Kiya Juliet

Hailing from Columbia, South Carolina, Kiya Juliet works in a pop-infused strain of contemporary R&B and first drew notice by posting clips of her cover performances online. She issued her initial recording in 2017, the self-released single “How Could You Play Me.” That concise, level-headed yet pointed track took its cue from Famous Dex’ “Broke My Back for You” and extended the pattern set by earlier hits such as Trillville’s “Some Cut” and Wale’s “Bad,” each of which made use of the squeaky-bed-springs effect. An official video for the short cut appeared on WorldStarHipHop in early 2018. A few months afterward, Juliet delivered a second ballad titled “Explanations.”