Jahkoy Palmer (born March 23, 1994) (known as Jahkoy or JAHKOY) is a Canadian R&B singer and

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

. He has released several projects, including the

mixtape A mixtape (alternatively mix-tape, mix tape or mixed tape) is a compilation of music, typically from multiple sources, recorded onto a medium. With origins in the 1980s, the term normally describes a homemade compilation of music onto a cassette ...

''Forward Thinking,'' and the singles "Still in Love", "Hold Your Hand", and "Odd Future". His most recent single, "Odd Future," premiered on

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), ...

radio show in January 2016 and was played by Drake on OVO Sound Radio.

Early life

Palmer was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario, Canada, to a Jamaican mother and an Ethiopian father.https://www.clashmusic.com/next-wave/next-wave-754-jahkoy/ Growing up, he lived in both the

Lawrence Heights Lawrence Heights is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located north-west of central Toronto, in the district of North York. The neighbourhood is roughly bounded by Lawrence Avenue to the south, Yorkdale Road to the north, Varna Dr ...

and

Jane and Finch Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in the northwest end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the district of North York. Centred at the intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue West, the area is roughly bounded by Highway 400 to the west, ...

neighborhoods in Toronto. To keep him out of trouble, his parents transferred him to Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic school. As young as age 11, he began writing poetry and turning those poems into raps. He began recording and rapping under the name Raheem by age 14. Palmer counts

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

and Andre 3000 among his early influences.

Career

Under the alias Raheem, Palmer performed at numerous events throughout Toronto, including the Manifesto Arts Festival and the 106 and York Urban Arts Festival, before he turned 16. By age 19, he decided to return to his birth name, Jahkoy, for his music career. He released his first mixtape under the name JAHKOY in December 2013. The album, ''Forward Thinking'', introduced what Jahkoy refers to as a "bipolar" sound, and also marked a shift from predominantly rapping to predominantly singing. JAHKOY has collaborated with

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

and

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998), also known mononymously as Jaden, is an American rapper, singer, and actor. He has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young Artist ...

. In 2015, he released singles including "Still in Love," "Hold Your Hand," and "All The Things You Do." "Still in Love" and "Hold Your Hand" were often in regular rotation on Zane Lowe,

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

, and Pharrell's Beats 1 radio stations. In early 2016, Jahkoy was signed to Def Jam Recordings. He released his first single under the Def Jam banner in January 2016. The song, "Odd Future," was premiered on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 radio station and was played by Drake and OVO Sound Radio. Throughout 2017, Jahkoy and

Ella Mai Ella Mai Howell (born 3 November 1994) is an English singer-songwriter. Her musical career began at London's British and Irish Modern Music Institute in 2014, during which time she auditioned as part of a trio on the 11th season of ''The X Fa ...

opened for

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish (born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Kehlani is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen group Poplyfe in 2011. In 2014, Kehlani released thei ...

on her

SweetSexySavage World Tour The SweetSexySavage World Tour was the second official concert tour by American R&B singer Kehlani, in support of their debut studio album ''SweetSexySavage'' (2017). The tour began on February 21, 2017, in Montreal, Quebec, at Club Soda, and co ...

Personal life

Palmer confirmed his relationship with Australian fitness model and influencer Tammy Hembrow on Instagram in June 2019. Hembrow and Palmer dated for a few months in 2019 and broke up.

Discography

Mixtapes

''Dying To Live Forever'' (2014)

EPs

Singles

References

External links

JAHKOY on TwitterJAHKOY on SoundCloudJAHKOY on Instagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Jahkoy Singers from Toronto Living people Def Jam Recordings artists Canadian hip hop singers Canadian contemporary R&B singers 21st-century Black Canadian male singers Canadian people of Eritrean descent Canadian people of Ethiopian descent Canadian people of Jamaican descent 1994 births