User:KATANA (artist)/sandbox

Katana (artist)

Katana(Suradzai Tanabahi Mwanatayo Matthews) began to love music at the age of 3 when she was introduced to Salsa and Afro - Cuban rhythms by her father. Growing up in Pittsburg, Caligornia, she played the drums and cowbell alongside a group of brothers who lived up the street that later became know as Los Lobos of La Bamba fame. Katana began writing Hip Hop and R & B lyrics by age 10 and continued to do so throughout junior high and high school. Although, she was known as a dancer, her first love was writing songs. By age 16, Katana was playing Classical piano and composing songs. Distracted by dug abuse and deaths in the family, she began to write lyrics with more meaning and used it as a way to escape. After regaining her focus, Katana began collaborating with artists in the Bay Area of California on projects in search of a home for her music. It was difficult to choose between Hip Hop and R & B as her main genre because they were both so much a part of who she was - hardcore and laid back at the same time. She released her first solo cd Bad Habits in stores throughout the northern California area but later moved to Minnesota where she began writing songs for local artists through Urban Grooves productions (UGP) at Fuzzy Slippers Studios. Katana released her double album Secret Weapon Vol. 1 (Hip Hop) and Secret Weapon Vol. 2 (R & B in 2007at Electric Fetus and CD Baby but sold most of them at performances. Her music received good reviews from local dj's, amongst her peers as well as the local Hip Hop and R & B audience. Peter Scholtes of The City Pages named Katana's song 'Lost" ft St. Paul Slim, one of his favorite tracks of 2008. Katana has performed at several venues throughout the Midwest and opened for major artists such as Genuine and Keyshia Cole. In 2008 she performed in Hawaii with songstress Janey Neal and The Blue Light Funk Band in clubs throughout Honolulu and Waikiki. On January 20th, 2009 Katana's talents were recognized when she was deemed First lady at the TC Hip Hop Awards. Never afraid of testing her artistic boundaries, Katana branched out to flex her acting muscles by playing a main character in local drama/comedy TH3M! The 5 episode series was showcased at the Twin Cities Black Film Festival in 2010. In 2011, she took her acting further and landed a starring role in the gospel play The Devil Didn't Raise You by Pamela Rollins. Due to health issues, Katana had to slow down and finished writing a book she started years prior called A Sober Mind - the story of a woman struggling with depression and alcoholism who is trying to find her purpose in life. Recently, Katana has raised the bar for herself artistically. After becoming a part of Bloody Boombox, a local label run by founder Pete Rentz, she began to produce more of her own material and push the limits of her music. She is now in the process of recording her next album PARANOIA - a blend of Hip Hop, R & B and Alternative Rock and it is set to drop Summer of 2014. Katana is on the brink of becoming a major force in the entertainment industry and she's loving every minute of it.