Junos 365 session: Kaia Kater covers 'Crabbuckit'

As part of our coverage of the 2019 Juno Awards, we're inviting some of today's hottest Canadian acts to cover a past winner in the single of the year category.

For her Junos 365 session, Kaia Kater chose ​"Crabbuckit" from k-os's 2004 album, Joyful Rebellion. "When I received the list of songs that I could choose from, 'Crabbuckit' just kind of had me right away," she says. The song won single of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards.

"'Crabbuckit' came out when I was 11, and it was in that era of Outkast's 'Hey Ya' and this joyful music that had roots in hip-hop and soul, and it really spoke to me," she remembers.

"When Joyful Rebellion came out, everyone was playing it," she continues. "And it was really cool because it was this artist that a lot of us had pride in because he's Canadian, and so much of that record is just jams. It's just jam after jam after jam. I had this little CD jacket that I took to school and Joyful Rebellion was in it. And I had this little Discman, and I would put it in and listen to and from school. It was a spiritual thing, it was a physical thing that I had with me and that album just had a deep impact on me."

Kater says she was a little nervous about covering "Crabbuckit."

"Not only because I have a lot of respect for k-os as an artist and a lot of respect for that album, but because, you know, in my regular life and career I'm a banjo player, and I play acoustic guitar, and I've really been influenced by a lot of Appalachian music, a lot of folk music. But equally, a lot of hip-hop and rap. And so I wanted to pay homage to k-os and keep the dignity and the intention of the song, while also kind of making it mine."

To do so, Kater "quieted things down" and invited her friend Lydia Persaud to sing with her. "She's someone who I also feel can blend from folk to R&B to other genres really well. The cool thing about doing this song and this project is that it forced me out of my comfort zone in one way, but it also helped me grow a whole new set of skills in and around making digital music."

Enjoy Kater's cover of "Crabbuckit," above, and check out our recent Junos 365 sessions below:

Junos 365 session: Jess Moskaluke covers Shawn Mendes
Junos 365 session: Charlotte Cardin covers 'How You Remind Me'
Junos 365 session: Midnight Shine covers 'Bobcaygeon'
Junos 365 session: Serena Ryder covers 'Eyes of a Stranger'

Wherever you are on March 17, you can watch the Juno Awards live from Budweiser Gardens in London, Ont., at cbcmusic.ca/junos.