Born Louis Kevin Celestin in Haiti, the Montreal-raised artist, a voracious listener, got hooked on DJ'ing and production during his early teen years. Early on, as Kaytradamus, he issued a series of digital EPs, albums, and remix compilations. Around 2013, he began to operate as Kaytranada with the EP Todo and three-track 10" At All. In 2014, he remixed Disclosure's "January," produced "My Block" for personal heroes Mobb Deep, and made his XL label debut that August with "Leave Me Alone," a collaboration with vocalist and fellow Montreal native Shay Lia. During the next two years, Kaytranada's profile steadily rose with additional XL material ("Drive Me Crazy," featuring Vic Mensa) and outside productions highlighted by "Girl" (from the Internet's Grammy-nominated Ego Death), "Lite Weight" (Anderson Paak), "Love" (Rome Fortune), and "Honey" (Katy B). 99.9%, his proper debut album, was released in 2016 with guest appearances from Phonte, Little Dragon, and a few of his prior collaborators. It won that year's Polaris Music Prize. ~ Andy Kellman