HAWA was born in Berlin, but spent most of her early life growing up with family in Conakry, Guinea. At age 9, HAWA’s mother made her leave for New York to avoid being affected by the region’s deep-rooted inequities, like all the women in her family had generations prior. Nevertheless, she remains steadfast about her African identity.

After a series of successful singles, HAWA released her critically-acclaimed debut EP the ONE in March 2020. She takes pride in the fluidity of her own sound and enjoys when people can’t ascribe a singular genre, traversing effortlessly between Rap, R&B, Afrobeat, and beyond. Aside from performing in Telfar’s Pitti Uomo fashion show in Florence, atop an ornate table for the likes of Solange, Kelela, and Juliana Huxtable, and grabbing Vogue’s attention at the Gap x Telfar’s event in Paris, the 21-year-old prodigy has not even begun to scratch the surface of her prowess with The ONE.