Angel Haze

Angel Haze

Angel Haze performing in October 2012
Background information
Birth name Raeen Roes Wilson
Born (1991-07-10) July 10, 1991
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.[1]
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s)
Years active 2011–present
Labels
Website angelhazemusic.com

Raeen Roes Wilson (born July 10, 1991),[2][3] better known by the stage name Angel Haze, is an American rapper and singer. In 2012, Haze released the EP Reservation for online and later signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records before moving to Republic Records.[4] On December 31, 2013, Haze released the debut album Dirty Gold, which features the singles "Echelon (It's My Way)" and "Battle Cry". Haze has released a number of mixtapes, including the most recent, Back to the Woods (2015).[5]

Early life

Raeen Roes Wilson was born on July 10, 1991, in Detroit, Michigan to a military family. Wilson is of African and Native American ancestry and a self-taught speaker of Tsalagi.[6] Haze was raised in the Greater Apostolic Faith, but is no longer practicing. In an interview with The Guardian, Haze stated: "we all lived in the same community, within 10 minutes of each other. You weren't allowed to talk to anyone outside of that, you weren't allowed to wear jewelry, listen to music, to eat certain things, to date people...you weren't allowed to do pretty much anything."[6] However, after a pastor threatened Wilson's mother, the family left the church and moved to Brooklyn, New York when Haze was 16 years old. Haze soon began delving into the world of secular music.[7]

In 2012, Haze recounted the experience of being sexually assaulted as a child in "Cleaning Out My Closet", a song from the mixtape Classick, which borrows the beat from Eminem's song of the same name.[3]

Musical career

Angel Haze performing live at Øyafestivalen in 2013.

From 2009 to 2012, Haze released a series of mixtapes for free download on the Internet: New Moon, Altered Ego, King, and Voice. In July 2012, they released the free mixtape Reservation to critical acclaim, receiving an 88/100 score from Metacritic.[8] On December 9, the BBC announced that Haze had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll.[9]

On August 28, 2013, Haze released "Echelon (It's My Way)" as the lead single from the debut album, Dirty Gold. The entire album was leaked on December 18, 2013, prior to scheduled March 2014 release.[10] The album release was put forward and it appeared through Island Records and Republic Records on December 30, 2013, to positive reviews. It had low first-week sales [11] of 857 copies in the United Kingdom and less than 1,000 copies in the United States.[12][13] On September 14, 2015, Haze released the mixtape Back to the Woods announcing that the project was just "something to share before a sophomore".[14]

Personal life

Haze identifies as pansexual and as agender.[15] Knowing the value of representation, Haze has said "I'm glad there's an actual woman of color representing queerness and pansexuality, someone who is like me in the spotlight."[16] In an interview with The Guardian, Haze stated that, "Love is boundary-less. If you can make me feel, if you can make me laugh – and that's hard – then I can be with you. I don't care if you have a vagina or if you're a hermaphrodite or whatever."[17] In 2015 Haze noted in an interview with Buzzfeed that "I feel like my agenderness and my gender identity have evolved",[18] while a year later she explained that "I sound like four people when I get written about as 'they'. It drives me crazy. If you call me 'him' or 'her' it doesn't matter to me. I don’t consider myself of any sex. I consider myself an experience."[19] Haze had a relationship with Ireland Baldwin and recognized the significance as an interracial and queer couple.[20] It ended in 2015.[19]

Other projects

One of Haze's main concerns is representation and body image, and started a positive body image campaign entitled "The Naked Eye" to focus on the different forms of body dysmorphia ranging from eating disorders to gender identity.[18]

Discography

Filmography

Television

Year Film Role Notes
2015 Catfish: The TV Show[21] Co-host Season 4 - Episode 3

Awards and nominations

Year Organization Award Work Result
2012 MTV Brand New For 2013[22] - Nominated
BBC Sound of 2013[9][23] Third
2013 Popdust Next Pop Superstar of 2013[24] - Nominated
O Music Awards Best Web-Born Artist[25]
2014 BET Awards Best Female Hip Hop Artist[26]
MTV Video Music Awards Best Video with a Social Message[27] "Battle Cry"
2015 GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Music Artist -

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ "Azealia Banks and Angel Haze trade shots on Twitter". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
    2. ↑ Hoby, Hermione (2012-09-01). "Angel Haze: 'Right now, no one can beat me'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
    3. 1 2 "Interview: Angel Haze, the rapper fighting rape culture". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
    4. ↑ "Angel Haze Talks Universal Republic Deal, Debut Album, & Azealia Banks Collabo". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
    5. ↑ "Reviews for Back To The Woods by Angel Haze - Metacritic". Metacritic.
    6. 1 2 Macpherson, Alex (January 31, 2013). "Rapper Angel Haze on religion, rape, and survival". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
    7. ↑ "New Music: Angel Haze – 'No Bueno'". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
    8. ↑ "Reviews for Reservation [Mixtape] by Angel Haze - Metacritic". Metacritic.
    9. 1 2 "Sound of 2013 Profiles: Angel Haze". BBC. 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
    10. ↑ "Angel Haze Says 'F**k You' to Label, Leaks their Album". Rap-Up.
    11. ↑ "Reviews for Dirty Gold by Angel Haze - Metacritic". Metacritic.
    12. ↑ "Angel Haze Isn't Bothered By Her Low Record Sales - XXL". XXL.
    13. ↑ "Angel Haze's Dirty Gold sold 857 copies first week in the UK, not the Billboard 200 - FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.". FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music.
    14. ↑ "Stream: Angel Haze's new project Back to the Woods". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-01-08.
    15. ↑ Osorio, Kim (2012-07-05). "Angel Haze: What This Up-And-Coming Female MC Says Will Make You Listen". The Source.
    16. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Angel Haze on questioning her family, her sexuality & God". www.out.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
    17. ↑ Hoby, Hermione (2012-09-01). "Angel Haze: 'Right now, no one can beat me'". The Guardian. London.
    18. 1 2 Keating, Shannon (March 27, 2015). "The Evolution Of Angel Haze". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
    19. 1 2 Smyth, David (January 15, 2016). "Angel Haze, interview: 'At home, I'm dead. But on stage, I'm God'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2016-09-04.
    20. ↑ Alexander, Ella (2014-06-27). "Angel Haze on Ireland Baldwin: 'An interracial gay couple, I mean that's just weird for America right now'". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015.
    21. ↑ "Angel Haze on "Catfish" and helping a homophobic mom love her bisexual daughter on "Truce" - AfterEllen". AfterEllen.
    22. ↑ "MTV's Brande New For 2013 Nominees announced". MTV. 2012-11-28. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
    23. ↑ "BBC Sound of 2013: Angel Haze". BBC. 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
    24. ↑ "VOTE NOW! Help Decide The Next Pop Superstar of 2013!". Archived from the original on 2015-03-03.
    25. ↑ "Best Web-Born Artist". Viacom. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
    26. ↑ "Best Female Hip Hop Artist". BET.
    27. ↑ "2014 MTV Video Music Awards Nominations: Get The Full List". MTV. 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2014-08-26.

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