D.Y.K – DID YOU KNOW? 8 FEBRUARY
DRAKE & POPCAAN
- Drake’s full name is Aubrey Drake Graham
- Popcaan’s full name is Andrae Hugh Sutherland
- In 2010, Popcaan released his breakthrough international hit “Clarks” with Kartel, an ode to the popular shoe brand
- Drake founded the record label OVO Sound
- Popcaan is signed to OVO Sound, Mixpak Records, EMPIRE & Warner Records
AYRA STARR
- Although she is professionally known as Ayra Starr, her real name is Oyinkansola Sarah Aderibigbe
- Ayra Starr is a Nigerian singer who was born in Cotonou, Benin
- Arya Starr began a fashion career at the age of 16 before deciding to pursue a career in music properly
- Ayra Starr is signed to Mavin Records
- Ayra Starr’s genres include Afropop, Afrobeats, rhythm and blues, and Nigerian R&B
CHLOE
- Chloe Elizabeth Bailey is better known by her mononymous stage name Chlöe
- Chloe is best known for being one half of the musical duo Chloe x Halle with her sister Halle Bailey
- Together Chloe and Halle have earned five Grammy Award nominations since 2018
- Chloe is signed to Parkwood Entertainment & Columbia Records
- Chloe learned to play the piano by watching Youtube tutorials
LIL UZI VERT
- Symere Bysil Woods is known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert
- Lil Uzi Vert is characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion
- Lil Uzi Vert is signed to Roc Nation; Atlantic; Generation Now
- Lil Uzi Vert grew up on the beats of Marilyn Manson and Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak
- Lil Uzi Vert began rapping and making mixtapes in his hometown of Philadelphia as a teenager
COI LERAY
- Coi Leray Collins is an American rapper and singer
- Coi Leray entered into the music industry by posting her music onto SoundCloud
- Coi Leray released her single “Huddy”, along with her debut mixtape Everythingcoz in 2018
- Coi Leray is signed to Republic Records, Uptown Records
- Coi Leray grew up in New Jersey as the daughter of industry icon, Benzino
MAROON 5
- Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California
- Maroon 5 was founded in 1994 as ‘Kara’s Flowers’
- Maroon 5 currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine, drummer Matt Flynn, keyboardist PJ Morton and multi-instrumentalist and bassist Sam Farrar.
- The band was named ‘Maroon’, before settling on the name ‘Maroon 5’
- Maroon 5’s hit single ‘This Love’ earned them a Grammy for Best Pop Performance on 2004
RIHANNA
- Rihanna’s hit song “Umbrella” was originally written for Britney Spears.
- Rihanna holds multiple Guinness World Records
- Rihanna had a cameo in “Bring It On: All or Nothing.”
- Rihanna signed her first record deal at 16 years old, and Jay-Z played a role in the offer
- Rihanna was the first woman to launch a fashion line for LVMH
ARIANA GRANDE
- Ariana Grande-Butera is an American singer, songwriter, and actress
- Ariana Grande’s four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim
- Ariana Grande joined The Voice in 2021 as a judge
- Ariana Grande is currently filming the upcoming musical movie, Wicked
- Ariana Grande has won over 218 awards as of 2022
TOBE NWIGWE
- Although he is famously known as Tobe Nwigwe, his full name is Tobechukwu Dubem
- Tobe Nwigwe is a rapper, singer and actor
- Tobe Nwigwe co-stars in the Netflix television series titled ‘Mo’
- Tobe Nwigwe received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 65th Grammy Awards
- A career-ending injury crushed his NFL dreams, rapper Tobe Nwigwe dedicated himself to motivating others to find their purpose through performing arts
QUAVO
- Quaovo’s real name is Quavious Keyate Marshall
- Quavo is best known as the co-founder and frontman of hip hop group Migos
- Quavo is the uncle of late fellow Migos member Takeoff, and cousin of Offset
- Quavo is a partial owner of the FCF Glacier Boyz
- Quavo Was Named the Most Influential Rapper of 2014
BLEU
- Jeremy Biddle is known professionally as Yung Bleu and Bleu Vandross
- Bleu is an American rapper and singer
- Bleu is best known for his 2020 single ‘You’re Mines Still’
- Bleu was born on April 4, 1994 in Mobile, Alabama
- Bleu began rapping at the age of 11
KENDRICK LAMAR
- Kendrick Lamar has won the 2023 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album , Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song
- Kendrick Lamar is among the shortest rappers in Hip-Hop, standing at 5 feet 6 inches
- Kendrick Lamar always requests Polo socks on his rider
- Kendrick Lamar and Dr. Dre attended the same high school
- Kendrick Lamar was named of the Temptations’ Eddie Kendricks
TAYLOR SWIFT
- Taylor Swift won a Grammy for Best Music Video for “All Too Well: The Short Film” at the 65th Grammy Awards
- Taylor Swift was a competitive horseback rider till the age of 12
- Taylor Swift wrote a novel when she was 14, titled, A Girl Named Girl. The story is about a family who wanted a son but had a daughter
- Taylor Swift learned to play music on a 12-string guitar versus a typical six-string.
- Shania Twain and The Chicks were two of Taylor Swift’s inspirations for starting in country music
AKA
- Kiernan Jarryd Forbes is better known by his stage name AKA
- AKA is a South African rap mogul
- AKA was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa
- Besides rapping, AKA is a songwriter, music producer, and a brilliant entrepreneur
- While in high school, AKA formed a group called Entity alongside his two friends Vice Versa and Greyhound
BRENT FAIYAZ
- Although popularly known as Brent Faiyaz, his full name is Christopher Brent Wood
- Brent Faiyaz rose to prominence after he was featured on the GoldLink single “Crew” alongside Shy Glizzy in 2016
- Brent Faiyaz’s musical genre is defined as contemporary R&B, R&B/Soul
- Brent Faiyaz cites Drake and Alicia Keys as his musical inspirations
- Brent Faiyaz is part of the group called ‘Sonder’
LIBIANCA
- Libianca is an Cameroonian-American Singer, Songwriter and Performer
- Libianca was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and moved to Bamenda, Cameroon at the age of 4 years old
- Libianca’s full name is Libianca Kenzonkinboum Fonji
- Libianca is best known for participating in singing reality show The Voice Season 21
- Libianca’s childhood was filled with gospel, R&B, afrobeats and makossa (the amalgamation of all these genres combined)
