Puma June, an “emerging Canadian artist you need to hear” (Exclaim!), is a Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, and producer. With an eclectic array of influences from Stevie Wonder to Billie Eilish and everything in between, her music is a unique blend of pop, funk, hip-hop, and R&B – a genre-bending sound that is both nostalgic and distinctive to the listener. With a clear political point of view, Puma June’s feminist-laced songwriting pushes unfiltered honesty and centers around regaining power in one’s life, with a particular focus on women’s/gender issues, familial trauma, and the battle of self-doubt as an artist.
She entered 2024 as a Round 11 recipient of the RBCxMusic x The Prism Prize MVP Project Grant, which she used to make a music video for her single “My Body, My Problem,” released earlier this summer. Puma June has lots on the horizon for 2024, including being selected for SOCAN Foundation’s EquityXProduction Level II program, an initiative designed to help develop skills for women in music production, as well as one of RBCxMusic’s ‘First Up’ Artists for 2024, a prestigious artist development program and workshop series, powered by MusiCounts.
Latest single, “Bad Habits,” is an unapologetic jazz and hip hop infused pop track off her upcoming debut EP A Woman That They Want. The song’s themes explore the idea of bad habits being the internal battles like self-hatred and shedding trauma, rather than solely the traditional idea of bad habits.
Stream “Bad Habits” here : https://tr.ee/CEHSNZHlu5
The way we talk to ourselves – create this victim complex and define ourselves by our past – is the space we create for ourselves. Then we allow people into our lives that confirm that low self-worth. It’s about shedding that bullshit, changing your mindset, and freeing yourself from places/people that make you feel like you have to dim who you are. – Puma June