Livingston Lemorie Matthews, known professionally as Pink Siifu, and occasionally iiye, is an American rapper and singer from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

, and

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

Life and career

Matthews acquired an appreciation for music from his family, while dividing his time between

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

in his youth. His father, a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

player, introduced him to classic jazz, while his mother and older brother introduced him to R&B and hip-hop. Matthews played the

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

marching bands A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

throughout his youth. After high school, he became a theater major at

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviatio ...

Fairborn, Ohio Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. Fairborn is a suburb of Dayton, and part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the only city in the world named Fairborn, a por ...

, a suburb of

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

. However, he chose to leave the university to focus on a rap career. He started performing in Cincinnati under the name 'Liv Martez' before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

in 2013 after recording in studios there, including working on a project with Syd tha Kyd. He began releasing music under the name Pink Siifu in 2014, while also producing under the name iiye. Matthews released several projects between 2014 and 2018. In 2018, Matthews released ''Ensley'' under the Pink Siifu moniker to critical acclaim. He named the LP after

Ensley, Alabama Ensley is a large city neighborhood in Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It was once a separate and thriving industrial city. It was formally incorporated on February 12, 1899, but later annexed into Birmingham on January 1, 1910 under the ...

, a suburb of

where his grandmother lived. ''Ensley'' received a placement on '' Pitchfork's'' best rap albums of 2018 list. His next release was the album ''NEGRO''. Initially titled ''To Be Angry'', the album has been described as a "shrill and abrasive" blend of jazz, punk rock, and rap. Siifu's most recent solo album, ''

Gumbo'! ''Gumbo'!'' is a studio album by American artist Pink Siifu. It was released on August 3, 2021. The album's first single, "Lng Hair Dnt Care", was produced by Ted Kamal. On March 11, 2022, a deluxe edition, titled ''Gumbo'! (DELUXE'!!)'' was re ...

'', featured his studio album debut alongside artists

Georgia Anne Muldrow Georgia Anne Muldrow (born 1983) is an American musician from Los Angeles, California. In 2008, she co-founded the SomeOthaShip Connect record label with fellow artist and former husband Dudley Perkins. Life and career Georgia Anne Muldrow grew ...

and

Nick Hakim Nicolas Hakim is an American musician based in Brooklyn, New York, United States. His first EP, ''Where Will We Go Part 1 & 2'', was self-released in 2014. His debut album, ''Green Twins'' was released in May 2017, followed by his second studio-a ...

. It also featured production by

Monte Booker Ahmanti Booker (born March 27, 1995), professionally known as Monte Booker is an American producer from Chicago, Illinois. He is part of the musical collective Zero Fatigue, and has worked with artists such as Smino, Ravyn Lenae, Noname, Saba, ...

, The Alchemist, and others. In 2021, Matthews directed a short film titled 'NATION TYME!', an experimental film centered on an excerpt from famed writer

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

's essay 'It's Nation Time'.

Style and influences

Pink Siifu has been described as having a slow and lackadaisical delivery to his vocals, a quality he attributes to the influence of

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

, and Outkast. Siifu's music has generally been described as

alternative hip-hop Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising " hip hop groups that refuse to confor ...

and

neo-soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contem ...

, but he has experimented with other genres, including

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

on his 2020 release, ''NEGRO''. Outside of hip-hop, Matthews has listed George Clinton,

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

Alice Coltrane Alice Coltrane (' McLeod; August 27, 1937January 12, 2007), also known by her adopted Sanskrit name Turiyasangitananda, was an American jazz musician and composer, and in her later years a swamini. An accomplished pianist and one of the few h ...

Sun Ra Le Sony'r Ra (born Herman Poole Blount, May 22, 1914 – May 30, 1993), better known as Sun Ra, was an American jazz composer, bandleader, piano and synthesizer player, and poet known for his experimental music, "cosmic" philosophy, prolific ou ...

Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas ar ...

, Radiohead, and

Death Grips Death Grips is an American experimental hip hop group formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride (vocals, lyrics), Zach Hill (drums, production, lyrics), and Andy Morin (keyboards, pro ...

among his influencers.

Discography

Albums

*''[email protected]: A decade's letter to the Galaxy'' (2014) *''Zin'' (2014) *''Zen'' (2014) *''No/more LOVE'' (2014) *''UaReL.'' (2015) *''Space Ghetto'' (2016) *''Ensley'' (2018) *''NEGRO'' (2020) *''Gumbo!'' (2021)

Collaborative albums

*''Twothousandnine'' (2016) *''BRWN'' (2017) *''Syrup'' (2019) *''Black Sand'' (2019) *''Bag Talk'' (2020) *''FlySiifu's'' (2020) *''$mokebreak'' (2021) *''Real Bad Flights'' (2022) *'' Leather Blvd'' (2023) *''It's Too Quiet..'!'' (2023)

Extended plays

*''A maze btw time'' (2014) *''Year 19803711967'' (2014) *''Allway z'' (2015) *''Reggie,Ernest,Wester,Rusty'' (2015) *''A second definatelycaughtin between love x fear'' (2015) *''Bround/brown'' (2016) *''Giiift Wrap:VoL.1'' (2016) *''Black food 1'' (2016) *''Old'focus'' (2016) *''Tape'' (2016) *''In between.'' (2016) *''A'lady. 1'' (2016) *''Let go'' (2016) *''In between.'' (2016) *''Black food 2'' (2017) *''Lil'likeluv.1'' (2017) *''Grden.1'' (2017) *''A'lady. 2'' (2017) *''black food 3'' (2017) *''Lil'likeluv.2'' (2017) *''Drnk'' (2017) *''Head'' (2017) *''Slwdwn Vol. 1'' (2017) *''Lil'likeluv.3'' (2018) *''Uptwn.1'' (2018) *''Slwdwn Vol. 2'' (2018) *''Southern.'' (2018) *''A'lady. 3'' (2018) *''Uptwn.2'' (2018) *''Dollaz.1'' (2018) *''Im still.'' (2018) *''Black food 4'' (2019) *''Uptwn.3'' (2018) *''Use.'' (2019) *''Slwdwn Vol. 3'' (2019) *''Dollaz.2'' (2020) *''Grden.3'' (2020) *''Lil'SidePeace.'' (2020) *''Lil'likeluv.4'' (2020) *''Dollaz.3'' (2020) *''Uptwn.4'' (2021)

Singles

*"Blvck Space Pink vol.1" (2015) *"Heart on my face" (2017) *"Halos/Bills" (2017) *"Cocoa" (2018) *"Cement" (2020) *"Dollar Dr. Dream" (2020) *"Richard Pryor" (2020) *"Mind Right" featuring Liv.e (2020) *"Blame" (2021) *"Minnie Lives" (2021) *"Table 42" featuring Pink Siifu (2021) *"lng hair dnt care" (2021) *"Bussin' (Cold)" (2021) *"48" (2022) *"Looking for Water" featuring

Boldy James James Clay Jones III (born August 9, 1982), better known by his stage name Boldy James, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. A member of the Griselda collective, his debut album, '' My 1st Chemistry Set'', was released on October 15, 20 ...

(2022) *"Pour The Wine" featuring Peso Gordon & Chuck Strangers (2022) *"L's (

Eyedress Idris Vicuña (born May 28, 1990), known professionally as Eyedress, is a Filipino singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Early life Eyedress was raised in an area in the Philippines which he described as "ghetto", and began playing ...

Remix)" featuring Fousheé (2022) *''Bonded'' (2022) *"Cnt Go Back (Tell Me)" (2023)

References

{{Reflist Living people Rappers from Cincinnati Rappers from Ohio Rappers from Alabama 1992 births Musicians from Cincinnati Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama African-American male rappers American male rappers Southern hip hop musicians African-American male songwriters Songwriters from Alabama Songwriters from Ohio 21st-century American male musicians