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Biography

Louis Kevin Celestin was just another bedroom producer in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood when he started uploading beats to MySpace under the moniker Kaytranada in 2010. Little did the Haitian-Canadian teenager know that his distinctive fusion of house, hip-hop, and R&B would soon reshape the landscape of electronic music and establish him as one of the most innovative producers of his generation.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1992, Celestin moved to Montreal with his family when he was seven years old. Growing up in a household where kompa and other Caribbean rhythms mingled with North American hip-hop and R&B, he developed an ear for the spaces between genres. His older brother, who produces under the name Lou Phelps, introduced him to beat-making software, and by his teens, Celestin was crafting instrumentals that seemed to exist in their own temporal dimension – simultaneously languid and urgent, familiar yet otherworldly.

The early Kaytranada tracks that began circulating online possessed an almost narcotic quality. His 2012 remix of Janet Jackson's "If" became a viral sensation, transforming the '90s R&B classic into something that felt both nostalgic and futuristic. The track's success opened doors, leading to remix work for everyone from Missy Elliott to Disclosure, each transformation bearing his unmistakable signature: those shuffling, syncopated rhythms that seemed to bend time itself.

What set Kaytranada apart from his contemporaries wasn't just his technical prowess, but his intuitive understanding of groove. His productions breathed with an organic quality rarely found in electronic music, incorporating live instrumentation and vocal samples that felt more like conversations than hooks. This approach reached its apotheosis on his 2016 debut album "99.9%," a genre-defying masterpiece that featured collaborations with Anderson .Paak, Vic Mensa, Little Dragon, and Craig David.

"99.9%" wasn't just an album; it was a statement of intent. Tracks like "Glowed Up" featuring Anderson .Paak and "Together" demonstrated Kaytranada's ability to create dancefloor anthems that retained emotional depth, while deeper cuts revealed his more experimental tendencies. The album's success was both critical and commercial, establishing him as a headline act at festivals worldwide and earning him a devoted following that transcended traditional electronic music audiences.

The period following "99.9%" saw Kaytranada evolving from promising producer to cultural architect. His DJ sets became legendary affairs, seamlessly weaving together house classics, hip-hop deep cuts, and his own productions into sets that felt more like spiritual experiences than mere entertainment. His influence began appearing in the work of countless other producers, spawning a generation of artists attempting to capture his particular alchemy of rhythm and melody.

In 2019, Kaytranada made history by becoming the first Black and first openly gay artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album with "99.9%." The recognition was significant not just for its historical importance, but for what it represented: the mainstream acknowledgment of an artist who had consistently operated outside traditional industry structures.

His 2021 follow-up, "Bubba," proved that his debut wasn't a fluke. Featuring collaborations with Kali Uchis, Pharrell Williams, and Tinashe, among others, the album showcased an artist comfortable in his own skin, unafraid to push boundaries while maintaining the essential elements that made his sound so distinctive. The album's lead single "10%" became a streaming phenomenon, its hypnotic groove and Kali Uchis' sultry vocals creating the perfect vehicle for Kaytranada's production wizardry.

Beyond his solo work, Kaytranada has become something of a kingmaker, with his co-sign carrying significant weight in determining which emerging artists break through to wider recognition. His collaborations often feel less like features and more like sonic conversations, with each participant bringing out unexpected qualities in the other.

Today, Kaytranada stands as one of electronic music's most essential voices, an artist who has managed to maintain his underground credibility while achieving mainstream success. His influence extends far beyond the dancefloor, inspiring a generation of producers to think beyond genre constraints and embrace the spaces between sounds. In an era of algorithmic music consumption, Kaytranada remains defiantly human, creating music that moves both body and soul with equal measure. His journey from bedroom producer to Grammy winner