Jump to content

ILoveMakonnen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kymako (talk | contribs) at 22:45, 29 May 2015 (→Biography). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

ILoveMakonnen
Birth nameMakonnen Sheran
Born (1989-04-12) April 12, 1989 (age 35)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OriginAtlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
Instruments
Years active2008–present
Labels
Websitewww.ilovemakonnenmusic.com

Makonnen Sheran (born April 12, 1989), better known by his stage name ILoveMakonnen (stylized as ILOVEMAKONNEN), is an American hip hop recording artist from Los Angeles, California. He rose to prominence in 2014 after Drake remixed his song "Tuesday".

Biography

Early life

Makonnen was born in Los Angeles, California[1] and moved to Atlanta in 2002 when he was 13 years old. He is of mixed race background, having African, Indian, Irish, Belgian, German, and Chinese heritage.[2] His mother was a nail instructor and has worked in the beauty business for over 30 years. His grandmother was an opera singer, which influenced his musical career. He described his childhood as "semi-nice, semi-poverty". During his high school years, Makonnen was inspired by local rappers Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane to try out making music. His early songs were a mix of pop, rock and hip-hop.[3]

2008–13: Career beginnings

"I was hanging out with drug dealers and thieves and the pretty girls that were popular. The kids thought I was kind of bad. Not reckless, but a badass. A lot of people really look up to me. I kind of represent them. It’s like, they’ll stand behind me, but they won’t stand beside me."

ILoveMakonnen in an interview with journalist Naomi Zeichner from BuzzFeed magazine in August 2014.[3]

During 2008 and 2009, Makonnen started making songs on his Gateway computer and uploading them to MySpace. On this website, he met other rising musicians, such as Adele. Makonnen also created a blog, where he would post interviews with musicians such as Lil B and Miguel.[3]

At the end of 2009, the singer was released from house arrest and put on probation for four years, after he had been accused of accidentally shooting and killing a friend.[4] Then, he enrolled in a cosmetology school and became a part of a group called Phantom Posse.[3][5][6] In January 2012, Makonnen met Atlanta producer Mike Will Made It and formed a brief professional relationship with him. However, because of Mike Will's busy schedule, the two were not able to meet often, and soon were separate from each other.[2]

2014–present: Rise to prominence

In March 2014, Mike Will was able to reply to Makonnen and brought him to DTP studios, where he played some of his songs to producer Metro Boomin. Metro instantly liked Makonnen and stayed in touch with him. Later, after recording six songs together, Metro brought fellow Atlanta producers Sonny Digital and 808 Mafia, who were all unusually impressed with him. Two days later, Makonnen recorded the song "Don't Sell Molly No More" with Sonny Digital, which would later help launch his career. Sonny Digital introduced him to other Atlanta producers such as DJ Spinz and Dun Deal. He started gaining local fame within the community with songs such as "Living On The Southside", "Sneaky Lady" and "My New Friend".[7] Makonnen was also featured on Mike Will's mixtape, Ransom.

In July 2014, the singer released his self-titled EP ILoveMakonnen, which included the singles "Club Goin' Up on a Tuesday" and "Don't Sell Molly No More".[8] The latter reached pop singer Miley Cyrus, who shared it on her Instagram. The post got over 210,000 likes and counting that brought a lot of new fans to Makonnen.[7][8][9] On August 15, 2014, Vice included his song "Whip It" in their Staff Picks for the Week list, commenting: "Makonnen's voice is incredible! ... How could you not have a good time listening to this song? If there is anyone I trust to teach me how to whip it, it is definitely my friend Makonnen."[10]

In late August 2014, after hearing "Club Goin' Up on a Tuesday", Drake reached out to one of the song's producers, Sonny Digital, to ask to remix the song. Makonnen quickly agreed to send the beat to Drake, but didn't think much of it. However, two days later Drake released a remix to the song, much to Makonnen's surprise.[11] The Atlanta singer later commented: "Yeah, I surprised. Shocking. Drake listens to Makonnen. It was great. I was excited. Surprised, shocked. Just overwhelmed."[1] The remix, simply titled "Tuesday" went viral and led to increased media interest in iLoveMakonnen.[8][12]

In late August 2014, Makonnen was featured in XXL's The Come Up section, which focuses on blowing up artists.[1] He later stated that he is not looking for a major label deal and instead plans to go touring and recording music independently: "I'm not too thirsty to sign a deal. Cause a label will really just take all your free music down and you have to be somebody's bitch." He is also working on a collaboration project with Mike Will, which is set for release before the end of 2014.[2] On September 1, 2014, it was announced that Makonnen, in a contradiction of his previous stance, had signed to Drake's label OVO Sound, which is distributed by Warner Bros. Records.[13]

Discography

EPs

List of extended plays
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US
[14]
ILoveMakonnen 72

Mixtapes

  • 3D (2011)
  • 4G (2011)
  • 5 (2011)
  • 6 (2011)
  • Holiday Special (2011)
  • LTE (2012)
  • A Trillion Light Years (2012)
  • Drink More Water (2012)
  • Drink More Water 2 (2013)
  • 3 Suns (2013)
  • Drink More Water 3 (2014)
  • Drink More Water 4 (2014)
  • Drink More Water 5 (2015)

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
US
[15] 		US
R&B
[16] 		CAN
[17] 		FRA
[18]
"Tuesday"
(featuring Drake) 		2014 12 2 56 86 RIAA: Platinum[19] ILoveMakonnen

References

  1. ^ a b c Diep, Eric. "The Come Up: iLoveMakonnen (page 2)". XXL. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Friedman, Skinny. "EVERYBODY LOVES MAKONNEN". Vice. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d Zeichner, Naomi. "Meet ILoveMakonnen, The Eccentric Rapper Drake And Miley Cyrus Want To Be Down With". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Itunes biography". Itunes. Apple. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  5. ^ Skinny Friedman (July 11, 2014). "Everybody Loves Makonnen". Noisey. Retrieved March 21, 2015. I was on house arrest and was going to cosmetology school. I was hanging around a whole bunch of girls, learning how to do hair and shit.
  6. ^ Benjy Hansen-Bundy (February 2015). "ILoveMakonnen on Becoming Famous Overnight". GQ. Retrieved March 21, 2015. He sings, he makes videos, he plays piano, and he's...a licensed cosmetologist.
  7. ^ a b Diep, Eric. "The Come Up: iLoveMakonnen (page 3)". XXL. Retrieved 31 August 2014. Cite error: The named reference "xxl1-2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ a b c Sundermann, Eric. "MAKONNEN EXPLAINS THE DRAKE REMIX: "IT'S THE BEST TUESDAY EVER!"". Vice. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  9. ^ Cyrus, Miley. "Photo by mileycyrus". Instagram. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  10. ^ Kramer, Kyle. "STAFF PICKS AND GOOD SHIT FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 15". Vice. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  11. ^ Fleischer, Adam. "ILOVEMAKONNEN Wept When He Heard Drake's 'Club Goin' Up On A Tuesday' Remix". MTV. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  12. ^ Camp, Zoe. "Drake Jumps on iLoveMakonnen's "Tuesday"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  13. ^ Brandle, Lars. "ILoveMakonnen Signs To Drake's OVO Sound". Billboard. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  14. ^ "I Love Makonnen Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  15. ^ "I Love Makonnen Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  16. ^ "I Love Makonnen Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  17. ^ "I Love Makonnen Album & Song Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  18. ^ "Singles ILoveMakonnen". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 20, 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  19. ^ "ILoveMakonnen Facebook Page".

Template:OVO Sound

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=ILoveMakonnen&oldid=664627228"