Silvana Imam (pronounced /sɪlvˈɑːnə ɪmˈɑːm/,[1] born in Plungė, Lithuania 19 September[citation needed] 1986[2]) is a Swedish rapper. She is known for her political songs protesting racism, homophobia, and the Sweden Democrats.[3]

Silvana Imam
Silvana Imam in 2015
Background information
Born (1986-09-19) 19 September 1986 (age 38)
Plungė, Lithuania
GenresHip hop
LabelsPlayground Music, Refune Music

Biography

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Early life

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Imam's mother is from Lithuania and of Samogitian descent, while her father is of Syrian descent.[4] She grew up in Plungė, Lithuania, and Stockholm.[3] Imam has an academic background and has studied English and psychology at the University of Stockholm.[5][3] Imam is openly lesbian and was in a relationship with singer Beatrice Eli. She is a member of the hiphop collective RMH.[6] RMH consists of rappers Erik "Eboi" Lundin and Cherrie.[7]

Career

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In 2012, she was nominated for Newcomer of the Year at Kingsizegalan, and in May 2013, she released her debut album called Rekviem for the record label Playground Music.[8] In May 2014, she released the EP När du ser mig • Se dig, and, after that went on her Jag ser dig tour in Sweden during the summer of 2014.[9]

In January 2015, Imam signed with Sebastian Ingrosso's record label, Refune Music.[10] In February 2015, she was named Homo of the Year at the QX Gaygalan Awards.[11] In April 2015, she released her second EP, called Jag dör för dig, and went on her second tour, called Jag är naturkraft.[12] Imam is in a relationship with performer Beatrice Eli and in June 2015, the couple performed together in Gothenburg under the stage name of Vierge Moderne.[13][14] They got the name for their duo from a poem of the Finnish poet Edith Södergran.[14] They performed at the performance stage at Liseberg.[14] She was a guest in the premiere episode of the discussion show Edit: Dirawi, with Gina Dirawi as presenter.[15] In October 2015, Imam was a guest on the Aftonbladet TV show "Nästa Nivå" (Next Level), where she discussed rap music with rap artist Sebbe Staxx.[16] In February 2015, she won the award for Best Live Act at Manifestgalan.[17] Silvana Imam has described herself in her lyrics as the Vincent van Gogh of rap, the Liberace of rap, and the Quentin Tarantino of rap.[18] In October 2016, Silvana Imam was confirmed to play at the 31st edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, the Netherlands.[19] On 2 July 2021, Imam and Lune [sv] will release "Vinner med hjärtat", the theme song for Sweden for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[20] She made her acting debut in the 2022 film Dogborn, which premiered at the International Critics' Week section of the 79th Venice International Film Festival.[21]

Discography

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Albums

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Title Year Peak chart positions
SWE
Rekviem[22] 2013
Naturkraft[23] 2016 17
[24]
Helig Moder[25] 2019 13
[26]

References

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  1. ^ Example of pronunciation: TierpRocks (2016-01-18), Silvana Imam vinner Guldmicken för Årets Bästa Liveakt - P3 Guld, 16 januari 2016, archived from the original on 2021-11-22, retrieved 2018-03-09
  2. ^ "Nordström, Andreas (March 21, 2016). Personlig Silvana Imam på nya skivan – Metro". 2016-04-02. Archived from the original on 2016-04-02. Retrieved 2018-03-09.
  3. ^ a b c Rogers, Thomas (2019-03-22). "She Raps and Sweden Listens". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  4. ^ Rogers, Thomas (March 22, 2019). "She Raps and Sweden Listens". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  5. ^ Strandberg, Klara (2014-05-29). "Silvana är steget före" [Silvana is a step ahead]. ETC (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  6. ^ "RMH Silvana Imam". Rmhrec.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Silvana Imam, Cherrie och Erik Lundin ställer in höstturné och bryter med bolag". SVT Nyheter. September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  8. ^ Jonsson, Alexandra (20 May 2013). "Intervju – Silvana Imam" [Interview - Silvana Imam]. Kingsize Magazine (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. ^ "Silvana Imam åker ut på Sverige-turnén "Jag Ser Dig"" [Silvana Imam out on Sweden tour "I See You"]. Kingsize Magazine (in Swedish). 4 September 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Sebastian Ingrosso och Refune Records signar Silvana Imam – lyssna på nya singeln "För Evigt"" [Sebastian Ingrosso and Refune Records signs Silvana Imam - listen to the new single "För Evigt"]. Kingsize Magazine (in Swedish). 16 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ^ TT (10 February 2015). "Silvana Imam är årets homo" [Silvana Imam is the Homo of the Year]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 22 May 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Jag är Naturkraft – Silvana Imam till Hallå P3!" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio P3. 28 July 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ^ Lundell, Kristin (2014-10-18). "Beatrice Eli och Silvana Imam är vårt hetaste powerpar" [Beatrice Eli and Silvana Imam is our hottest power couple]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  14. ^ a b c Holmgren, Tobias (25 June 2015). "Silvana Imam och Beatrice Eli engagerar". Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  15. ^ Ahlborn, Elinor (2015-10-15). "Premiär för Edit: Dirawi – här är bästa ögonblicken ur första avsnittet!" [Premiere for Edit: Dirawi - this is the best moments from the first episode!] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. ^ Levinsson, Frasse (2015-09-21). "Raptalangen blir uppläxad av Sebbe Staxx i "Nästa nivå"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. ^ Demirian, Natalie (2015-02-06). "Silvana Imam vann på Manifest" [Silvana Imam won at Manifest]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 16 December 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. ^ Grönberg, Hannes (29 August 2015). "Silvana Imam". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 1 September 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. ^ "First European Artists Confirmed for Eurosonic Noorderslag – Eurosonic Noorderslag". Eurosonic Noorderslag. Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  20. ^ TT News Agency (19 May 2021). "De gör svenska OS-låten". SVT. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  21. ^ Ntim, Zac (22 August 2022). "'Dogborn': First Teaser Trailer For Venice-Bound Thriller Starring Silvana Imam". Deadline. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  22. ^ "Silvana Imam : Rekviem". HD. Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2019-08-14. Retrieved 14 August 2019
  23. ^ "Recension: Silvana Imams "Naturkraft" en modern klassiker". Expressen. Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2019-08-14. Retrieved 14 August 2019
  24. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 13, 2016". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  25. ^ "Silvana Imam rappar ovan molnen". Aftonbladet. Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2019-08-14. Retrieved 14 August 2019
  26. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 8, 2019". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
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