Sirah (rapper)

Sirah
Birth name Sara Elizabeth Mitchell[1]
Also known as
  • Sirah One
  • Sirah Oner
Born July 28, 1988 (age 28)
Long Island, New York, U.S.
Origin New York City[2]
Genres Hip hop, pop,[3] moombahton[4]
Occupation(s) Rapper, singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2007present
Labels
Associated acts
Website www.sirahmusic.com

Sara Elizabeth Mitchell[1] (born July 28, 1988), better known by her stage name Sirah /ˈsrə/[2] is an American hip hop recording artist based in Los Angeles.[7] She is well known for her collaborations with Skrillex, including "WEEKENDS!!!",[8] "Kyoto"[9] and the hit single "Bangarang".[9]

Background

Mitchell was born in Long Island,[10] to a bluesman and an artist.[11] Her youth included poverty, homelessness and alcoholism.[12] She was repeatedly caught creating graffiti; she stopped after being arrested for it.[4] She moved to Washington with her father at age six, but after he died of an overdose,[11] she ended up returning to New York. There, she was arrested several times and eventually absconded to Los Angeles rather than be placed in foster care at age fifteen.[11] For a while, she considered Union Station her home before purchasing a Jeep Cherokee and living in it[11] in a garage in East Los Angeles;[4] in an interview, she stated that she lived out of her car and felt safe in doing so.[4]

Musical career

Mitchell moved from singing to rapping after her mother gave a negative review of her voice,[2] and mentioned that the turning point for her was when she heard Big Pun's Capital Punishment.[2]

After moving to Los Angeles, she booked her own tours in such countries as Germany and Romania, sleeping on floors and collecting money from fans.[13] Her first EP, Clean Windows Dirty Floors, was produced by DJ Hoppa.[11] Her first LP, Smile You Have Teeth, was never released. Prior to its intended release, Mitchell's manager sent her a contract demanding $30,000 from the LP's proceeds. She subsequently decided to abandon the album and start anew.[11]

Mitchell met Skrillex after she was contacted by him on MySpace, commending her work and requesting that they work together.[14] The first track, WEEKENDS!!! was the result of Skrillex asking her to rap into his laptop the lyrics she was working on.[15] Their second collaboration, "Bangarang", happened after he called her while he was on tour and asked her to record 16 bars[15] about the Lost Boys.[14] She forgot to close the window before recording it,[14] and thus birds are audible in the recording.[15] Mitchell has also released a mixtape, C.U.L.T: Too Young to Die.[14] After that she released another EP, Inhale.[16]

Achievements

At the 54th Annual Grammy Awards, Mitchell and Skrillex won the award for Best Dance Recording for their collaboration Bangarang. It is Mitchell's first Grammy win.

Influences

Mitchell is influenced by Joni Mitchell, Big Pun, WHY?, Qwel, Black Thought, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Jewel, and Cat Stevens.[3]

Discography

Albums

Title Details
Broken Complex (with Broken Complex)

Mixtapes

Title Details Tracks
C.U.L.T. Mixtape
  1. "Up & Down"
  2. "My City"
  3. "Motel Bible"
  4. "Blew Your Mind"
  5. "Game On" (featuring JT)
  6. "Like Me Now"
  7. "Black Eyes"
  8. "C.U.L.T."
  9. "Love You Down"
C.U.L.T. (Too Young To Die)
  • Released: September 24, 2012
  • Label: Pulse Recordings/Atlantic Records
  • Formats: Digital download, CD
  1. "Up & Down"
  2. "My City"
  3. "Motel Bible"
  4. "Blew Your Mind"
  5. "Like Me Now"
  6. "Made It"
  7. "When I'm Gone"

EPs

Year Album Label
2007 Clean Windows Dirty Floors (with DJ Hoppa) Broken Complex
2011 Trick'd Unsigned
2013 Inhale Pulse Recordings / Atlantic Records

Singles

Year Song Label
2011 "God's Grace (with DJ Hoppa)" Broken Complex

Other appearances

Year Song Album Label
2010 "WEEKENDS!!!" (Skrillex featuring Sirah) My Name Is Skrillex Big Beat
2011 "Kyoto" (Skrillex featuring Sirah) Bangarang Big Beat /
OWSLA
2011 "Bangarang" (Skrillex featuring Sirah) Big Beat /
OWSLA
2012 "Survival" (Alvin Risk featuring Sirah) Infinity Ministry of Sound
2013 "Speakerbox" (The Juggernaut featuring Sirah)[17] TBA TBA
2014 "Lilies" (Lupe Fiasco featuring Sirah) Lost in the Atlantic TBA
2015 "Visionary" (Rain Man featuring Sirah) TBA Buygore Records
2015 "Waitin for You" (Demi Lovato featuring Sirah) Confident Island, Safehouse and Hollywood Records
2015 "Memories" (KSHMR & Bassjackers featuring Sirah) Single Release Spinnin' Records
2015 "Hotel Confidential" (Max Schneider featuring Sirah) "Ms. Anonymous" DCD2 Records
2016 "Mug Shot" (Max Schneider featuring Sirah) "Hell's Kitchen Angel" DCD2 Records
2016 "Stop Me" (Wiwek featuring Sirah) The Free & Rebellious - EP OWSLA

References

  1. 1 2 Bangarang (inlay). Skrillex. OWSLA. December 23, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "HC Exclusive: Interview with Female Rapper, Sirah". Her Campus.
  3. 1 2 "Sirah". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rebecca Haithcoat. "Sirah: Your New Favorite Female Rapper Indie Pop Princess". L.A. Weekly.
  5. "SXSW 2013: A surprise in Azari & III, a potential local star in Sirah and a major misstep by Icona Pop". latimes.
  6. "Mighty Mike - Pulse Recording". Pulse Recording. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  7. "Exclusive Q&A with Female Rapper Sirah on Lana's Land's Blog - Buzznet". buzznet.com.
  8. "INTERVIEW: Sirah Talks 'Cult'; Explains How She Recorded Vocals for Skrillex's 'Bangarang'". ralphieaversa.com.
  9. 1 2 "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". officialcharts.com.
  10. Article on Sirah, from Thesource.com
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Downtown Music Services". Downtown Music Services. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
  12. Ali, Reyan. "Salt Lake City Music - Music Articles: Sirah". Cityweekly.net. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  13. "Sira One & DJ Hoppa Present: Clean Windows Dirty Floors - Sirah One,Sirah & DJ Hoppa | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Sirah: Rap, EDM and "Fun Dip" | Life+Times". Lifeandtimes.com. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  15. 1 2 3 "INTERVIEW: Sirah Talks 'Cult'; Explains How She Recorded Vocals for Skrillex's 'Bangarang'". ralphieaversa.com. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
  16. "Sirah's 'Inhale' EP: Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-06-19.
  17. "Resurrection Mix by THE_JUGGERNAUT on SoundCloud". SoundCloud. 2013-04-08.
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