Dimarjio Antonio Jenkins (July 23, 1998 – May 26, 2020), better known by his stage name Houdini, was 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 ...
rapper
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 ...
from
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 ...
,
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 ...
. He first gained recognition from his
certified gold
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
single "Late Nights" which contained vocal features from
Burna Bandz and was released in 2017. This was followed by the singles "Myself" and "Backseat". He was also known for his frequent collaborations with fellow rappers
Pressa, Robin Banks and
NorthSideBenji, which includes the latter's certified gold single "
Levels" which saw a feature from Houdini. He released his debut mixtape ''Hou I Am'' on February 13, 2019. His sophomore mixtape ''Hou Woulda Thought'' followed on August 2, 2019.
His debut
EP ''underGROUND'' was released on March 18, 2020.
This would be his last release during his lifetime as he was shot and killed on May 26, 2020.
Music career
Jenkins started his career in 2016, taking on the stage name "DaHoudini", (he adopted the shorter "Houdini" stage name in 2018). He began to release various freestyles through social platforms. He gained recognition having featured on the single ''456'' alongside TallupTwinz and Burna Bandz released on August 17, 2017. Canadian rapper Robin Banks founded UpTop Movement Inc. in the same year, a record label based in Toronto. The record label showcases young and upcoming artists from the North-West end of Toronto and signed Houdini to the label.
Houdini released the single ''Late Nights'' featuring Burna Bandz on May 8, 2018. The music video amassed millions of views within a month of being released.
On April 1, 2018, Houdini and fellow associates such as Burna Bandz, Pressa, Robin Banks and other UpTop Movement artist. Dropped a joint mixtape featuring 27 songs titled ''Northside Jane'' including "Late Nights", "One of Mines" and "No Favours" which combined have just under 10 million views on YouTube.
Houdini released his debut mixtape ''Hou I Am'' on February 13, 2019. The mixtape featured guest appearances from
NorthSideBenji,
Burna Bandz, Tallup Twinz,
Pressa, and J Neat. The album peaked at 27 on the Canadian Independent Music Charts. Houdini was featured on
NorthSideBenji's single "
Levels", which was certified gold by
Music Canada
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It ...
on April 7, 2020.
On April 18, 2019, Houdini released an acoustic version of his single ''Myself'' with viral ukulele player
Einer Bankz.
His second mixtape, ''Hou Woulda Thought'' was released on August 2, 2019.
It was supported by the singles; "Freak", "Kenzo", "Belmont Boyz" and "Ain’t Gon' Cap" and the album lists no featured guests, unlike the previous mixtape. Both mixtapes were released independently via
Create Music Group
Create Music Group is an independent American music distribution and publishing company founded in 2015 by Jonathan Strauss and Alexandre Williams. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The company provides music distribution, ...
.
His third release, a five-track EP titled ''underGROUND'' which released on March 18, 2020. It was the last studio album Houdini dropped while alive. The debut EP was supported by the singles "Big Time" and "Fantastic".
In April 2020,
6ixBuzz announced a joint-venture record deal with
Warner Music Canada
Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...
, coinciding with the release of the single "VV's" featuring
Killy and Houdini.
Posthumous releases
The first posthumous release by the late artist was on the single "Mansion" alongside
Pressa, it was released July 17, 2020, and is said to be on 6ixBuzz's upcoming compilation album ''
Canada's Most Wanted''. On January 8, 2021, Pressa released a graphic on Instagram stating that "Mansion" was certified gold by Music Canada, and was nominated for the Rap Recording of the Year
Juno Award
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall o ...
2021.
Houdini's single "Late Nights" was certified gold posthumously by
Music Canada
Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It ...
on January 12, 2021.
Death
Jenkins was shot and killed on May 26, 2020, whilst shopping in
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the main central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont St ...
. A 15-year-old boy and a 27-year-old woman were also injured in the incident but were expected to recover after gunfire erupted around 4 pm outside the Bisha Hotel in
Toronto’s Entertainment District
The Toronto Entertainment District is an area in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is concentrated around King Street West between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue. It is home to theatres and performing arts centres, the Toronto Blue Ja ...
. Jenkins was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The following day, Toronto Police released the shooting footage and said that Jenkins was targeted in an orchestrated "gang attack". Rappers and associates including
NorthSideBenji,
Pressa,
Killy,
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 ...
and
Meek Mill
Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...
paid tribute to the artist. A warrant was issued for Eleijah Robinson on May 30, 2020, in connection with the murder.
Funeral shooting incident
On June 8, 2020, a funeral service for Jenkins was held in Mississauga early in the day. The following day on June 9, a vigil was held for the fallen rapper. During the vigil, gunfire erupted behind the Blaxx Restaurant and Dive Bar, located on Beverly Hills Drive. A dark-coloured sedan pulled over before occupants got out of the vehicle and opened fire at the crowd gathered outside. Gaddiel O’Neil Ledinek, better known by his stage name GD, and Traequan Mahoney, known by his stage name Burna Bandz, retaliated in the gunfire and were subsequently charged with gun offences.
Discography
Extended plays
* 2020: ''underGROUND''
Mixtapes
* 2019: ''Hou I Am''
* 2019: ''Hou Woulda Thought''
Appearance on compilation albums
By 6ixBuzz
* 2018: ''
6ixUpsideDown''
* 2019: ''
NorthernSound''
* 2021: ''
Canada's Most Wanted''
Other albums
* 2019: ''Northside Jane''
(by Uptop Movement)
Singles
As primary artist
*2017: "Late Nights" (with Burna Bandz)
*2019: "Myself"
*2019: "Backseats" (feat. J Neat)
*2022: "Here it Goes" (feat. Tory Lanez)
As featured artist
* 2019: "
Levels" (
NorthSideBenji feat. Houdini)
* 2020: "Mansion" (
Pressa feat. Houdini)
See also
*
List of murdered hip hop musicians
This is a list of rappers and hip hop musicians murdered since 1987.
Two studies in the mid-2010s concluded that murder was the cause of 51.5% of hip hop musician deaths. The average age of death is between 25–30 years of age. Hip hop has a ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houdini
1998 births
2020 deaths
21st-century Canadian rappers
Black Canadian musicians
Canadian hip hop singers
Canadian male rappers
21st-century Canadian male musicians
Deaths by firearm in Ontario
Rappers from Toronto