Real name: Kelly Amaujaq Fraser

Effective period / Period of releases: 2017

Kelly Fraser is a Canadian Inuk pop singer and songwriter (August 8th, 1993 - December 24th, 2019), with broad influences spanning from hip-hop and EDM, to folk, traditional, blues, rock 'n' roll, and soul. Her second album, Sedna, received a Juno Award nomination for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018. Kelly was awarded the Indspire prize, in 2019, in honor of her work with the Nunavut Hitmakerz; a group she co-founded with producer Thor Simonsen on a mission to travel around Nunavut and beyond, empowering local communities and cultural traditions by hosting songwriting/recording workshops. These events often included a feast of traditional foods, lessons in Inuktitut song forms, help with fundraising including cash prizes for talent show winners, free concerts, and ultimately a gift for the communities involved, of a portable recording studio, so that these Inuit communities can continue to carry on this work after the event is over.

Kelly is known for her powerful voice, not only as a singer but also as an advocate for her people. Fierce and yet also fiercely supportive, she was proud to say that she makes music for all people, while being equally unafraid to speak uncomfortable truths in defense of Inuit and First Nations peoples. Nevertheless this "North Star" (as she is depicted in the French documentary "L'Etoile Polaire" from 2016) seems to have melted hearts everywhere she went, and she is remembered for her "incredible kindness" and her listening compassionate ear, as much as for her unwavering bravery and willingness to confront difficult social themes.

Kelly performs her own original songs in both the Inuktitut and English language, but with a special gift also for translating famous pop songs into her native tongue. In addition to singing lead vocals and composing her first songs with her band Kelly Fraser and the Easy Four while still only in her teenage years, she also played bass in the band and was inspired to learn guitar at a very young age after watching the film Freaky Friday from 2003. Her self-expression as an artist began even earlier, as she describes in her Moment of Truth interview with David Moses: "I was 10 years old when I started writing poems. And these weren't--these weren't fun poems, these were very depressed poems. At 10 years old, why would I be writing poems that are very depressing? Well, unfortunately after we've gotten assimilated, we've gotten colonized, I felt the after-effects of the residential schools, the dog-sled slaughter, the TB epidemics... So, growing up... I felt everyone's pain, and I think that's what all artists feel; is they absorb everyone's feelings, and so I started using an outlet of writing."

She began playing guitar a year or so later, and would soon be interweaving modern forms of popular music with traditional Inuit music forms in increasingly innovative ways; utilizing traditions such as throat-singing and the qilauti (a hand-held drum often accompanied by drum dances). The song "Immamiit" (meaning "In the Water") from her album Sedna features the qilauti prominently, and the album itself is named after the Inuit creation myth of the goddess Sedna (also known as "Nuliajuk" in Inuktitut). The story of Sedna is very sacred to Inuit and Nuliajuk was worshiped widely as the goddess of the Sea, who gave birth to humanity as we know it, long before Christian missionaries arrived and forbid the practice of traditional indigenous beliefs. Kelly felt it was important to restore this sacred connection to the spirit of her people, and in her performances of the song "Sedna" she channels Nuliajuk onstage, often dressing in her honor, and embodying her story. In an interview for CBC's Unreserved, Kelly elaborated on this relationship, saying "I feel a very deep connection with her through trauma and through the determination to keep going."

Born in Igloolik, her family later moved to Sanikiluaq, Nunavut where she grew up in a small arctic island community of only just about 900 people. Fraser first attracted widespread attention in 2013 with a series of Inuktitut-language covers of pop songs, most notably Rihanna's "Diamonds," which has since drawn over 1.1 Million views on youtube from all over the world. She released her debut album, Isuma (meaning "Think" in Inuktitut), with her band in 2014, combining contemporary pop with traditional Inuit music. The title track--the music video for which has now gained over 160K views and counting--was originally written when she was only 15 years old. Inuit culture and awareness of present-day issues and Inuit rights; many of these themes feature heavily in her music.

Sadly, at the age of 26, Kelly passed away in December of 2019. Kelly believed deeply in the power of music, art, and dialogue to bring about healing and was working on an album titled "Decolonize" at the time of her passing; an album she hoped would help to mend the inter-generational trauma resulting from the brutal history of Canada's colonization of Inuit lands (among other nations)--a history more recent than most of us are aware--which has greatly affected her people. A very intuitive and spiritual artist, rooted in her land and her community, she knew all too well that wounds need attention in order to heal. She gave herself bravely to this cause, with an openness and honesty rare in our world, and her legacy very much lives on through the hearts and minds of those her work continues to touch. A short documentary titled "Inuit singer-songwriter Kelly Fraser | Fight for the Rights" was released by CBC in September of 2018 documenting her struggles and triumphs.

On December 24, 2019, Kelly passed away in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Her cause of death has been attributed to suicide. According to her family, she had suffered through "childhood traumas, racism and persistent cyberbullying". Several candlelight vigils in her honor were held at The Forks on January 4th, 2020...with memorial gatherings drawing hundreds of people to celebrate her life and gifts, and tributes pouring in from all over the world. Despite the tragedy of her passing, she is remembered as "a bright light" and "a beacon of hope." Commenting on her legacy, friend and producer Thor Simonsen further affirmed, "Her impact as an advocate is going to be felt for years." A statement given by her family reads, "Kelly gave so much of herself to help others... She was fiercely open with her fans in the hopes that sharing her struggles might help them know they were not alone. Kelly fought so hard to be well. We know that she would want us all to continue to do our very best to take care of ourselves."