Qiana Martin

Qiana Martin is a New York-based vocalist, spoken-word artist, composer, and storyteller whose work explores the intersection of soccer culture, American musical traditions, and community storytelling.

Raised in South Carolina, Martin's musical foundation was shaped by the church, family, and the rich traditions of the American South. A classically trained pianist from childhood, she served as a pianist for her grandfather's church congregations, often playing alongside her mother on organ. Her mother was also a member of the historic Boggs Academy A Cappella Choir, one of the nation's prominent African American educational institutions. This influence exposed Martin early to the power of communal singing, call-and-response, oral tradition, and music as a vehicle for connection and shared experience.

Drawing inspiration from field hollers, work-song cadence, spirituals, blues, jazz, chant, spoken word, and storytelling traditions, Martin creates original works that examine the emotional landscape of the world's most popular sport—hope, resilience, anticipation, belonging, triumph, heartbreak, and collective identity. Her compositions blend spoken word, rhythm, song, and audience participation into experiences designed to be shared rather than simply consumed.

A lifelong soccer advocate and creator, Martin is the founder of Eat Soccer, a platform dedicated to helping people experience the game through art, music, education, and culture. Her creative work has included collaborations and campaigns for brands such as Kellogg’s, PayPal, Pizza Hut, and Bic and she has spoken publicly about soccer's ability to connect communities across cultures, generations, and backgrounds.

In 2026, Martin released selections from Soccer Watch Night, an original audio collection of soccer-inspired stories, chants, spoken-word pieces, and songs created in celebration of FIFA World Cup 2026 and America's 250th anniversary. The project explores how traditions rooted in American sound (from spirituals and communal singing to jazz, blues, spoken word, and call-and-response) can help shape a distinctly American voice within global soccer culture.

Through performance, recording, and storytelling, Martin continues to explore how music, memory, language, rhythm, and sport can bring people together around shared experiences and common dreams.

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