Naya Ali

Naya Ali is an Ethiopian Canadian rapper based in Montreal, Quebec. She released the first half of her debut album, Godspeed: Baptism (Prelude), in 2020.[1]

Early life and career

Ali was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Canada as a preschooler, growing up in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.[2] She originally started writing poetry and rapping as a teenager, however she had stopped by her early 20's.[3] She attended both McGill and Concordia universities, studied public relations and held a job in marketing, before leaving to pursue a music career.[4][3][5] She released the single "Ra Ra" in 2017 and her debut EP Higher Self in 2018.[6][7] She released her debut album Godspeed: Baptism (Prelude) in 2020, through Coyote Records.[8][9] The second half of the album is due in spring 2021.[10] In 2021, she was one of five artists to receive a prize at the Black Canadian Music Awards, presented by the SOCAN Foundation.[1] She was also named one of the 25 Canadian Artists to Watch Out For in 2021, by Complex.[11]

In January 2021, she was named one of the winners of SOCAN's inaugural Black Canadian Music Awards alongside Dylan Sinclair, Tobi, RAAHiiM and Hunnah.[12]

In 2023, she participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder's single "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.[13]

References

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