# KAYTRANADA Stage name of Louis Kevin Celestin, Haitian-Canadian DJ and producer, born 25 August 1992 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, raised in Montreal from childhood. One of the most acclaimed producers to emerge from the 2010s SoundCloud/beatmaker scene, known for a warm, groove-heavy fusion of house, hip-hop, R&B, and funk that's landed him both underground credibility and major mainstream awards. ## Background Moved to Montreal with his family as a child; the city's multicultural music scene shaped his genre-agnostic approach early on. His brother, rapper/producer Lou Phelps, introduced him to FL Studio, which kicked off his production career. Started releasing music in 2010 under the name Kaytradamus before rebranding as KAYTRANADA in 2012. ## Breakthrough Gained sudden wider attention in 2013 when his remix of Janet Jackson's "If" went viral on SoundCloud. Signed to XL Recordings in December 2014, putting him on a label with serious indie/electronic credibility. ## Career and acclaim Debut studio album *99.9%* (2016) was a critical breakthrough, winning Canada's Polaris Music Prize. Second album *Bubba* (2019) pushed his sound further and won the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronic Album, with the Kali Uchis collaboration "10%" separately winning Best Dance Recording. Third album *Timeless* (2024), released via RCA, featured a broad guest list — Anderson .Paak, Childish Gambino, Dawn Richard, Don Toliver, PinkPantheress among others — and was widely named among the best albums of 2024 by outlets including Billboard and Rolling Stone. Across his career he's released numerous EPs, mixtapes, and dozens of remixes (reportedly over 40), and toured extensively across North America, Europe, and Australia, becoming one of the most in-demand producers/DJs of his generation. ## Discography (studio albums) - *99.9%* (2016) — Polaris Music Prize winner - *Bubba* (2019) — Grammy Award, Best Dance/Electronic Album - *Timeless* (2024) ## Notes to self - *Bubba* is the one I know best — worth going back to *99.9%* to hear the earlier, rawer version of the sound. - Good pairing with [[Misc./Music/Poldoore|Poldoore]] in terms of sample/groove-first production instinct, though very different genre lineage (KAYTRANADA closer to house/R&B, Poldoore closer to boom-bap/downtempo).