Today we’d like to introduce you to Kira Bravo.
Hi Kira, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Kira (ky-ruh). I am born and raised in Southern California and LA has always been a big part of my upbringing. I have always had a love for singing and dancing since I was small. My mom has a bunch of pictures of me always dressing up and videos of me just singing and twirling around. I am a February Aquarius and I think it describes me perfectly: creative, artistic, and always having to stand out. I was very quiet in school but at home and with friends, I felt more comfortable to be myself. I struggled in school with being bullied and I did everything I could to fit in. I was always really embarrassed of my Filipino heritage but more recently, I have come to embrace and appreciate it a lot more.
I always had tons of notebooks when I was little that I would scribble in and write poems that I would never share with anyone. I eventually signed up for band as soon as I could in the 5th grade instead of doing PE. I spent all my free time just learning how to play the flute until I finished the whole lesson book by myself before we even got to the third lesson. I eventually did choir in middle school and it was not a pleasant time because of the teacher so I eventually went back to my first love of band.
By the time I got into high school, priorities had changed to just doing honors and AP classes, even though I had no idea what I was going to do in college. I would sing at home with the guitar my dad got me when I was 12 and eventually, I would do choir in my last two years. The bullying didn’t stop and I always felt like an outcast. My “Friends” would talk behind my back and I always felt excluded from everyone. I still didn’t fit in. I would get bullied for how I dressed and that I would sing and try out for all of the school’s auditions and talent shows.
During my lunches at least once a week I would sing to the special education students because I felt like they were also misunderstood. They will always have a special place in my heart because there was nothing that was more exciting for me than to play my ukulele and sing for them. They just had pure joy and loved to clap and dance along. It also gave their teachers a little break and they enjoyed it too. That was a big moment for me because that’s what I love about music is that anyone can connect to it and understand it.
I would carry my ukulele with me to school and just play songs and go to the choir room to practice chords. A group of girls that were always picking on me would eventually do something that really traumatized me. One of the girls from this group would grab my ukulele from me and cut my strings. It was really hurtful most of all because I was practicing to sing to my friends at the special education classroom the next day but I couldn’t until I could get new strings.
This amount of cruelty and hate made me crawl in my shell and the only time I wouldn’t be was when I was auditioning for parts in choir or small talent shows.
I was really looking forward to the future of college and university and I knew that I wanted to major in Music. I went to Cal Poly Pomona and it was the worst experience of my life. To put it short and bluntly I went through a series of events that would change my life forever. I would go through the same isolation from my peers and now even my professors would constantly put me down and tell me I would never make it in the music industry and told me I couldn’t sing.
I would eventually have a boyfriend who would sexually assault me and the school protected him. Due to this happening and wanting to feel safe, I took a one-way ticket to New York City to stay with my best friend Jasper. I told only my closest friends where I was going and my school would file a missing persons report due to my parents.
I thought my life was over. It felt over and I never felt the amount of grief that I did during those moments I paced the Brooklyn bridge with my Jasper and my friend Summer contemplating whether or not I should return back to LA.
The events after this were horrific. It was supposed to be my senior year of University and I was living in fear. I didn’t walk at commencement and the school didn’t excuse or accommodate me in any way but made sure to do it for him. I then made a tik tok and it went viral it almost has 1 million views as of right now and the school was forced to acknowledge it in which they gave some PR control manufactured email. The president was said to be money laundering along with other crimes.
I couldn’t wait to get out of the school and start over and. I had my sights set on art school at Otis College of Design. Despite these events, I still put out music and released my EP luv is dumb in April of 2022 and would throw my first-ever event for my EP release show/party in the Arts District of LA. It was a great event and I just became even more addicted to performing and recording music.
I would of course eventually leave Cal Poly and tried to focus on my new life and my new look at life while dealing with the trauma and heartache of the SA.
I would over-exert myself and do four internships at a time and just have too much on my plate and neglected my mental health and trauma. This led me to a full breakdown and I had to be 51 50-ed twice within one week. I was diagnosed with BPD and Bipolar and had to come back home from living in LA and going to art school.
This has forced me to really reflect and I am slowly getting back on my feet while starting to be a music promoter and gaining some traction on tik tok.
A lot of people on tik tok were very critical of my covers primarily my Melanie Martinez Covers, but at the same time, I found people who appreciate my voice. I am throwing shows, playing shows, doing LA fashion week as a model and DJ. And life has been difficult but great and I do everything I can to uplift small artists and spread awareness about mental illness and health.
I have worked extremely hard despite a lot of odds against me and the majority of people telling me I would never amount to anything.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been anything but smooth. I had a lot of my peers and professors put me down for my love of music and of course, my biggest enemy is myself. I am my biggest critic and I am often very hard on myself. But that is why therapy is so necessary and essential to keep myself and mind in check.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I consider myself a music artist, stylist, and content creator. I am primarily known for my Melanie Martinez covers on Tik tok and that I’m “tone deaf”. I am most proud of being able to continue to persevere through all the hate because I know at the end of the day, I get to do what I love and create. What sets me apart from others is that I am not afraid to be myself.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I am actually a really shy person but due to my field, I am forced to be very extroverted.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://msha.ke/angelbbkira
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelbbkira/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzXbFkK8u-DQ7kegTgaeX-Q
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/track/148FW3nau35tLchLvcXpr5?si=5e54efd0754940da
