Kitana

About

" Kitana is exactly what Austria’s rap scene was missing – brave, deep, and unique "

One of Kitana’s greatest strengths becomes clear immediately after listening to her track ‘ADHD’: combining individual elements of currently popular music, scrambling them together, and creating something totally individual in the process. 80s synth-sounds, catchy hooks full of autotune, and musical references to the beginnings of German gangsta rap are fused together to create Kitana’s unique essence. Whereas the music video of ‘ADHD’ evokes the 1990s through VHS tapes, tube TVs, and grainy footage, the video accompanying ‘Humble’ tells the story of the 90s from a completely different perspective. 

Be Humble

The video starts with Kitana’s voice speaking in Bosnian, the language of her parents’ home country. We can see stills of Novi Travnik, the city from which Kitana’s parents had to flee in the 90s. 

‘Humble’ tells the story of her growing up, her self-discovery and how she goes her own way: “Ich geh mein’ Weg, ja, ich pilger‘, Richtung Sonne, es war finster“ (“I go my way, yes, I go on a pilgrimage, towards the sun, it used to be dark”). She talks about her family and the Yugoslavian war, about sadness and sunshine. All this plays out against the backdrop of the black-and-white video, which alternates between houses in desolate condition and people playing soccer and enjoying being together (“Die haben weniger als wir, aber sind glücklicher // Die können weniger als wir, aber sind tüchtiger“ – “They have less than us, but are happier // They can do less than us, but are more capable“). Alternating despair and hope. Pride and Humility. 

October 2022 saw the release of Kitana’s album ‘Lorbeeren’, which delves even deeper into her own past. The rapper herself says of her album: “LORBEEREN is the most personal thing I have ever written“.