With the release of her new song ‘Cola Head’ Willow Kayne has been blowing up recently. And rightfully so. Her fresh style borrows from 90s and 00s hip-hop and British rave culture while maintaining a modern feel. The British Gen-Z artist combines hyper-pop, punk, hip-hop, soul and trap and throws in a child-like flare with children-sounding choirs and nursery rhyme melodies to create a nostalgic backdrop to discuss her adult struggles.
A common theme seen throughout Willow Kayne’s music is amplifying the childish nature of online trolls and bullies. With songs like ‘Opinion,’ ‘I Don’t Wanna Know,’ and her debut EP Playground Antics as a whole, Kayne responds to hate comments received online in a playful way. This theme present throughout her debut EP especially shines through in the opening track ‘Opinion’ in which Kayne claps back at her online haters in a very nonchalant way. Instead of dwelling on and defending herself against the hate comments she’s received, Kayne simply emphasises the fact that she does not care about other’s negative opinions of her and her music. She even goes as far as to make fun of her haters and turn their criticism into compliment. In ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ she says, ‘I bet you touch yourself while looking at my posters’ making fun of her hater’s obsession with her implying that if they care enough to criticise her they must be obsessed enough to ‘touch [them]self while looking at [her] posters.’ It’s a very playfully petty response; she’s fighting fire with fire and she’s doing it well.
While using her lyrics to casually show how childlike these frivolous criticisms can be, Kayne uses her production and melodies to shows how similar online celebrity drama is to silly playground conflicts. Childlike sounds are used a lot in Kayne’s music, particularly in songs like ‘Opinion’ and ‘White City’ in which the choruses feature a children’s choir. Kayne has said many times that she likes to make her voice sound like a ‘children’s choir’ and this style is used in such a clever way. Using the childhood nostalgia of singing together in primary school to discuss her personal struggles, making something individual to Willow Kayne feel familiar to her listeners. Kayne also uses identifiable nursery rhyme melodies sung over trap beats to further this point and make something modern feel nostalgic. In the pre-chorus of ‘This Is My Film’ Kayne uses the melodies of ‘Ring a Ring o’ Roses’ and ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ sung over hip-hop beats to sing about feeling like the main character and not letting other put you down. These melodies are instantly recognisable yet the production makes them feel modern, allowing a seamless blend of childish melodies and lyrics about Kayne’s experience in the music industry.
Willow Kayne’s colourful visuals in both her music videos and album are just as crucial to her art as her music is. Kayne has said that she often associates a certain colour with each of her songs and this becomes more apparent in her use of colour in her music videos. The video for ‘I Don’t Wanna Know’ is one of her most obvious examples of colour usage. This bright, fun music video is very early 2000s in the most nostalgic way possible. As a gen-z artist with a largely gen-z fanbase, Kayne does a wonderful job of creating visuals that represent the aesthetic of her fans’ (and her own) childhood. From the sticker covered computer, to the Burn Book inspired scrapbook, to the ‘Blue’s Clues’ looking scene backdrops, this music video is the perfect pairing to a fun song about Kayne’s attempt to ignore internet haters.
Willow Kayne’s eagerness to experiment with sound and genre and her ability to keep her music fun and childlike makes her an exciting new addition to the music industry. Whether she chooses to stick with this nostalgic modern sound or decides to do something completely different, Manic suggests that you keep your eye on this talented artist.
