MUSIC
Inspired by New York City nightlife, kawaii fashion, astrology, and the perils of dating in the i-Generation, Kiki Kramer fuses creepy with cute, bringing an edge back to pop music in the process.
She writes lyrics with a raw, unfiltered honesty, wrestling with desires to be famous, social media, and unreciprocated love, even likening the men she falls for to a toxic chemical—all with tongue-in-cheek.
Developing a name for herself in the New York City scene and inking a deal with Suretone Entertainment, Kiki introduces herself with claws out on a series of 2024 singles and her forthcoming debut EP.
“I write pop songs in an unconventional way,” she says. “I love the contrast of ‘indie pop’. It’s literally an oxymoron. I’m writing about love and dating, which are very standard topics, but from this dark and unexpected place.”
Growing up in Northern California, Kiki was drawn to art at an early age. Her mother was a painter, so she tried her hand at everything from dance to photography until she signed up for singing lessons during the third grade. A middle school project unlocked her talents as a songwriter, leading to a placement on Dance Moms for one of her first compositions. Attending Tisch School of the Arts at New York University with a drama major, she continued to pen tunes of her own inspired by the likes of Marina and the Diamonds, Melanie Martinez, No Doubt, Halsey, and Lana Del Rey. Experiencing senior year in the midst of COVID, she opted to “take a prolonged leave” in order to pursue music. She split her time between a babysitting job and production lessons. Following her mother’s passing, she got even more serious about music.
Rather than solely rely on social media, she approached music promotion “the old school way,” immersing herself in nightlife. Beginning as a club promoter and party host, Kiki began to curate her own events, performing live music at them too. She did everything to be heard including “grabbing drunk people’s phones and following myself on Spotify.” Suretone Entertainment founder Jordan Schur listened to a handful of demos in 2023 and signed her the following year. Hitting the studio, she continued to cultivate a signature sound—fusing jazz, hyper-pop, and indie.
“The goal is to create music that is both accessible and entertaining yet original and meaningful,” she elaborates. “It’s very personal too. I always ask myself ‘What am I getting off my chest?’ ‘Why am I writing this song?’”
Her single “Shot in the Dark” explores a situationship through brutally honest, yet sugary lyrics. An off-kilter beat gives way to sparse piano and her dainty delivery, “Your heart is with her, but I’m not bitter. I can stick around play house and fuck you til the winter.”
“I’d hooked up with a guy who had freshly broken up with his girlfriend,” she recalls. “It was a dumb decision, and I was frustrated. You know it’s not going to work, but you give it a shot in the dark anyway. You’re just taking whatever you can get sexually and romantically, because you need somebody there. The guy actually heard it, and he knew it was about him right away!”
Then, there’s “Relevant” a jazzy, electronic commentary on our obsession with social media. She sings, “Give me your views, likes, all your attention babe. I try so hard to win it. I’m not the bad guy, but I’m not benevolent. Maybe I’d kill just to be relevant.”
“I had gotten annoyed trying to film videos for TikTok. I felt that my music would never be valid unless I had a following behind it” she notes. “The song highlights how far someone might go for that kind of attention.”
Kiki’s “adorably dark” presentation nods to influences as disparate as Japanese anime and horror flicks, BDSM, rococo, her late mother’s paintings, witchcraft, and grunge for good measure. “The aesthetic is just as important as the sound,” she adds.
Kiki Kramer might just be the shock to the system that pop needs right now.
“I want some girl to dance to my song in the club and cry over her ex at the same time. My discography isn’t happy, but it isn’t comprised of slow ballads either. There’s beauty in the negative spaces,” she leaves off. “Songwriting allows me to channel that. It’s very healing. I hope it helps you come to terms with your feelings too.”
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