Born Karly-Marina Loaiza, Kali Uchis experienced the majority of her upbringing in Virginia and also spent time in her parents' native Colombia. As a teenager growing up in Alexandria, just south of Washington, D.C., she learned to play piano and saxophone and also developed a deep interest in visual arts. Her recorded debut was made in 2012 with the self-released mixtape Drunken Babble. Within three years, she had several singles to her credit, including "Know What I Want" and "Lottery," typically promoted with videos she directed, as well as collaborations with Snoop Dogg, GoldLink, Tyler, The Creator, and Major Lazer. Following the 2015 independent release of Por Vida, a free digital-download EP with tracks produced by Diplo, Kaytranada, and Tyler, Uchis started releasing her material through major-label Virgin EMI.
To some, she is known as "The Madonna Of South America."
