Vante Guapo
editVante Guapo | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jovanté Webster Etienne |
| Also known as | Don Guapo |
| Born | October, 10 1998 (age 23) Toronto, Ontario |
| Genres | Hip-hop · Pop · R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, videographer, record producer |
| Years active | 2019– |
Jovanté Webster Etienne (born October 10,1998), known professionally as Vante Guapo, is a Canadian rapper, record producer and videographer, from Toronto, Ontario. He began his music career in Bridgeport, Connecticut and received initial recognition from the WeLoveHipHopToronto podcast for his single, "Beat Up The Pot", produced by Xtravulous, in February 2019.
In 2019, he formed a production company, Wardawk, with Hartford, Connecticut based videographer, 86obi, and began operations in Miami, Florida. In 2021, Wardawk, gained industry notoriety for filming the music video, "Touch the Sky", with rapper, Smokepurpp.
Early Life
editJovanté Etienne was born on October 10, 1998 in Toronto, Ontario. He grew up in a Caribbean influenced household with his immigrant parents, respectively from Saint Lucia and Guyana. Vante Guapo grew up in the neighbourhood of Malvern in Scarborough, Ontario before moving to Manchester, England at 16 years old to pursue his athletics career in soccer, signing for the, Bolton Wanderers Football Club Academy. During his spell in England, the team experienced substantial financial struggles, management concerns and Etienne decided to return home while the club in later years filed for bankruptcy.
After returning from England, Etienne pursued his athletic career by attending the University of Hartford, men's soccer team on full Division I athletic scholarship in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. During his tenure in university, Etienne wrote songs and recorded music in his spare time away from athletics and academics. In February 2019, Etienne released his single, "Beat Up The Pot", under the alias, "Vante Guapo", which quickly amassed a fan base among the students on campus and the surrounding neighbourhoods in Hartford, Connecticut. In May 2021, Etienne graduated university and decided to pursue his music career further with Wardawk in Miami, Florida.
Career
editAt the age of 21, eager to build more industry experience, a university friend, 86obi, introduced Vante Guapo to videography in the music business. The two spent time collaborating, shooting music videos and recording music together, which led to the creation of their production company, Wardawk. In 2020, the company went on to shoot visuals for several, Billboard charting artist including, Ace Hood, Smokepurpp and Lil Pump during the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2021, Guapo used his business marketing degree from university and became the CMO at Wardawk responsible for planning, implementing and managing marketing strategies in the cities of Toronto, Miami and New York.