Kinnie Starr facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kinnie Starr
Starr performing in Ottawa, Ontario at Westfest 2008
Background information
Birth name	Alida Kinnie Starr
Born	1970 (age 54–55)
Origin	Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Genres	Canadian hip hop, alternative rock
Occupations	Singer rapper
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Aporia Records (current), Mercury/Def Jam
Kinnie Starr Alma mater Queen's University

Alida Kinnie Starr (born 1970) is a Canadian singer, rapper, and artist. She is known for mixing different music styles like hip hop and rock. She also creates films and writes music for them.

Early Life and Education

Kinnie Starr was born and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She is of French, German, and Irish heritage and can speak English, French, and Spanish. After high school, she went to Queen's University and earned a degree in Race and Gender Studies.

After moving to Vancouver, Starr started her first band in 1992. A fun story from her early days tells of a trip to New York City. A friend encouraged her to go on stage during an open-mic night. She performed her own spoken-word poetry and the audience loved it.

Music Career

Getting Started

In 1995, Starr released her first demo, a collection of songs called Learning 2 Cook. A year later, in 1996, she released her first full album, Tidy. This album showed off her unique style by blending rock, pop, and hip hop with her spoken-word poetry. She even rapped in English, Spanish, and French on the album.

Her talent got noticed, and in 1997, she signed with the major record label group Island/Def Jam. However, the company went through big changes, and Starr felt she was getting lost in the shuffle. She asked to leave the company. The album she recorded with them, Mending, was never officially released.

Touring and Performing

In 1997, Starr was part of the famous Lilith Fair music festival tour. She also toured across Canada with fellow musicians Veda Hille and Oh Susanna.

In 2003, the world-famous performance group Cirque du Soleil asked Starr to sing in one of their shows in Las Vegas. She worked with them for a time before returning to Canada to continue her own music career.

Later Albums

Starr has continued to release music that connects with her fans.

• Sun Again (2003): This album led to a nomination for a major Canadian music award.
• Kiss It (2013): This album was first released to fans at the Vancouver Queer Arts Festival.
• Feed the Fire (2018): This album talks about finding your true self in a busy digital world.

Musical Style

Starr's music is often described as a mix of hip hop with a powerful, groovy rock sound. She has worked with many other Canadian musicians on her albums. These include Moka Only from the group Swollen Members and Tegan Quin from the duo Tegan and Sara. Pop star Nelly Furtado has said that Kinnie Starr was a big influence on her own music.

Work in Film

Besides making her own music, Starr has been very involved in film. Her songs have been used in TV shows like The L ....

In 2001, she acted in the movie Down and Out with the Dolls, which was about a fictional all-girl rock band.

Play Your Gender

In 2016, Starr helped create a documentary called Play Your Gender. She came up with the idea for the film and was a co-producer. The film explores why there are so few women working as professional music producers. It asks important questions about fairness in the music industry. The film won an award for "Best Music / Art Documentary" at a festival in Melbourne, Australia.

Film Composer

Starr also writes music for movies. In 2018, she composed the entire musical score for the film Edge of the Knife. This movie is special because it was filmed in the Haida language, an Indigenous language of Canada.

Activism and Community Work

Kinnie Starr uses her platform to talk about important issues. Her music often contains positive messages about female strength and empowerment.

She is also a strong supporter of protecting the environment, especially clean water. She has spoken about this issue at events like the Vancouver Folk Music Festival.

In 2006, she became a mentor for young Indigenous musicians. She worked as a teacher at a music program in Manitoba, helping aspiring artists develop their skills.

Discography

Awards and Recognition

Kinnie Starr's work has earned her several awards and honors.

• 2004: She was nominated for the Juno Award for New Artist of the Year.
• 2010: She won a Juno Award for producing the album We Are... by the band Digging Roots.
• 2011: She was honored as a Pioneer in Canadian Hip Hop by the ManifesTO festival.
• 2019: She was nominated for a Leo Award for her musical score for the film Edge of the Knife.

See also

• Canadian hip hop
• First Nations music