Quinton Armani Gardner (born May 10, 1996), professionally known as Pressa, is a rapper and singer from

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 anch ...

Early life

Quinton Armani Gardner was born on May 10, 1996, in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

to a Filipino mother and a Jamaican father. He was five weeks old when his father was sentenced to 15 years in prison for second-degree murder, which left his mother to care for him and his older brother. He grew up in an area known as Driftwood in the

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 wes ...

neighbourhood of Toronto.

Career

2016–2018

Gardner rose to prominence after the release of his hit single "Novacane", which was produced by frequent collaborator

Murda Beatz Shane Lee Lindstrom (born February 11, 1994), known professionally as Murda Beatz, is a Canadian record producer. He has produced hit singles like " Butterfly Effect" by Travis Scott, "Back on Road" by Gucci Mane, "Nice for What" by Drake, "Moto ...

. In 2017, he opened for

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 * ...

on his Boy Meets World Tour despite being on bail for kidnapping allegations, and was featured in ''

6ix Rising 6IX RISING: Toronto’s Rap Ascendence (pronounced ''six rising'') is a Canadian documentary film about the hip hop culture in Canada. The film was directed by Shawney Cohen and released on November 16, 2017. It was distributed by Vice Media's o ...

'', a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

about the hip hop culture in Canada. Later that year, he gained significant attention for his unique flow on his single "Canada Goose" featuring

Tory Lanez Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...

, which was released in December. Pressa has also worked with overseas artists including British rapper Giggs, releasing the single "Sexy" in April 2017, and he was featured in

K Koke Kevin Georgiou (born 22 May 1985), known professionally as K Koke, is an English rapper. He is best known for his "Are You Alone" Diss track and ''Fire in the Booth'' freestyle on Charlie Sloth's show on BBC Radio 1Xtra, which has accumulate ...

's single "D Ting Set" in the same year. In October 2018, Pressa released the single "420 in London" featuring

Lil Uzi Vert Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous fashion, ima ...

. He was featured on the song "Up & Down" by

6ixBuzz 6ixBuzzTV Ltd., doing business as 6ixBuzz (pronounced ''six-buzz''), is a Canadian media platform and record company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 2017 by Sarman Esagholian, and Abraham Tekabo the company provides entertainment stories, i ...

alongside

Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician R ...

, which amassed over 1 million views on YouTube within the 1st month of release.

2019–present

In 2019, Gardner released ''Prestige'', an album named after his father, which debuted at the number 1 spot on the iTunes Canada hip hop music charts. It featured appearances from Burna Bandz as well as Lil Richie. Pressa collaborated with British rapper

Russ Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of Russell, and also a surname. People Given name or nickname * Russ Abbot (born 1947), British musician, comedian and actor * Russ Adams (born 1980), American retired baseball player * Russ ...

and Taze on the single "Vida Loca", released in July 2019. Pressa's latest single, "O.T.M. (Out The Mud)", was released on February 7, 2020, via

WorldStarHipHop WorldStarHipHop is a content-aggregating video blog. Zurawik, David.Worldstarhiphop.com makes a name for itself with shocking viral videos". ''The Baltimore Sun''. March 23, 2012. Retrieved on April 22, 2012Alternate link to the same article fro ...

. In May 2020, he signed with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...

Canada, in conjunction with Blue Feathers Records, coinciding with his release of his single "96 Freestyle".

Personal life

As of 2019, Gardner is currently living in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California, having been relocated from Toronto. In April 2021, he began a relationship with Coi Leray another rising artist known as the daughter of Hip Hop mogul & former CEO of The Source Magazine

Benzino Raymond Leon Scott (born July 18, 1965), better known by his stage name Ray Benzino, is an American urban media proprietor, television personality, rapper, and record producer. He produced records (as part of the production team Hangmen 3) and ...

Discography

Studio albums

* 2019: ''Prestige'' * 2021: ''Gardner Express (Deluxe)''

Mixtapes

* 2017: ''Press Machine'' * 2017: ''Press a Brick''

Extended plays

* 2020: ''Gardner Express''

Compilation albums

* 2018: ''Northside Jane'' (by UpTop Movement Inc.) * 2018: ''

6ixUpsideDown ''6ixUpsideDown'' is the debut compilation album by 6ixBuzz. It was self-released on October 19, 2018. Background 6ixUpsideDown is the debut compilation album by Canadian entertainment company and media platform 6ixBuzz, under their division 6ixB ...

'' (by

) * 2019: ''

NorthernSound ''NorthernSound'' is the second compilation album by 6ixBuzz. It was self-released on December 13, 2019. A deluxe edition of the album with four more tracks was later released on February 25, 2020. Background NorthernSound is the second compi ...

'' (by 6ixBuzz) * 2021: ''Canada's Most Wanted'' (by 6ixbuzz)

Guest appearances

Filmography

References

{{reflist Living people 1996 births Black Canadian musicians Canadian male rappers 21st-century Canadian rappers Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian musicians of Filipino descent 21st-century Canadian male musicians Rappers from Toronto