K. Flay image from The Mercury News from 2018 article

Mainly, I hope to inspire honesty. We live in a space where so much can be manipulated, and so much is expected to be manipulated – curated, contrived, edited. I think that’s a real detriment to self expression and happiness in a lot of ways. In my mind, honesty and vulnerability is the way forward.
K.Flay

I first came across K.Flay after listening to a Tom Morello podcast where he mentioned he and she had a new song out. I went to YouTube and was totally smitten by “The Lucky One.” That made me want to know more about who K.Flay was.

Kristine Meredith Flaherty (b. 6/30/85,) better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper.

Early Life:

K.Flay was born in Wilmette, Illinois. She attended New Trier High School. Her parents divorced when she was seven years old and her mother soon remarried, bringing in a stepbrother and a stepsister, with her stepfather later adopting her. When she was 14 years old, her stepfather, Thomas, died of undisclosed causes related to his alcoholism; many of her songs include references to him. She has described herself as a tomboy during childhood, preferring baggier clothing and rejecting “all things girly.” In 2003, she enrolled at Stanford University, pursuing a double major in psychology and sociology. She has said that many people she met at Stanford influenced her musical style.

Musical Beginnings:

K.Flay began her music career in 2003, believing that most hip hop hits on the radio were “simplistic, misogynistic and formulaic.” After bragging to a friend that she could write similar songs, she wrote “Blingity Blang Blang,” which she described as a “low budget rap parody that contained far too many obscenities.” After writing and performing the song, Flaherty realized that she enjoyed writing and recording music. She continued to experiment with music by writing songs and performing and recording them on her computer. She released a mixtape called Suburban Rap Queen in 2005, which she produced on her laptop, and began performing. She then independently released the now-unavailable mixtapes [appetite whetting 2.0] and MASHed Potatoes, as well as the EP Single and Famous with MC Lars.

In 2010, K.Flay released her self-titled extended play. A year later, she self-released the mixtape I Stopped Caring in ’96, which she later remarked was a turning point for her career. K.Flay signed with RCA Records in 2012, releasing two more EPs, Eyes Shut in 2012, with songs produced by Liam Howlett from the British band the Prodigy, and What If It Is in 2013. She parted ways with RCA Records in 2013 because of differences of opinion. Upon leaving RCA Records, she left behind more than 60 songs she had written while signed, but no longer owned the rights to. K.Flay has described her time with RCA Records as similar to “an ill-advised marriage.” Her mixtape West Ghost was released in the same year; this release, along with much of her previous independent material, was available for free download on her official website.

Discography:
Studio albums: 5
EPs: 7
Collaborative releases: 2
Singles: 28
As featured artist: 16
Guest appearances: 18

Filmography:
Music videos: 27

Some things to share:

K.Flay resides in Los Angeles. She has hinted at being bisexual in her lyrics and interviews, and was in a relationship with fellow musician Miya Folick from 2018 to 2021.

In September 2022, Flaherty revealed that she had recently experienced sudden sensorineural hearing loss and labyrinthitis, causing her to undergo multiple forms of hearing therapy. In October, she revealed that the treatment had been unsuccessful and that she had gone completely deaf in her right ear. After she began releasing music again later that year, she admitted that she was initially concerned about her ability to keep making music while being totally deaf in one ear, but was adapting to the condition. The first song on K.Flay’s Spotify playlist is from her newest album, “Mono,” released in September 2023, is “Are You Serious,” and after learning about her hearing loss I’m sure the title of the album and this song is about just that.

Grammy Awards online magazine does an interview with K.Flay here. In it she talks about how she and Tommy Morello came to make a song together.

Official website: here

I hit the jackpot at Spotify after checking out K.Flay’s website. She has a playlist of all of her music, called, “The K.Flay Complete Collection.”

Here’s the song that put her on my radar:

Sources: wikipedia, Grammy Awards Online, Spotify, YouTube