The rise of music sensation Miss Kaninna has, in barely three years, already taken her from lutruwita/Tasmania to sold-out shows and festival stages across Australia, Europe and the UK.

The proud Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon and Yirendali Aboriginal sovereign woman was raised in lutruwita and is now based in Naarm (Melbourne), where she has built a career around music that does not separate identity from expression.

Before releasing music, Miss Kaninna was posting covers, performing around Tasmania and appearing on festival bills, before her 2023 debut single 'Blak Britney' established the voice and attitude that would shape what followed.

Independence has remained central to that approach.

"Being an independent artist means that I don't have anybody above me to tell me what I can and can't," Miss Kaninna said.

"But for me, I will release anything that I feel like it.

"F**k it, I'm just going to say what I feel."

That attitude now sits at the centre of 'BLACKPRINT', her six-track debut mixtape released in August through Soul Has No Tempo and AWAL Recordings.

Built largely from freestyles, the project moves through old-school hip-hop, funk, soul, R&B, rock, punk and club music, with appearances from Kobie Dee and Jamahl Yami.

'MOB TIES' and 'HANDOUT' carry its hip-hop foundation, while 'STOLEN WAGES' and the title track push further into rock and punk.

Miss Kaninna has described the project as both personal and collective.

"'BLACKPRINT' has been on my mind for a long time; it feels like a blueprint for my life," Miss Kaninna said.

"I feel Aboriginal people are the blueprint and have been robbed of that, that is the reality of my existence.

"Over time 'BLACKPRINT' became a vehicle to express anger and frustration."

The mixtape adds to a run that includes six ARIA Award nominations, two AIR Award wins, a J Award nomination for Live Act of the Year and a 2026 National Indigenous Music Awards nomination for Artist of the Year.

She has also appeared on billboards in Times Square and been named an Amazon Global Artist To Watch.

Her live show has become just as important to that rise.

At The Brightside in Magandjin (Brisbane) earlier this month, Miss Kaninna played what was then the biggest show of the BLACKPRINT tour, moving between rapping, singing and high-energy performance while keeping control of the room.

Between songs, she spoke about the stories behind the music and what it means to move through the industry as a proud Black woman in Australia.

The response to the new era has been clear from the stage.

"I think people are really f**king with this kind of sound," Miss Kaninna said.

"And I mean, I'm enjoying the music, and I enjoy playing it live.

"The shows so far have been really energetic and people are really down for the theme and this new era."

Her audience has also taken her overseas, including touring with Kneecap and appearances at Féile an Phobail in Belfast, Sziget Festival and Boomtown in the UK, as well as a previous performance before more than 80,000 people at Scotland's OVO Hydro.

Miss Kaninna has said those experiences gave her confidence to take more risks and move away from making music she considers more palatable.

For an artist still early in her recording career, the scale of that growth is significant, but the through-line remains the same: Miss Kaninna knows who she wants to be.

She has also spoken about resisting pressure to change as her profile grows.

"I want to be the artist that I made up for myself when I was a little girl in the mirror of the bathroom. I want to be that person and nobody is going to f**king stop me from being that."