Margo Elaine Simms, known professionally as Margeaux (), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, fashion designer and television personality. She appeared on the

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communic ...

reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. 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 ...

, Canada, she first pursued her music career in 2004. While attending

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

, where she studied

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates c ...

, Margeaux first started singing mostly on hip hop tracks. In 2005, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to become a fashion designer, but soon decided to start a career as a professional musician. She formed the group Test Drive with Nikko London and together they worked with producers such as

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

, Danja and The Runners along with

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper. Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...

. After an unsuccessful record deal with

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

, Margeaux moved 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 ...

and began working on her solo material. She released her debut EP, ''Animal House'', in 2010 under the name Margo. She went on to work on various music projects including the

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

duo Invaderz, with Nikko London and joining the band Roma!, after her return to New York City. In 2015, Margeaux joined the cast of ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''.

Early life

Margeaux was born Margo Elaine Simms in

Toronto, Ontario 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 ancho ...

, Canada. She is of

Jamaican Jamaican may refer to: * Something or someone of, from, or related to the country of Jamaica * Jamaicans, people from Jamaica * Jamaican English, a variety of English spoken in Jamaica * Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language * Culture ...

descent. Her father was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

and he died when Margeaux was 24 years old. She has two sisters, Carla and Roxy.

Career

2005–09: Career beginnings and Test Drive

Margeaux first started writing songs at the age of 14. She later enrolled at the

in Toronto where she studied

. After finishing college, she moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to pursue her career as a

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashi ...

. She

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

with the designer

Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson (born 1942) is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel ending in a split at the ...

but soon decided she wanted to become a professional musician and put together the group Test Drive. They worked with producers such as

, Danja and The Runners along with

2010–13: ''Animal House'', Invaderz and Roma!

Margeaux released her debut EP, Animal House, in September 2010 and announced that she was working on a full-length album called ''Gunpowder''. On November 2, she released the song "

Walking In L.A. "Walking in L.A." is a song by American new wave band Missing Persons (band), Missing Persons. It was written by Terry Bozzio, with production by Ken Scott at Chateau Recorders, in Los Angeles, California. The song appeared on their debut studio ...

" – a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

Missing Persons A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, d ...

' song of the same name, accompanied by a music video. In 2011, Margeaux started working on a new project with Nikko London, called Invaderz. The duo released their

mixtape ''Just Landed'' on September 19. In 2012, Margeaux moved back to New York City and in August, she joined the rock band Roma! under the stage name "Bomba!". However, she departed from the band by the end of the year. Around the same time, she started working at the nightclub and concert venue

Webster Hall Webster Hall is a nightclub and concert venue located at 125 East 11th Street, between Third and Fourth Avenues, near Astor Place, in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City. It is one of New York City's most historically significan ...

as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

2014–present: ''Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' and ''Black Cocaine''

In January 2014, she appeared in an episode of an online docu-series ''Second Skin'' for the website StyleLikeU. In April 2015, it was announced that Margeaux would appear on the fourth season of the

reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta'' alongside her husband

Nikko London Londell Smith better known by his stage name Nikko London, is an American television personality, singer and record producer. He is best known on the VH1's reality show '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. Career In 2011 Nikko started working on a n ...

. His

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to em ...

with

Mimi Faust Oluremi Fela Faust (née James), known professionally as Mimi Faust, is an American reality television personality who stars on the VH1 program '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. She first appeared as the long-time girlfriend of producer Stevie J. ...

was the main subject of the season. That same year, she released her single "Start a War", which she also performed on the show. In September, Margeaux announced that her EP, ''

Yellow Dirty Rose Margo Elaine Simms, known professionally as Margeaux (), is a Canadian singer, songwriter, fashion designer and television personality. She appeared on the VH1 reality television series '' Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta''. Born in Toronto, Canada, she ...

'', would be released later that month. On June 15, 2017, Margeaux released a music video for "Bad Chick" as the lead single from her upcoming EP ''

Black Cocaine Black cocaine ( es, italic=no, coca negra) is a mixture of regular cocaine base or cocaine hydrochloride with various other substances. These other substances are added * to camouflage the typical appearance (pigments and dyes, e.g. charcoal) ...

'' (2017) scheduled to be released on June 23.

Other ventures

Fashion

Besides her music career, Margeaux has her own creative brand ''House of Margeaux'' which consists of a clothing line and hand painted

skateboard A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks. The skateboar ...

line called Tokiebow. "House of Margeaux, HOFM, actually started out as

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative way that entices customers to purchase more ...

for the music. I really wanted it to be just cool stuff for girls and guys,

unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined as a neologism in the 1960s and was used fairly info ...

, that people really wanted to wear; not just come to my show and then it's like my face and my name is there. I wanted it to be something separate from me but part of everything artistic that I do. I studied design so I really wanted to do really cool merchandise stuff that people wanted to rock all the time. And House of Margeaux is this creative place that has all these different rooms of things that I create. Like House of Margeaux HOFM is like the gear in one room and then the other room is Tokiebow, this character that I created. He rides a skateboard so I started hand painting skateboards and he's a vinyl robot toy, he's a comic book, T-shirts and hats. And then the other room is music. So House of Margeaux is just this creative hub where everything that I do lives and exists and collides together."

Personal life

Margeaux married her boyfriend and long-time music collaborator,

, in 2007. In August 2014, it was announced that she had been secretly married to London.

Discography

* ''Animal House'' (2010) * ''

'' (2017)

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Margeaux Living people 1984 births 21st-century Canadian women singers Alternative hip hop musicians Canadian electronic musicians Canadian fashion designers Canadian women guitarists Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Canadian hip hop singers Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian pop guitarists Canadian rock guitarists Canadian women songwriters Feminist musicians Canadian LGBT rights activists Musicians from Toronto Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Singers from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) Synth-pop singers Canadian women in electronic music Canadian women pop singers Participants in American reality television series Guitarists from New York City 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American singers Canadian women fashion designers