Through her floral imagery and sonic innovation, Kali Uchis plants the seed of a new feminine narrative. Was this always the plan in her music niche? No, for this was a self-passion expression that later turned into a feminine power move. Kali Uchis was not Kali Uchis; she was Karly Marina Loaiza, born in Columbia and later grew up in Alexandra, Virginia, child to immigrant parents. Growing up in a music household with her and her brother playing the saxophone, she played since in the fourth grade in school competitions until her high school years. Kali always loved the exploration in beauty, art, and music. Young Kali, at 17 years old, would work on music and film projects, but this would be the cause to her being kicked out her house because she was breaking curfews. She had to sleep in her car, spend the night at a friend’s house from time to time, and work at a grocery story. She till worked on music through all of this.
Her dedication to making music is what got her recognitions from top artists. When Kali dropped her mixtape “Drunk and babble” it grabbed the attention from Snoop Dog and Tyler the Creator. After being the opening act on Lana Del Rey tour in 2018, she released her debut album “Isolation”, which got tons of positive reviews and views. Kali Uchis never settled for other people expectations other than her own with music especially on releasing a Spanish album that her label said would be a career setback. Her not listening and staying true to herself earned her first spot on the billboard Top 10 Latin Albums. When she was 27 the song “10%” by Kayadanda with Kali featured won Grammy for Best Dance recording. The same year, Kali drop her single “Telepatia” stayed number 1 on the billboard Top Latin songs for 8 weeks. She was the first women in ten years to reach the top spot.
In 2021 Kali Uchis met her now partner Don Toliver and now has a baby with him. The baby was born in March 2024. Kali is very private on her personal life, not even revealing her baby’s name. She shared more of her personal life when she dropped her album “Sincerely” on May 9, 2025. She dedicated this album to welcoming her new baby and the unfortunate loss of her mother who had died from lung cancer. This album was very much all love and deep emotions from Kali for expressing her becoming a mother self but grieving on her mother loss. Soon after the album was dropped, she went on tour mid-august with Thee Sacred Souls as the opener. But before Kali went on stage, in her opening video/message, Kali expressed and talked about how hard it is to be Latino and trying to have the “American dream” in a country that does not appreciate Latinos. With this hard process for Kali, she still gave so much to her fans when she was on tour and soon for her Latin America tour. Expressing her feminine and floral vibe all around with her music and just as a person overall.