Jacqueline Mapei Cummings (born December 20, 1983), is a Swedish-American rapper and singer, best known for her single "Don't Wait", which was released via

Downtown Records Downtown Records is an American record label based in New York City with offices in Los Angeles. Owned and operated by Josh Deutsch and Terence Lam, the label is distributed by Geffen Records (formerly Interscope Records and The Orchard) in the ...

in 2013. Her debut EP, ''The Cocoa Butter Diaries'', was released in 2009 also via Downtown Records. Her debut album, ''Hey Hey'', was released on September 23, 2014.

History

Early life

Mapei was born in Providence, Rhode Island, but moved before she turned ten years old. She began splitting her time between America and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

after her

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

n mother and Swedish stepfather moved to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, living in Stockholm during the school year and returning to America for the summers. She moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

at age eighteen, working as a bartender in a Swedish restaurant in New York's

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

neighborhood. She stayed for three years, taking in the local scene for a period before deciding to return to Sweden and immerse herself in Stockholm's pop scene.

''The Cocoa Butter Diaries'' (2009–2012)

Mapei released her debut EP as a rapper on Downtown Records in 2009. After the release of ''The Cocoa Butter Diaries'', Mapei began work on her debut album with French

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

duo

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

. However, she was not happy with the final result, and decided to scrap the record. After realizing that she was hitting a wall creatively, she came to the conclusion that she wanted to start singing, telling '' W'': "I was just out there freestyling without writing any songs ... I needed to find some inspiration." She spent the following years traveling, which led to extend stays in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, Portugal, and Brazil. After a particularly inspiring stint in Brazil, she decided to return to Stockholm and began working with producer

Magnus Lidehäll Magnus Lidehäll is a Swedish award winning producer, composer and songwriter. He works close with songwriting duo Vargas & Lagola – with whom he won the composer of the year award at the Swedish Grammy Awards in 2014. Together they have produc ...

"Don't Wait" and ''Hey Hey'' (2013–present)

"Don't Wait" premiered on the website of the magazine ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' in October 2013. The track went viral immediately, repeatedly reaching #1 on the

Hype Machine Hype Machine is a music blog aggregator created by Anthony Volodkin. History Hype Machine was originally a music database created in 2005 by Anthony Volodkin, then a sophomore computer science major at Hunter College.Heilemann, JohCapturing the ...

charts. It received universally positive reviews, with ''W'' declaring the song a "devilishly crafted piece of pop perfection" and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' praising it for possessing "catchy pop sensibility without falling into the trap of soft-edged lyricism." The song was remixed by a number of high-profile producers, including a very popular edit by Australian D
Brynny
and others from

Frankie Knuckles Francis Warren Nicholls, Jr. (January 18, 1955 – March 31, 2014), better known as Frankie Knuckles, was an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He played an important role in developing and popularizing house music in Chicago during the 1 ...

, Kingdom, and Giraffage. A version featuring

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

was released in March 2014. A remix EP and a video for the original version of "Don't Wait" were released on April 1, 2014. The song debuted on the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Dance Club chart in May 2014 at number 48. The song also charted in UK's and Italy's Airplay Charts at number 173 and 88 respectively. Mapei's released her second single "Change" on June 10, 2014, followed by "Believe" on August 18. Her debut album ''Hey Hey'' was released September 23, 2014 and debuted at #29 on the

Heatseeker Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is rad ...

chart. Mapei performed "Don't Wait" on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' on November 6, 2014. She has cited

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

Irene Cara Irene Cara Escalera (March 18, 1959 – November 25, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and actress of Black, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent. Cara rose to prominence for her role as Coco Hernandez in the 1980 musical film '' Fame'', and f ...

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...

, and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

as influences. Her single "Million Ways to Live" was released in 2015. In 2019, she released her second album "Sensory Overload", with the Stockholm based record label Amuse. The album contains ten songs and was nominated for a

Grammis The Grammis are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards, they were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in the United States. The awards ceremony is generall ...

, which is the Swedish equivalent of a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

Discography

Albums

EPs

*2009: ''The Cocoa Butter Diaries'' *2014: ''Don't Wait EP''

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Appearances

* "Mary Jane" (2009) –

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. It originates from Kingston, Jamaica, and was founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after t ...

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapei 1983 births Living people 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women singers American women pop singers American women rappers American people of Liberian descent English-language singers from Sweden Swedish people of Liberian descent Swedish women rappers Swedish pop singers Downtown Records artists 21st-century American singers 21st-century women rappers