As the nation celebrates Canada Day, Polaris Music Prize-winning Hip-Hop artist, Haviah Mighty, shares her powerful video for Thirteen,standing in solidarity with Black, Indigenous and marginalized communities worldwide. Thirteen, a song about the painful journey of Black people in North America, is from her breakthrough, 2019 Polaris Music Prize-Winning album, 13th Floor. Referencing the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery, the lyrics and accompanying illustrated video by Toronto artist, Theo Kapodistrias, expose the roots of systemic racism.
On the message behind Thirteen, Haviah says: “I am a first-generation Canadian, born and raised. My father was born in Jamaica, and my mother is Bajan, born in England. I have locks, dark, beautiful skin, and a full nose and lips. As a Canadian, I’ve been told countless times that I don’t know what racism is, that I’ve never experienced racism, and that racism doesn’t exist in Canada. Because of our reputation as a safe haven, Canadians can be quick to separate themselves from Americans when issues of bigotry arise. Racism is alive and well in Canada, it is simply more covert. The 13th Amendment may be specific to the US Constitution, but it is not specific to US ideologies. Racism is worldwide. The perception of Black people has been destroyed globally.
Thirteen speaks factually and candidly, to the painful journey of Black people in North America. And it speaks to how that journey has morphed into continued racial prejudice, using the media and using the law. To get rid of white supremacy is to identify it at its root. I hope when people watch Thirteen, they feel moved to do their part in reversing white supremacy. I hope we can begin to see one another as equal – a dream I’ve always hoped could one day be a reality. And I hope people realize that it’s going to take WORK! Who is willing to work, to make change?”
Read Haviah’s full statement on Thirteen here.
Based in Toronto, Haviah will rock two shows today, including City of Toronto’s Canada Day 2020 – watch between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET here, and CBC Canada Day Together – watch between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET on CBC TV and SRC TV networks, and stream live via CBC and Canadian Heritage’s online platforms. You can find all details here. On August 1, Haviah will head to Gatineau, Quebec to perform at RBC Bluesfest Drive-In, followed by a return to the US in October for shows in Minneapolis and Chicago alongside Old Man Saxon. In June 2021, Haviah will support Arkells at Tim Horton’s Field in Hamilton, Ontario. See below for all details.
Haviah started a new decade off with US headline shows, a major freestyle on 5 Fingers Of Death on SWAY in the Morning, with Sway Calloway praising her throughout, and plans to rock international festival stages (including SXSW, Osheaga, Ottawa Blues, FOCUS Wales and more) before the pandemic postponed events.
Last year, Haviah became the first Hip-Hop artist as well as the first Black woman to win the Polaris Music Prize for her 2019 album, 13th Floor. The project highlights Haviah’s relentless work ethic and vast sonic influences; ranging from classic Rap/Hip-Hop elements to Caribbean rhythms, frenetic electro and diverse instrumentation, while tackling marginalization and racism head-on as Haviah proclaims self-love as a Black woman. Haviah’s music has won fans at CBC Music, CBC’s q and The Strombo Show, EARMILK, eTalk, CTV, ELLE Canada, FLARE, DJ Booth, The Toronto Star, Exclaim!, NOW Magazine, The Canadian Press, Pitchfork, Complex, XXL, Fader, NPR Music,among others, and she is eagerly awaiting the moment she can get back on the stage to perform.
About Haviah Mighty
Haviah Mighty didn’t need to change her birth name when she decided to dedicate her career to music. In fact, Mighty couldn’t be more accurate a word to describe the artist, named one of XXL’s 15 Toronto Rappers You Should Know in 2019.
Raised in a musical household in Brampton, Ontario, Mighty started singing at the age of 4, rapping at 11, and producing at 15.
Well-known for being one of the three MCs who make up The Sorority — a hip-hop group born during an all-female cypher on International Women’s Day in 2016 — Mighty is making equally large waves as a solo artist.
Haviah has been releasing music independently since 2009, but it was her project, Flower City (2017), that propelled her solo career into further success. Mighty’s Polaris Prize-winning album, 13th Floor (2019), is her most fully-realized project to date – making history as the first Hip-Hop artist and the first Black woman to ever receive the award. Garnering overwhelming praise from the likes of Pitchfork, Billboard, Hot New Hip Hop, and Lyrical Lemonade to name a few, Haviah continues to carve out spaces that boldly defy gendered expectations for women in Hip-Hop.
Haviah’s explosive live show, filled with in-your-face intensity and her fast, technical flows, has also quickly developed her reputation as one to keep an eye on, earning her opening slots for acclaimed artists like Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross, Redman and Method Man, Sheck Wes, Nelly, Desiigner, and Kranium.
UPCOMING VIRTUAL CONCERTS
July 1 – City of Toronto Canada Day 2020 – 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET – tune in here
July 1 – CBC Canada Day Together – 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET – more info here
July 2 – Lilith FLARE Summer Concert Series – Info | FLARE on IGTV
UPCOMING TOUR DATES
August 1 – RBC Bluesfest Drive-In – Gatineau, QC – 7:00 p.m.
October 7 – 7th Street Entry (with Old Man Saxon) – Minneapolis, MN
October 8 – Reggie’s Music Joint (with Old Man Saxon) – Chicago, IL
June 19, 2021 – Tim Horton’s Field (supporting Arkells) – Hamilton, ON
