Silvana Imam (; born 19 September 1986) is a Swedish rapper. She is known for her political songs protesting racism,

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

, and the

Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...

Biography

Early life

Imam was born in

Plungė Plungė (; Samogitian: ''Plongė''; ) is a city in Lithuania with 17,252 inhabitants. Plunge is the capital of the Plungė District Municipality which has 33,251 inhabitants (2022). Two parts of the city are separated by the Babrungas River and ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Imam's mother is from

and of Samogitian descent, while her father is of

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

descent. She grew up in

, and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. Imam has an academic background and has studied English and psychology at the

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

. Imam is openly lesbian and was in a relationship with singer Beatrice Eli. She is a member of the hiphop collective RMH. RMH consists of rappers Erik "Eboi" Lundin and Cherrie.

Career

In 2012, she was nominated for Newcomer of the Year at Kingsizegalan, and in May 2013, she released her debut album called ''Rekviem'' for the record label Playground Music. In May 2014, she released the EP ''När du ser mig • Se dig'', and, after that went on her ''Jag ser dig'' tour in Sweden during the summer of 2014. In January 2015, Imam signed with

Sebastian Ingrosso Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Steve Angello. Career 1999–2007: Career beginnings Sebastian Ingrosso entered the music indu ...

's record label, Refune Music. In February 2015, she was named Homo of the Year at the QX Gaygalan Awards. In April 2015, she released her second EP, called ''Jag dör för dig'', and went on her second tour, called ''Jag är naturkraft''. Imam is in a relationship with performer Beatrice Eli and in June 2015, the couple performed together in Gothenburg under the stage name of ''Vierge Moderne''. They got the name for their duo from a poem of the Finnish poet Edith Södergran. They performed at the performance stage at

Liseberg Liseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, that opened in 1923. It is the second most visited theme park in Scandinavia, with around three million visitors annually. Among the noteworthy attractions is the wooden roller coaste ...

. She was a guest in the premiere episode of the discussion show ''Edit: Dirawi'', with Gina Dirawi as presenter. In October 2015, Imam was a guest on the ''

Aftonbladet (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish language, Swedish daily tabloid newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lar ...

'' TV show , where she discussed rap music with rap artist Sebbe Staxx. In February 2015, she won the award for Best Live Act at Manifestgalan. Silvana Imam has described herself in her lyrics as the

Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...

of rap, the

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

of rap, and the

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

of rap. In October 2016, Silvana Imam was confirmed to play at the 31st edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag in

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. On 2 July 2021, Imam and will released "Vinner med hjärtat", the theme song for Sweden for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. She made her acting debut in the 2022 film '' Dogborn'', which premiered at the International Critics' Week section of the

79th Venice International Film Festival The 79th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 31 August to 10 September 2022, at Venice Lido in Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Eur ...

Discography

Albums

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imam, Silvana Living people 1986 births Lesbian rappers Swedish LGBTQ singers Swedish lesbian musicians Singers from Stockholm Stockholm University alumni Swedish women rappers Swedish-language singers Swedish people of Lithuanian descent Swedish people of Syrian descent 20th-century Swedish LGBTQ people 21st-century Swedish LGBTQ people Musikförläggarnas pris winners Swedish anti-racism activists