Derek Fifi "Wise" Bissue (born December 11, 1992), is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was formerly signed to Canadian singer-songwriter

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

's record label, XO and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

, under the hip hop duo

88Glam 88Glam (stylized as 88GLAM) is a Canadian Hip hop music, hip hop duo, formed in 2017 by 88Camino, Shakqueel "88Camino" Burthwright and Derek Wise, Derek "Wise" Bissue. They were formerly signed to XO (record label), XO and Republic Records. Ca ...

with his friend, fellow Canadian rapper 88Camino.

Early life

Wise was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

on December 11, 1992. He grew up listening to American

rappers 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 ...

like Juvenile,

Trick Daddy Maurice Samuel Young (born September 27, 1974), better known by his stage name Trick Daddy, is an American rapper from Miami's Liberty City. Early life Trick Daddy was born on September 27, 1974, at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. ...

, Stack Bundles,

Max B Charley Wingate (born May 21, 1978), better known by his stage name Max B (short for Max Biggaveli), is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his solo ''Public Domain'' and ''Million Dollar Baby'' series of mixtapes, and introdu ...

, and

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

. By the age of 20, Wise had moved around Toronto 14 times.

Career

2012: ''Vacay''

In October 2012, Wise released ''Vacay'', his debut mixtape with 16 tracks. The mixtape premiered on

DatPiff DatPiff is an online audio distribution platform that was launched in 2005. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. It specializes in hip-hop, rap, and urban music. The site was founded in the spring of 2005 by Marcus Frasier. It is owned by Med ...

2016: ''Inglorious''

After a year of releasing multiple singles and music videos in 2016, Wise announced his debut album ''Inglorious'' on January 21, 2017. ''Inglorious'' was released on January 30, 2017. On April 21, 2017, Wise performed at the 2017

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

festival, supporting

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

artist A Boogie wit da Hoodie. Wise frequently makes cameo appearances in music videos that feature

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

, most notably in "King of the Fall" and " Reminder".

2017–present: 88Glam

On November 1, 2017,

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 advertis ...

premiered the music video for "12" from the newly formed duo

, consisting of Wise and frequent collaborator 88Camino. The music video also featured a cameo appearance by The Weeknd. ''

'', the self-titled debut project by 88Glam was released on November 7, 2017. 88Glam released ''88Glam Reloaded'' on April 20, 2018, after officially signing to XO and

. On November 15, 2018, 88Glam released their second album ''88Glam2'', through XO and Republic. On March 5, 2020, revealed an upcoming album titled ''Close to Heaven Far from God'' which was set to be released on April 17, 2020, through XO and Republic. However, the album has been delayed due to 88Glam's departure from the labels. 88Glam instead released a mixtape independently titled ''New Mania'' on June 26, 2020. ''Close to Heaven Far from God'' was finally released independently on August 26, 2022, after more than two years of teasing, with major changes from the original tracklist.

Legal issues

On December 11, 2013, Wise was arrested on charges of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

following allegations from a 21-year-old woman. The charges faced by Bissue include trafficking in persons, uttering threats of death and bodily harm, two counts of overcoming resistance by choking, robbery, weapons charges, and three counts of theft under $5,000. Shortly after the charges were dropped, Wise released a track titled "Had to Wake Up" on June 27, 2016, to address the allegations.

Solo discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Music videos

With 88Glam

* ''

'' (2017; re-released in 2018) * '' 88Glam2'' (2018) * ''New Mania'' (2020) * ''Heaven Can Wait'' (2021) * ''Close to Heaven Far from God'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wise, Derek Black Canadian musicians Canadian male rappers Rappers from Toronto Living people XO (record label) 1992 births 21st-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian rappers