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 for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

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

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, 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 diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

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

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 and rapper. Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, he is widely acclaimed for his distinctive production work and "stuttering" rhythm ...

, Danja and The Runners along with

DJ Khaled Khaled Mohammed Khaled (; born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ and record producer. Originally a Miami-based radio personality, Khaled has since become known for enlisting high-profile music industry ar ...

. 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 that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

, Margeaux moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 ...

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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. She is of Jamaican descent. Her father was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

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

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 (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to pursue her career as a

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

. She

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...

with the designer

Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson (born August 10, 1942) is an American fashion designer best known for her colorful, cute and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel ending ...

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." – 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 release ...

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, o ...

' 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 significant ...

as a

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

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. 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 professionally made pornogra ...

with

Mimi Faust Oluremi Fela Faust (née James) (born January 3, 1972), 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 o ...

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'', 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 () 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), * to interfere with color ...

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

Other ventures

Fashion

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

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

line called Tokiebow.

Personal life

Margeaux married her boyfriend and long-time music collaborator, Nikko London, 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 hip-hop singers Canadian people of Jamaican descent Canadian pop guitarists Canadian rock guitarists Canadian women songwriters Canadian feminist musicians Canadian LGBTQ rights activists Singers 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 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters