Haviah Mighty (born December 17, 1992) is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario.[1][2] She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize.[3] After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know"[4] and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".[5]
Haviah Mighty | |
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![]() Mighty performing in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Born | Toronto, Canada | December 17, 1992
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instrument | Vocals |
Formerly of | The Sorority |
Website | haviahmighty |
In 2021, she released the mixtape Stock Exchange, which later won the 2022 Juno Award for Rap Album/EP of the Year.[6]
Early life
editMighty was born in Toronto and took music lessons in Scarborough beginning at the age of four, before moving to Brampton.[7] Her fifth record is named Flower City in homage to the city's nickname.[2]
Music career
editMighty began producing music at the age of fifteen. At seventeen, she independently released her first mixtape, No Studio, in 2010. She then went on to issue three projects, entitled #EIGHTEEN, Dominant 7eventh, and Bass Loud.[8][9] She won 'So You Think You Can Rap Canada', a national talent competition, and also got the opportunity to perform at CNE's Rising Star Talent in 2016.[10] She released a cypher for International Women's Day in 2017 together with three other Toronto-area female rappers. The four later formed the group The Sorority together.[11][12]
Flower City (2017–2018)
editIn 2017, Mighty released her fifth EP, titled Flower City, garnering media attention and critical acclaim.[13] The album was named one of Complex's favourite Canadian releases of 2017.[14] A song from the EP, "Pull Up" , was named one of the best Toronto tracks of the first half of 2017 by Now Magazine.[15] On September 7, 2018, her single "Vamonos" was featured on the third season of HBO's Insecure.[16] Mighty was announced as a member of the Juno Award Masterclass program for 2018/19.[17][18] In addition, The Sorority released their debut album, Pledge, in 2018 and toured throughout the year. In 2019, Mighty and Book's song "Champion" was featured in EA's NHL 20.
13th Floor, Stock Exchange (2019–2021)
editOn March 23, 2019, Mighty announced her debut studio album, 13th Floor, via social media, and stated that the album would arrive in 2019. 13th Floor became one of the most anticipated Canadian albums of 2019, according to both CBC Music and Exclaim!.[19][20] The lead single, "In Women Colour", was released to positive reviews and was deemed an anthem by Complex magazine.[21] The record was released on May 10, 2019, to positive reviews.[22][23][24] In July 2019, 13th Floor was shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize,[25] which Mighty won on September 16.[26]
The album title is a reference to the thirteenth floor phenomenon, where the thirteenth floor of a building is omitted, due to the number 13 being seen as unlucky.[27] Mighty contends it is "something that we remove from our reality because it is something that we don't understand and therefore we dismiss it", and uses the album to deal with subject matter that she believes many choose to ignore.[27] Mighty has also pointed to the lack of discussion surrounding the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, compared to the second or first amendments.[27]
In 2020, Mighty was featured on Tobi's "24 (Toronto Remix)" and its corresponding music video, along with Shad, Jazz Cartier, and Ejji Smith.[28] Her song "Thirteen" was shortlisted for the 2020 SOCAN Songwriting Prize.[29] She also released a single, "Occasion", in December 2020.[30] The music video for her song "Thirteen", directed by Theo Kapodistrias, won the 2021 Prism Prize.[31]
Mighty performed at the 2021 FreeUp! The Emancipation Day Special.[32]
On November 12, 2021, Mighty released the mixtape Stock Exchange.[33]
In 2022, Mighty toured with Arkells as the supporting act for their Blink Once tour.[34]
In 2023, she participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's song "What I Wouldn't Do", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.[35]
Discography
editwith the Sorority
edit- Pledge (2018)
Solo
editStudio albums
- 13th Floor (2019)
- Crying Crystals (2023)
EPs
- #Eighteen (2011)
- Dominant 7eventh (2013)
- Flower City (2017)
Mixtapes
- No Studio (2010)
- Bass Loud (2015)
- Stock Exchange (2021)
Singles
- "Vamonos" (2018)
- "In Women Colour" (2019)
- "Champion" with Book (2019)
- "Atlantic" (2020)
- "Occasion" (2020)
- "Antisocial" feat. Old Man Saxon (2021)
- "Obeah" (2021)
- "Way Too Fast" feat. Jalen Santoy (2021)
- "Protest" feat. Yizzy (2021)
Awards and nominations
editYear | Award | Category | Nominee/Work | Result | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Polaris Music Prize | Winner | 13th Floor | Won[36] | |
2022 | Juno Awards | Rap Album of the Year | Stock Exchange | Won[37] |
References
edit- ^ Gamrot, Sabrina. "Brampton's Haviah Mighty wins grant to create music video for "Protest" single". The Star. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ a b ""I Feel the Formula Is Not Me:" An Interview with Haviah Mighty". Passion of the Weiss. September 16, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ^ David Friend, "NewsAlert: Haviah Mighty wins Polaris prize for '13th Floor'"[permanent dead link]. Times Colonist, September 16, 2019.
- ^ X. X. L. Staff. "The New New: 15 Toronto Rappers You Should Know – XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Meet the new faces of Canadian hip hop". CBC Music.
- ^ "Here are all the 2022 Juno Award winners". CBC Music. May 14, 2022.
- ^ Simonpillai, Radheyan (May 2, 2019). "Hip-hop is built for a voice like Haviah Mighty". NOW Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty's '13th Floor' Wants To Redefine Women's Role In Hip-Hop". UPROXX. April 8, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Panjwani, Radhika (July 5, 2017). "Brampton artist Haviah has a 'mighty' strong hip-hop IQ". BramptonGuardian.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Panjwani, Radhika (July 26, 2016). "Brampton artists to perform at CNE's Rising Star Talent". BramptonGuardian.com. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "The Sorority, A Rare Four-MC Hip-hop Group, Introduce Themselves on 'Pledge'". exclaim.ca. April 25, 2018. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ "This all-female rap group is promoting solidarity through hip-hop". cbc.ca. March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty captivates the crowd twice at Riverfest". The Ontarion. August 27, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ "Our Favourite Canadian Music Releases of 2017". Complex. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ Rancic, Michael (July 26, 2017). "The best Toronto songs of 2017 so far". NOW Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "All of the Music Played During 'Insecure' Season 3". Complex. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Winners announced for fourth annual Allan Slaight JUNO Master Class". The JUNO Awards. September 20, 2018. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- ^ "PUP, K. Flay, Haviah Mighty, and more tabbed for 'NHL 20' video game soundtrack | Indie88". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ "Here Are Exclaim!'s 22 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2019". exclaim.ca. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Spring 2019 preview: 15 albums you need to hear". CBC Music.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty Just Dropped an International Women's Day Anthem, "In Women Colour"". Complex. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty: 13th Floor". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty: 13th Floor". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ Simonpillai, Radheyan (May 2, 2019). "Hip-hop is built for a voice like Haviah Mighty". NOW Magazine. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
- ^ "Dominique Fils-Aimé, Les Louanges et Elisapie nommés sur la courte liste du prix Polaris". Voir, July 16, 2019.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty Has Won The 2019 Polaris Music Prize For The Album 13th Floor". Polaris Music Prize. September 17, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c "'It is time': Haviah Mighty becomes first full-on hip-hop artist to win Polaris Music Prize". Retrieved May 19, 2020.
- ^ Gordon, Holly (May 15, 2020). "How TOBi made 'history for the culture' with his star-studded video for '24 (Toronto Remix)'". CBC Music.
- ^ Allie Gregory, "SOCAN Announces 2020 Songwriting Prize Finalists". Exclaim!, July 16, 2020.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty Shares New Single "Occasion"". exclaim.ca. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty's Thirteen wins 2021 Prism Prize for top Canadian music video". CBC News, July 26, 2021.
- ^ "FreeUp!: This Sunday, join artists across Canada to celebrate Emancipation Day 2021". CBC Arts, July 27, 2021.
- ^ "Toronto's Haviah Mighty Releases 'Stock Exchange', a Mixtape of Songs Released Separately Phroughout the pandemic". thestar.com. November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
- ^ Friend, David (October 4, 2021). "Arkells lock in 2022 Canadian tour with Haviah Mighty, plan shows in U.S. and Europe". CTV News. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ Brent Furdyk, "Feel Out Loud: Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder & More Canadian Artists Collaborate on New Single Promoting Youth Mental Health Initiative". Entertainment Tonight Canada, March 2, 2023.
- ^ "Polaris Music Prize Reveals 2019 Winner, Haviah Mighty". CBC, September 16, 2019.
- ^ "Haviah Mighty becomes first woman to win a rap album/ep of the year | Juno Awards 2022". CBC, May 15, 2022.