Inuit-Canadian singer who covered 'Diamonds″ dies at 26

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By LYNN ELBER

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kelly Fraser, a Canadian pop artist who gained attention for an Inuit-language cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds,” part of her advocacy efforts for her indigenous culture, has died. Fraser was 26.

Thor Simonsen, Fraser’s friend and producer, said he was told the day after Christmas by the singer-songwriter’s family that she had died. The family declined to release details, including the cause of death, Simonsen said Saturday.

Fraser, who grew up in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, Canada, and was living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, released “Isuma,” her debut album, in 2014. Her sophomore album, “Sedna,” came out in 2017 and was nominated for indigenous music album of the year at Canada’s Juno music awards.

When Fraser wrote or translated songs into Inuktitut, an Inuit language, a key aim was to “use pop music as a platform to strengthen her language,” Simonsen said. She also wanted to make the music as accessible to as many people as possible, he said, so she mixed English and Inuktitut in her recordings and blended traditional Inuit sounds and themes with contemporary pop.



FILE - In this March 25, 2018, file photo, Kelly Fraser arrives on the red carpet at the Juno Awards in Vancouver, British Columbia. Fraser, a Canadian pop artist who gained attention for an Inuit-language cover of Rihanna's "Diamonds," part of her advocacy efforts for her indigenous culture, has died. Fraser was 26. Thor Simonsen, Fraser's friend and producer, said he was told the day after Christmas by the singer-songwriter's family that she had died. The family declined to release details, including the cause of death, Simonsen said Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/0d6bc08be7ff56f7ca41cca17c3a1f74

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[applegrove]

1. So sad.

[burrowowl]

2. Really sad!

[2naSalit]

3. How sad!

[Judi Lynn]

4. Sorry to learn about this artist after she died. She had a very important next step directly ahead.

According to her Wiki., she was working on her most socially significant music this far. One can only wonder what would have followed once she had dared to open the subject more directly for the general population, on a subject few outside the people directly affected by Canada's government's policy and history regarding the native citizens seemed to realize, so damned sadly:

History
Originally from Sanikiluaq, Nunavut,[5][6] in Canada, she was educated at Nunavut Sivuniksavut in Ottawa before completing an indigenous studies program at Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in British Columbia.[7] She first attracted widespread attention in 2013 with a series of Inuktitut-language covers of pop songs, most notably Rihanna's "Diamonds", on YouTube.[6][8]

She released her debut album, Isuma, in 2014.[6][9] Sedna followed in 2017.[7] Her songs included Inuktitut and English language, and musically, combined contemporary pop with traditional Inuit sounds.[6] Her producer reported that she was working on another album, to be called Decolonize, when she died.[6]

She died at her home in Winnipeg, Manitoba on December 24, 2019.[2][3]

Musicography
Sedna
Sedna was released on February 25, 2017, by Nunavut's Hitmakerz record label.[10][7] The title of the album, known as ᓄᓕᐊᔪᒃ (Nuliaju) in Inuktitut, refers to the story of Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea, which Fraser decided to modernize in this album.[8] She said, "The goal of the album is to help heal those suffering from the effects of colonization, including the damaging effects of residential school and forced relocation. There is a great need for Inuit artists to directly speak to those affected from the past."[10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Fraser

[wendyb-NC]

5. That is so sad. What a loss

R.I.P. Kelly Fraser.