Kat Dahlia uses her voice as a weapon. It's a voice that cuts sharp and deep, straight to the chambers of the heart. Like the beautiful variations of the flower genus her name represents, the Miami-born rapper-singer-songwriter is complex, intoxicating and unforgettable.

The spirited 22-year-old was raised by Cuban-born parents in Miami Beach. Though fluent in English and Spanish, her French surname, Huguet, is owed to her paternal great-grandparents who came to Cuba from Lebanon. Kat's parents emigrated to the U.S. as children and their island culture carried over into the language and salsa music that was fundamental to her upbringing, as Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Willies wafted through the air in her abuela's kitchen. Kat performed her first solo, "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie, at a benefit when she was 8-years-old. "I always knew I wanted to do music. I just didn't know how I was going to get there." At 15, she started writing her own songs. "I would rip instrumentals from YouTube to make songs because I didn't have a producer or a band."

Kat's electrifying sound is a sultry mix of Nelly Furtado meets Rihanna with touches of Latin, hip-hop and reggae influences sprinkled throughout her infectious pop songs, and she deftly alternates between spitting pure, infectious lyrical fire in club-bangers like "Fuego" and "Fire Man" and poetically pondering heartbreak and relationships in standouts such as "My Garden" and "Walk On Water." "I feel like a messenger," she explains. "I want send a positive message of love and put out good music that constantly challenges me as an artist." Beware: Kat Dahlia has arrived, she's armed and she's dangerous.

"GANGSTA" Available on / Disponible en iTunes