iLoveMakonnen

Makonnen Kamali Sheran (born April 12, 1989), better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen (often stylized as ILOVEMAKONNEN), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.[1][2] His rise to fame began in 2014, after Canadian rapper Drake released a remix to his song "Tuesday".

iLoveMakonnen
Sheran performing in July 2015
Background information
Birth name	Makonnen Kamali Sheran
Also known as	Makonnen Danny Morris
Born	(1989-04-12) April 12, 1989 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop R&B
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals keyboards
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Warner (former) OVO Sound (former)
Associated acts	Drake Key! Father Rich the Kid DJ Spinz Sonny Digital Lil Peep Trinidad James
Website	www.ilovemakonnen.com

Early life

Makonnen was born on April 12, 1989,[3] in South Los Angeles, California,[4] and was named after Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, the birth name of Haile Selassie I. His father is a first generation immigrant from Belize who worked as an electrician and his mother was a nail instructor who worked in the beauty business for over 30 years.[5] In an interview, he described himself as mixed with African American, Indian, Irish, Belgian, German and Chinese heritage.[6]

Growing up in Los Angeles,[5] he moved to the Atlanta area in 2002 when he was 13 years old, due to his parents' divorce, and witnessed the death of a close friend in his senior year in high school.[5]

His grandmother was an opera singer, which influenced his musical career.

Career

2008–2013: 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.[7]

Makonnen also sold cd's in Oklahoma City.

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 Soulja Boy Tell'em.[7]

After a period under house arrest following the accidental fatal shooting of a friend,[8] he enrolled in a cosmetology school and became a part of a group called Phantom Posse.[7][9][10] 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 separated from each other.[6]

2014: Rise to prominence

In March 2014, record producer Mike Will Made It would reply to Makonnen and brought him to the DTP studios, where he played some of his songs towards a fellow producer Metro Boomin. Metro instantly liked Makonnen and stayed in touch with him. Later, after recording six songs together, Metro brought these fellow Atlanta producers Sonny Digital and 808 Mafia, who were all unusually impressed with him. Two days later, Makonnen recorded the song, titled "Don't Sell Molly No More" with Sonny Digital, which would later launch his music career. Sonny Digital introduced him to the other Atlanta producers such as DJ Spinz, Dun Deal and St.Louis Producer Cammy Recklezz. He started gaining local fame within the community with songs such as "Living on the Southside", "Sneaky Lady" and "My New Friend".[11] Makonnen was then featured on Mike Will's mixtape, titled Ransom.

In July 2014, the singer released his self-titled EP iLoveMakonnen, which included the singles "Tuesday" and "I Don't Sell Molly No More".[12] 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.[11][13] 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."[14]

In 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.[15] The Atlanta singer later commented: "Yeah, I surprised. Shocking. Drake listens to Makonnen. It was great. I was excited. Surprised, shocked. Just overwhelmed."[4] The remix, simply titled "Tuesday" went viral and led to increased media interest in iLoveMakonnen.[12][16]

In August 2014, Makonnen was featured in XXL's The Come Up section, which focuses on blowing up artists.[4] He later stated he is not looking for a major label deal and instead plans to go touring and record 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." On September 1, 2014, it was announced that Makonnen had signed to Drake's label OVO Sound, which is distributed by Warner Bros. Records.[17]

2015–2016: OVO Sound and I LOVE MAKONNEN 2

In an interview with The Fader in December 2015, more than a year after signing to Drake's OVO Sound, Makonnen said the label delayed tracks from I LOVE MAKONNEN 2 from coming out. The song "Second Chance," for example, was finished in January 2015 and intended for a summer release,[18] but ended up being self-released by Makonnen in November 2015.[19] Makonnen said, "Second Chance was supposed to be that summer banger this summer. That was supposed to be out, touching people and hitting them this summer. By the time next year they'll be ready for something else. It's all late. People are doubting me, doubting what the fuck I said when I made the fucking song. You wait a year later and it's whatever. Hopefully, it's worked right. The song is structured properly. Everything is all there for proper radio play to just spin it over and over to people. Who knows? I don't know what the fuck they want."[18]

Makonnen also claimed "extra bullshit in the industry" stopped "Teach Me How To Whip It" and "No M'aam" from getting radio play. When asked if he still talked to Drake, Makonnen responded, "Here and there. By the time this comes out, I'll probably see him six more times or no more times. I don’t know. I just wish everybody well in all that they do and I just go on and live my life and try to uplift motherfuckers. At the end of the day I'm tired of uplifting people. I just gotta uplift myself now because everything else is a waste of time."[18]

Makonnen also described the music scene: "There's not even any money here anymore. It's all lies. The money's gone and everybody is now keeping up this front as if there's money there."[18]

On February 8, 2016, it was announced that alongside Travis Scott and Vic Mensa, Makonnen would be part of the "WANGSQUAD", an Alexander Wang campaign.[20]

2016–present: Departure from OVO Sound

On April 18, 2016, Makonnen parted ways with Drake's label OVO Sound, with no clear reason being stated other than the explanation that the "choice to be solely on Warner Bros. Records was the right thing for me and for my best interest."[21] Makonnen later implied that he was threatened by Drake and numerous others at OVO Sound.[22] On May 7, 2016, Makonnen announced he would be retiring from music to focus on acting but dropped a new song shortly after, with confirmation of a new project coming soon.[23]

In the late summer of 2017, Makonnen collaborated on an album with Lil Peep in London. The album was delayed after Peep's death and is expected to be released on Makonnen's label Warner Bros. on a yet to be announced date.[24] On August 17, 2018, Makonnen announced a single he co-wrote titled "Falling Down", a reworking of "Sunlight On Your Skin" that he recorded with Peep during the sessions in London. The new version features recently deceased rapper XXXTentacion, who recorded his verses following Peep's death.[25] The single was officially released on September 19, 2018.[26] The original "Sunlight On Your Skin" version was released on September 27, 2018.[27] The release date for the album collaboration has yet to be revealed.

Personal life

On January 20, 2017, Makonnen came out as gay on his official Twitter account.[28][29]

Discography

EPs

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [30]	US R&B /HH [31]
iLoveMakonnen	Released: December 15, 2014 Label: OVO Sound, Warner Bros. Format: Download	72	48
iLoveMakonnen 2[32]	Released: November 20, 2015 Label: OVO Sound, Warner Bros. Format: Download	—	40
Fun Summer 17 Vol. 1[33]	Released: June 7, 2017 Label: Self-Released Format: Streaming	—	—
iLoveMakonnen X Ronny J (with Ronny J)[34]	Released: January 24, 2018 Label: Self-Released Format: Streaming	—	—
iLoveAmerica[35]	Released: July 4, 2018 Label: Self-Released Format: Streaming	—	—
M3[36]	Released: June 21, 2019 Label: Warner Format: Streaming	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

List of mixtapes, with year released

Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US Rap [37]
3D	Released: 2011 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
4G	Released: 2011 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
5	Released: 2010 Label: S.O.D MG Format: Download	—
6	Released: 2011 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
Holiday Special	Released: 2011 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
LTE	Released: 2012 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
A Trillion Light Years	Released: 2012 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
Drink More Water	Released: 2012 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
Drink More Water 2	Released: 2013 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
3 Suns	Released: 2013 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
Drink More Water 3	Released: 2014 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
Drink More Water 4	Released: June 30, 2014 Label: Self-released Format: Download	—
Drink More Water 5	Released: March 31, 2015 Label: OVO Sound Format: Download	—
Whip It Up (with Rich The Kid) [38]	Released: November 26, 2015 Label: Rich Forever, OVO Sound Format: Download	—
Drink More Water 6	Released: Mar 18, 2016 Label: Warner Bros. Records Format: Download	25
Red Trap Dragon (with Danny Wolf)	Released: August 9, 2016 Label: Self-Released Format: Download	—

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Peak chart positions						Certifications	Album
		US [39]	US R&B/HH [40]	US R&B [41]	CAN [42]	FRA [43]	NZ Hot [44]
"Tuesday" (featuring Drake)	2014	12	2	1	56	86	—	RIAA: Platinum[45]	iLoveMakonnen
"Sellin"	2016	—	—	—	—	—	—		Drink More Water 6
"Side to Side"		—	—	—	—	—	—		N/A
"Love" (featuring Rae Sremmurd)[46]	2017	—	—	—	—	—	—
"Sunlight On Your Skin" (with Lil Peep)	2018	—	—	—	—	—	36		Come Over When You're Sober, Pt. 2
"I've Been Waiting"[47] (with Lil Peep featuring Fall Out Boy)	2019	62	—	—	—	—	12	RIAA: Gold	Everybody's Everything

As featured artist

List of singles as a featured artist, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Album
"I Like Tuh"[48] (Carnage featuring iLoveMakonnen)	2015	Papi Gordo
"Kolony Anthem"[49] (Steve Aoki featuring iLoveMakonnen & Bok Nero)	2017	Steve Aoki Presents Kolony
"How Else"[49] (Steve Aoki featuring Rich The Kid & iLoveMakonnen)
"No Friends"[50] (Chase Atlantic featuring iLoveMakonnen & K CAMP)	2017	Part Three

Guest appearances

List of guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name

Title	Year	Artist(s)	Album
"Nokia"	2014	Father	L1L D1DDY
"Look at Wrist"		Father, Key!	Young Hot Ebony
"Day2Day" (Remix)		Tunji Ige, Michael Christmas	N/A
"I Understand"		Key!, FKi	F Key i
"FriendsMaybe"		Rome Fortune	Small VVorld
"Syrup in My Soda"		Mike WiLL Made-It, Riff Raff	N/A
"Swerve"		Mike WiLL Made-It	Ransom
"H.O.M.E."	2015	Trinidad James	No One Is Safe
"Interviews"		Brodinski, Yung Gleesh	Brava
"TrUe Thang"		Rome Fortune, CeeJ	loloU
"Take it Easy"		Gucci Mane	Breakfast
"Slaughter Ya Daughter"		21 Savage, Key!	The Slaughter Tape
"All Black Hummers"		Father, Archibald Slim, Ethereal	Papicodone
"Favorite Record (Remix)"		Fall Out Boy	Make America Psycho Again
"Who Be Lovin' Me"	2016	Santigold	99¢
"Why Don't U"		Father, Abra	I'm a Piece of Shit
"Party on Me"		Father, Ethereal
"Thru It All" (Remix)		Wintertime	I Know What You Did Last Winter
"Take it Easy"		Gucci Mane	Meal Ticket
"Cash Cash"
"Forever"		FKi	1st Time for Everything
"Coming Soon"		Skepta, Céon	N/A
"Lit"		Rome Fortune	VVORLDVVIDE PIMPSTATION
"My Boy Band 'Exortion'"		Rome Fortune, Nevabitch
"I'll Be Damned"[51]		Hoodrich Pablo Juan, Lil Yachty	N/A
"Global"	2017	Lil B	Black Ken

References

1. "ILOVEMAKONNEN Moved To Portland. No, For Real". Willamette Week. 2017-02-07. Retrieved 2017-03-04.
2. "Grand jury increases charges against teen | News". News-daily.com. 2008-07-10. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
3. iLoveMakonnen (1989-04-12). "iLoveMakonnen | Biography, Albums, Streaming Links". AllMusic. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
4. Diep, Eric. "The Come Up: iLoveMakonnen (page 2)". XXL. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
5. "Makonnen Still Loves You". Noisey. 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
6. Friedman, Skinny. "EVERYBODY LOVES MAKONNEN". Vice. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
7. Zeichner, Naomi. "Meet ILoveMakonnen, The Eccentric Rapper Drake And Miley Cyrus Want To Be Down With". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
8. "Itunes biography". Itunes. Apple. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. Diep, Eric. "The Come Up: iLoveMakonnen (page 3)". XXL. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
12. Sundermann, Eric. "MAKONNEN EXPLAINS THE DRAKE REMIX: "IT'S THE BEST TUESDAY EVER!"". Vice. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
13. Cyrus, Miley. "Photo by mileycyrus". Instagram. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
14. Kramer, Kyle. "STAFF PICKS AND GOOD SHIT FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 15". Vice. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
15. Fleischer, Adam. "ILOVEMAKONNEN Wept When He Heard Drake's 'Club Goin' Up On A Tuesday' Remix". MTV. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
16. Camp, Zoe. "Drake Jumps on iLoveMakonnen's "Tuesday"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
17. Brandle, Lars. "ILoveMakonnen Signs To Drake's OVO Sound". Billboard. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
18. "Damn, Makonnen". The FADER. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
19. "iLoveMakonnen Shares DJ Mustard-Produced "Second Chance", Announces iLoveMakonnen 2". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
20. Smith, Trevor. "Ilove Makonnen part of Wang Campaign". Hotnewhiphop. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
21. "iLoveMakonnen Parts Ways With OVO Sound | Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
22. "Makonnen Speaks His Truth". The FADER. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
23. "ILoveMakonnen Says He's Retiring From Rap, Then Releases New Song". stereogum.com. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
24. "HITS Daily Double : Rumor Mill - PEEP THIS". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
25. "iLoveMakonnen Says a Lil Peep and XXXTentacion Collaboration Is Coming". Complex. Retrieved 2018-08-18.
26. Yoo, Noah (September 18, 2018). "New Song From Lil Peep and XXXTentacion to Be Released Tomorrow". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
27. Darville, Jordan (September 27, 2018). "Listen to "Sunlight On Your Skin" by Lil Peep and iLoveMakonnen". The Fader. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
28. "Oceanic Makonnen on Twitter: "And since y'all love breaking news, here's some old news to break, I'm gay. And now I've told u about my life, maybe u can go life yoursâ?¤"". Twitter.com. 2010-03-29. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
29. Herdandez, Greg (20 January 2017). "Atlanta rapper iLoveMakonnen comes out as gay on Twitter". Gay Star News. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
30. "I Love Makonnen – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
31. "I Love Makonnen – Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
32. "I LOVE MAKONNEN 2". iTunes. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
33. "iLoveMakonnen Shares Surprise EP Fun Summer 17 Vol. 1". TheFader. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
34. "ILoveMakonnen & Ronny J Unveil New Collaborative EP". HypeBeast. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
35. "iLOVEMAKONNEN celebrated July 4th with iLOVEAMERICA EP". TheFader. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
36. Minsker, Evan (May 10, 2019). "iLoveMakonnen Announces M3 EP, Shares New Song "Drunk on Saturday": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
37. "I Love Makonnen Chart History | Billboard". Retrieved April 17, 2020.
38. Angus Walker (12 October 2015). "Rich The Kid & ILoveMakonnen To Release "Whip It Up" Mixtape". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
39. "I Love Makonnen – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
40. "I Love Makonnen – Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
41. "I Love Makonnen – Chart History: R&B Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
42. "I Love Makonnen – Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
43. "Singles ILoveMakonnen". lescharts.com. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
44. "Hot Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Retrieved June 4, 2020.
45. "ILoveMakonnen Facebook Page".
46. "New Music: iLoveMakonnen feat. Rae Sremmurd – 'Love'". Rap-Up. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
47. "I've Been Waiting (feat. Fall Out Boy) - Single by Lil Peep & iLoveMakonnen". iTunes. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
48. "I Like Tuh (feat. iLoveMakonnen) - Single by Carnage on Apple Music". Retrieved January 21, 2017.
49. "Steve Aoki Presents Kolony by Steve Aoki on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
50. "No Friends (feat. iLoveMakonnen & K CAMP) - single by Chase Atlantic on Google Play Music". Google Play Music. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
51. "Hoodrich Pablo Juan - I'll Be Damned Feat. Lil Yachty & iLoveMakonnen [New Song]". HotNewHipHop. January 18, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2016.

External links

• Official website