Zhalarina, who plays Kress Collective in Ybor City, Florida on March 30, 2024. Credit: Photo via zhalarina.com

In our 2022 list of Tampa Bay area rappers to watch, Zhalarina was lauded for her origins in the slam poetry scene and accolades earned at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s First Wave, a theater program that integrates hip-hop.

She even won an Emmy in the Chicago/Midwest region for PBS Wisconsin’s “The Light,” an autobiographical story told through three music videos which Zhalarina wrote, acted in, and produced.

Zhalarina, who caught NPR’s attention in 2021 for her Tiny Desk entry “”Lala,” is back in Ybor City for a hometown show that promises to follow “the treacherous journey from perfectionism to the freedom of vulnerability, and being surprised by joy along the way.”

Tickets for The Perfect Show with Zhalarina on Saturday, March 30 at Kress Collective in Ybor City are still available for $25.