One of the most unique rappers of any scene, North Carolina’s Mavi exudes conscientiousness and charisma. He started turning heads as a teenager for his poetic flow and laid-back delivery, and he only got better with time, issuing some of the genre’s most thoughtful releases of the late 2010s and early 2020s.
Born in Sumter, South Carolina, in 1999 but raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, Omavi Minder and his siblings were nourished by a supportive, conscientious family: his grandmother was part of a middle school class that pushed for desegregation, and his parents – a nurse mother and a computer programmer father who made some music on the side – encouraged him and his brothers to pursue art and literature on their own terms. Mavi first gained notice locally as part of a hip-hop collective KILLSWITCH, earning the nickname “Mayor” for his charismatic personality. Inspired by everything from Toni Morrison to the teachings of the Five-Percent Nation, he started tinkering with music in earnest while studying neuroscience at Howard University. Mixtapes Beacon (2016) and No Roses (2017) were followed by 2019’s Let the Sun Talk, his breakthrough debut album.
Lyrically compared to heroes like MF Doom, Andre 3000, and Earl Sweatshirt – the latter of whom produced a few tracks on the album – the debut radiated with unique turns of phrase and at-times existential thoughts on race, class, and identity that didn’t go over listeners’ heads. Though not signed to a major label, the buzz was loud enough that Mavi put his studies on hold to pursue music full-time. After scrapping a planned 2020 album, Shango, he instead put work in on an introspective EP, 2021’s End of the Earth, and a critically acclaimed personal full-length, Laughing So Hard It Hurts, a year later. The soulful (and soul-baring) Shadowbox was released in 2024.
