13th Floor explained

13th Floor
Type:studio
Artist:Haviah Mighty
Cover:13thFloorHaviah.png
Genre:Hip hop
Language:English
Label:Independent
Producer:Haviah Mighty, 2oolman, OBUXUM, Lambo, Mighty Prince, Robotaki, Taabu, Young Dreadz
Prev Title:Flower City
Prev Year:2017
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Next Year:2021

13th Floor is the debut album from Canadian hip hop artist Haviah Mighty.[1] The album was released on May 10, 2019,[2] [3] and was the winner of the 2019 Polaris Music Prize.[4]

Background and release

On March 23, 2019, Mighty announced her debut studio album, 13th Floor, via social media and that the album would arrive in 2019. CBC Music and Exclaim! described the album as one of the year's most anticipated Canadian releases.[5] [6]

The album's title derives from the phenomenon of high-rise buildings in many countries often not designating a 13th floor due to the superstition that the number 13 is bad luck.[7] According to Haviah Mighty, "the 13th floor is something that we remove from our reality because it is something that we don’t understand and therefore we dismiss it"; the title therefore represents naming and speaking about and acknowledging issues and narratives that have been dismissed or ignored.

The album was released on May 10, with a corresponding performance on CBC Music's First Play Live.[8]

Reception

Max Mertens, writing for Pitchfork, called the album Mighty's "most cohesive and narratively ambitious project to date".

The album won the 2019 Polaris Music Prize,[9] making Mighty the first hip-hop artist and first black woman to win the award.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Haviah Mighty Builds Up the Underdog on '13th Floor'. Exclaim!. Riley Wallace. en-ca. May 10, 2019. September 16, 2019.
  2. Web site: Haviah Mighty: 13th Floor. Pitchfork. Max Mertens. en. May 21, 2019. September 16, 2019.
  3. Web site: Haviah Mighty Breaks Barriers With New Album "13th Floor". Sidedoor Magazine. Andre Cordova. en-US. May 14, 2019. September 16, 2019.
  4. David Friend, "NewsAlert: Haviah Mighty wins Polaris prize for '13th Floor'". Victoria Times-Colonist, September 16, 2019.
  5. Web site: Spring 2019 preview: 15 albums you need to hear. Justin Chandler. March 29, 2019. CBC Music.
  6. Web site: Here Are Exclaim!'s 22 Most Anticipated Canadian Albums of 2019. Alex Hudson. January 2, 2019. Exclaim!. en-ca. September 16, 2019.
  7. Brad Wheeler, "‘It is time’: Haviah Mighty becomes first full-on hip-hop artist to win Polaris Music Prize". The Globe and Mail, September 17, 2019.
  8. Web site: First Play Live: Haviah Mighty, 13th Floor. May 10, 2019. CBC Music.
  9. Haviah Mighty's '13th Floor' Wins Canada's Polaris Music Prize. September 16, 2019. Billboard. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190918071554/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8530140/haviah-mighty-13th-floor-canada-polaris-music-prize . 2019-09-18 . 2019-09-19.
  10. Web site: Polaris Music Prize 2019: Haviah Mighty makes history. Silva. Michelle da. 2019-09-17. NOW Magazine. en-us. 2019-09-19.