Silvana Imam (pronounced , born

Plungė Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė'') is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plungė is known for Plungė Manor and its park, Samogitian Art Museum. In the Oginskiai manor park stands the Perkūnas oak a natural monument. The Lourdes o ...

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

19 September 1986) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

rapper. She is known for her political songs protesting

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

, and the

Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...

Biography

Early life

Imam's mother is from

and of Samogitian descent, while her father is of

Syrian Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

descent. She grew up in

, and

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 ...

. Imam has an academic background and has studied English and psychology at the

University of Stockholm Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, soci ...

. Imam is openly lesbian and in a relationship with singer

Beatrice Eli Beatrice Elin Elisabeth Blennberger (born 9 January 1987), better known by her stage name Beatrice Eli, is a Swedish musician from Stockholm, Sweden. She first gained attention with her 2012 single "The Conqueror", which was released on her debu ...

. She is a member of the hiphop collective RMH. RMH consists of rappers Erik "Eboi" Lundin and Cherrie.

Career

In 2012, she was nominated for Newcomer of the Year at Kingsizegalan, and in May 2013, she released her debut album called ''Rekviem'' for the record label Playground Music. In May 2014, she released the EP ''När du ser mig • Se dig'', and, after that went on her ''Jag ser dig'' tour in Sweden during the summer of 2014. In January 2015, Imam signed with

Sebastian Ingrosso Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (; born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is also a member of the Swedish House Mafia, together with friends Axwell and Steve Angello. Career 1999–2007: Career Beginnings Sebastian Ingrosso ent ...

's record label, Refune Music. In February 2015, she was named Homo of the Year at the QX Gaygalan Awards. In April 2015, she released her second EP, called ''Jag dör för dig'', and went on her second tour, called ''Jag är naturkraft''. Imam is in a relationship with performer

and in June 2015, the couple performed together in Gothenburg under the stage name of ''Vierge Moderne''. They got the name for their duo from a poem of the Finnish poet

Edith Södergran Edith Irene Södergran (4 April 1892 – 24 June 1923) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish poet. One of the first modernists within Swedish-language literature, her influences came from French Symbolism, German expressionism, and Russian fu ...

. They performed at the performance stage at

Liseberg Liseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, that opened in 1923. It is one of the most visited amusement parks in Scandinavia, attracting about three million visitors annually. Among the noteworthy attractions is the wooden roll ...

. She was a guest in the premiere episode of the discussion show ''Edit: Dirawi'', with

Gina Dirawi Gina Dirawi ( ar, غنا ديراوي; born 11 December 1990) is a Swedish television presenter, singer-songwriter, radio personality, blogger, comedian and actress. While she is best known as the first woman ever to host Melodifestivalen on thre ...

as presenter. In October 2015, Imam was a guest on the ''

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...

'' TV show "Nästa Nivå" (''Next Level''), where she discussed rap music with rap artist Sebbe Staxx. In February 2015, she won the award for Best Live Act at Manifestgalan. Silvana Imam has described herself in her lyrics as the

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...

of rap, the

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

of rap, and the

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

of rap. In October 2016, Silvana Imam was confirmed to play at the 31st edition of

Eurosonic Noorderslag Eurosonic Noorderslag is an annual four-day music showcase festival and conference held in January in Groningen, Netherlands. The first three days of the festival (Eurosonic) feature artists from all over Europe, the last day of the festival (N ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. On 2 July 2021, Imam and will release "Vinner med hjärtat", the theme song for Sweden for the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Discography

Albums

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imam, Silvana Living people 1986 births LGBT rappers Swedish LGBT singers Swedish lesbian musicians Singers from Stockholm Stockholm University alumni Swedish women rappers Swedish-language singers Swedish people of Lithuanian descent Swedish people of Syrian descent 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Musikförläggarnas pris winners