Safe (musician)
SAFE | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Saif Musaad |
Also known as |
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Born | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 30 January 1998
Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2015–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | |
Website | bando416 |
Saif Musaad (born 30 January 1997), professionally known as Safe (stylized as SAFE), is a singer, rapper, and songwriter from Toronto, Ontario.
Early life and career[]
Saif Musaad was born on 30 January 1997 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and is of Eritrean descent. His father and mother are Eritrean.[1] He immigrated with his family to Toronto when he was two months old, and grew up in the neighborhood of The Esplanade in eastern downtown Toronto.[2]
Around grade 10, Musaad began to focus on writing lyrics and recording. At the age of 18, he met Drake's manager Oliver El-Khatib at a video shoot and then got a job at the Toronto pop-up store for Drake's brand OVO. With encouragement from El-Khatib, and from his fellow members of two local rapper collectives – 878, also called Halal Gang (a group of rappers from Regent Park), and 176 – he continued to record, and to collaborate with artists including Bibi Bourelly, Ramriddlz, Eric Dingus, and Smoke Dawg.[3] In 2015 he began uploading songs to SoundCloud, and "Feel" became a hit,[1] receiving 4.15 million plays over four years. That same year he released his first EP, Stay Down.
In 2017 he moved to New York,[4] from where he continued to release singles including "No Diamonds," which criticized the ostentatious display of the trappings of wealth, and premiered at Vice on 24 September 2018,[1] and "New Regime," whose accompanying video depicted the seamy side of his hometown and his reasons for leaving.[3] In 2018, he was deeply affected by the murder of his close friend Smoke Dawg.[5]
During the same period, Safe's vocals were featured on a number of other artists' tracks, including the September 2018 single "Listen Closely" from fellow Canadians DVBBS,[6] the track "Don't Pretend" from Khalid's 2019 album Free Spirit, and YG's track "Play Too Much" on his 2019 album 4Real 4Real.[7]
In May 2019, Safe released his debut studio album Stay, on RCA Records. It contains 12 tracks that were characterized by cool R&B with elements of dancehall and afrobeat. QUIN and Playboi Carti were the only featured artists.[8]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
- Stay (2019)
Mixtapes[]
- Stay Down (2015)
Compilation albums[]
- 6ixUpsideDown (by 6ixBuzz) (2018)
- NorthernSound (by 6ixBuzz) (2019)
References[]
- ^ a b c Witmer, Phil (24 September 2018). "SAFE Left Behind the Bullshit to Make Himself Better". Vice. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ Rosen, Dean (13 January 2016). "How SAFE Came from Nowhere to Capture Drake's Attention". Vice. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ a b "Toronto Rapper SAFE Drops Dark New Visual for "New Regime"". The Hype Magazine. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ Pierre, Alphonse (5 April 2019). "The Ones: SAFE's "Paid in Full" [ft. Playboi Carti]". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ Mallenbaum, Carly (1 July 2018). "Smoke Dawg, rapper and Drake tourmate, shot to death in Toronto". USA Today. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ Maduakolam, Emmanuel (28 September 2018). "DVBBS and SAFE Extend the Summer With "Listen Closely"". Hypebeast. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ Chin, Mallory (4 April 2019). "Khalid Is Holding out for Love in "Don't Pretend"". Hypebeast. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- ^ A., Aron (10 May 2019). "SAFE Unleashes His Latest Project "STAY" Ft. Playboi Carti & QUIN". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
- 21st-century Canadian rappers
- RCA Records artists
- Sony Music artists
- Canadian male rappers
- Musicians from Toronto
- Canadian people of Eritrean descent
- 1997 births
- Living people
- 21st-century Canadian male musicians