Imam's mother is from Lithuania and of Samogitian descent, while her father is of Syrian descent.[4] She grew up in Plungė, Lithuania, and Stockholm.[3] Imam has an academic background and has studied English and psychology at the University of Stockholm.[5][3] Imam is openly lesbian and was in a relationship with singer Beatrice Eli. She is a member of the hiphop collective RMH.[6] RMH consists of rappers Erik "Eboi" Lundin and Cherrie.[7]
Career
In 2012, she was nominated for Newcomer of the Year at Kingsizegalan, and in May 2013, she released her debut album called Rekviem for the record label Playground Music.[8] In May 2014, she released the EP När du ser mig • Se dig, and, after that went on her Jag ser dig tour in Sweden during the summer of 2014.[9]
In January 2015, Imam signed with Sebastian Ingrosso's record label, Refune Music.[10] In February 2015, she was named Homo of the Year at the QX Gaygalan Awards.[11] In April 2015, she released her second EP, called Jag dör för dig, and went on her second tour, called Jag är naturkraft.[12] Imam is in a relationship with performer Beatrice Eli and in June 2015, the couple performed together in Gothenburg under the stage name of Vierge Moderne.[13][14] They got the name for their duo from a poem of the Finnish poet Edith Södergran.[14] They performed at the performance stage at Liseberg.[14] She was a guest in the premiere episode of the discussion show Edit: Dirawi, with Gina Dirawi as presenter.[15] In October 2015, Imam was a guest on the Aftonbladet TV show "Nästa Nivå" (Next Level), where she discussed rap music with rap artist Sebbe Staxx.[16] In February 2015, she won the award for Best Live Act at Manifestgalan.[17] Silvana Imam has described herself in her lyrics as the Vincent van Gogh of rap, the Liberace of rap, and the Quentin Tarantino of rap.[18]
In October 2016, Silvana Imam was confirmed to play at the 31st edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, the Netherlands.[19] On 2 July 2021, Imam and Lune [sv] will release "Vinner med hjärtat", the theme song for Sweden for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[20] She made her acting debut in the 2022 film Dogborn, which premiered at the International Critics' Week section of the 79th Venice International Film Festival.[21]
^Rogers, Thomas (March 22, 2019). "She Raps and Sweden Listens". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
^Strandberg, Klara (2014-05-29). "Silvana är steget före" [Silvana is a step ahead]. ETC (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^Jonsson, Alexandra (20 May 2013). "Intervju – Silvana Imam" [Interview - Silvana Imam]. Kingsize Magazine (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.