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Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised between South Africa and Canada, rapper jev. built his music around the feeling of never fully belonging to one place. That outsider perspective became the foundation of his LONER identity. Combining the feeling of '90s hip-hop with a modern approach, he developed a sound shaped by unpredictable flows and soulful production.
After moving to Ottawa, jev. developed his voice largely outside a traditional music scene. His 2022 project The Color Grey changed the trajectory of his career when breakout record “Where’s the Confetti?” caught fire online and climbed to No. 1 on Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50, bringing millions of listeners into his world.
Rather than chase the sound of his breakout, jev. kept moving. The LONERWRLD series expanded his universe, while records including “ALICE,” “Black Samurai,” “You Cry Love,” and “And Then I Got Revenge” showed different sides of his artistry. His 2024 project When Angels Cry pushed that evolution further.
As his catalog grew, so did the world around it. Inspired by anime, samurai mythology, and blaxploitation, the “Black Samurai” became an extension of jev.’s philosophy. Onstage, he went from performing in Canada to opening for Lil Tjay, Erick the Architect, Lexa Gates, and opening for Clipse on their LGSEO Europe tour and eventually taking his music across Europe on his first headline tour.
