GIVĒON is an American R&B and rap artist who started his career in 2018. In his short time in music, he has collaborated with Drake, FATE, Snoh Aalegra and the Sensay Beats. One of the artist's most memorable works was the Chicago Freestyle track with Drake. In 2021, the performer was nominated for the Grammy Awards in the category "Best R&B Artist".
What is known about the childhood and youth of Givon Evans?
Givon Dizman Evans was born on February 21, 1995 in a multi-ethnic family. The performer grew up in the city of Long Beach, located in California. The father left the family when the musician was a child. Therefore, his mother and two brothers raised alone. Talking about his upbringing, he noted that his mother tried to instill the best qualities in her sons. He believes she was protecting them. And kept them from falling under the social pressure of the gangster culture and poverty they saw every day.
The artist's great love for music was instilled in him by his mother. Even in his youth, one of the most important idols of the artist was Frank Sinatra. The guy was attracted by the strong and drawn-out voice of the artist. Subsequently, the passion for jazz vocals contributed to the fact that the aspiring singer began to work on creating his own baritone.
Giwon graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School, he decided not to receive higher education. During his school years, his second passion after music was sports. The artist is a big "fan" of basketball games. His favorite athletes are Kyrie Irving and Jason Douglas.
At the age of 18, Evans took part in one of the programs from The Grammy Museum. He needed to sing a song. The novice musician's mentor suggested that Frank Sinatra be chosen to perform Fly Me To The Moon. During rehearsals, the artist realized that this is the direction in which he wants to work. Later, he got acquainted with the work of Billy Caldwell and Barry White. Their compositions also influenced the formation of the artist's style.
The beginning of GIVĒON's musical career
After performing as part of the program, the artist decided to take up music. Once he even managed to attract the attention of a musician and songwriter collaborating with DJ Khalid and Justin Bieber. He became a mentor to an aspiring performer.
From an interview for Billboard, it is known that the singer released his first EP in 2013. However, it cannot be found now. At first, most of the singer's tracks went to the table, only in 2018 he released two debut singles. They were called Garden Kisses and Fields. The compositions were described in the media as "two calm, smooth tracks, demonstrating the unique voice and rich sound of the singer."
Already in 2019, the artist began to collaborate with Sevn Thomas. This is a producer known in the media space for his connections with world stars such as Drake, Rihanna и Travis Scott.
Thanks to an unusual presentation and a number of successful acquaintances, GIVĒON's songs quickly became popular. In 2019, singer Sno Aalegra invited the performer to take part in her tour. Together they gave concerts in the cities of Europe and North America.
About his first musical work, Evans said the following:
“I studied only on YouTube, I literally wrote in the search for “greatest artists of all time”. Then I analyzed how my music differs from theirs. The necessary environment of a team of experienced managers accelerated this process. I am lucky that they work with some of the best producers in the world and can invite me to their company. Just to listen, to be in the right room, to be a sponge and soak up all this free information because people are ready to die for it.”
Track GIVĒON and Drake Chicago Freestyle
One of the artist's most popular works today is the Chicago Freestyle track, recorded with rapper Drake. Originally recorded in February 2020, the artists released the song only on SoundCloud. It then released to all venues in May 2020 as part of the Drake Dark Lane Demo Tapes mixtape. The composition was able to take 14th position on the Billboard Hot 100 and receive silver certification.
In an interview, GIVĒON shared how people's reaction changed when they found out that the artist sang with Drake. He told:
“I don’t think I had anything absurd, but people’s behavior has somehow changed. And not in a negative way, but the people I've interacted with before are a little nervous now. I do not know why. Despite the fact that a lot has happened in two months, it is interesting to see how I am perceived now. It's like the craziest thing, how perception switched in the blink of an eye."
The track performed by the artist had choruses. Initially, when the song came out, everyone thought that the English musician Sampha sang. Subsequently, Evans was often compared to him and comments such as "This is Sampa" were written. However, this did not bother the artist at all. On the contrary, he was pleased to be compared with one of his idols.
First GIVĒON EPs and internet success
The debut mini-album of the singer was a collection of eight tracks Take Time. It was released under the auspices of the labels Epic Records and Not So Fast. The release took place on March 27, 2020, and in early April it topped the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The EP stayed at number one for about three weeks. A little later, he took 1th position on the Billboard 35 chart. The work received many positive reviews, most often critics called it "exciting" and "polished".
The mini-album included the singles Heartbreak Anniversary and Like I Want You which were very popular. Heartbreak Anniversary is a breakup song that was released in February 2020. However, it gained wide popularity later. In early 2021, the song went viral on TikTok. In March 2021, the song surpassed 143 million streams, including 97 million on Spotify.
Already in September 2020, the release of the second EP When It's All Said and Done was announced. It consisted of 4 tracks and peaked at number 93 on the Billboard 200, becoming the artist's first work to enter the chart. During this same period, Evans was given the opportunity to compete for the Grammy Awards 2021. His EP Take Time was nominated in the Best R&B Album category. However, the winner at the ceremony was Bigger Love by John Legend.
