Global Reach". Clash. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  13. ↑ Kellman, Andy (November 16, 2018). "Allmusic: Anderson .Paak - Oxnard". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  14. ↑ Grant, Shawn (August 28, 2019). "SiR's 'Chasing The Summer' Album to Feature Lil Wayne, Smino, Jill Scott and more". The Source. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  15. ↑ Simpson, Paul (January 14, 2022). "Allmusic: Bonobo - Fragments". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  16. ↑ Helman, Peter (June 24, 2021). "Khruangbin Announce Mordechai Remixes Album". Stereogum. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  17. ↑ Kellman, Andy (December 13, 2019). "Allmusic: Free Nationals - Free Nationals". AllMusic Guide. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. ↑ ""Delphine" by Kadhja Bonet". Pitchfork. 2018. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  19. ↑ "World Cafe Next: Kadhja Bonet". World Cafe Next. March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  20. ↑ Hakimian, Rob (April 25, 2018). "Kadhja Bonet shows her class on the spellbinding 'Delphine'". TheFourOhFive. Retrieved June 3, 2018.