Crooner-rapper, lyricist iLoveMakonnen, a multiracial artist, was born on April 12, 1989, in Los Angeles, California. He was named Makonnen Kamali Sheran in honor of Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, the birth name of Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia. He is also known as Makonnen Danny Morris. Makonnen was reared in College Park, Georgia. Growing up, he had a karaoke machine and a keyboard purchased by his mother.
Makonnen is a 2007 graduate of North Clayton High School in College Park. However, the day after graduation, he accidentally fatally wounded two of his high school friends with a handgun and was arrested. He spent four weeks in jail and was later placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor. He was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to five years of probation. Afterward, he enrolled in the Beauty College of America, a cosmetology program.
In 2014, iLoveMakonnen released his self-titled EP, iLoveMakonnen with Warner Brothers Records. It peaked at no. 40 on the Billboard R&B chart and no. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100. The EP included the singles “I Don’t Sell Molly No More” and “Tuesday.” The latter song featured rapper Drake (Aubrey Drake Graham) and peaked at no. 1 R&B and no. 2, Billboard Hot 100 as it sold over a million copies and was viewed on YouTube more than 150 million times. That same year, he produced iLoveMakonnen 2 his second 2nd EP that reached no. 49 on the R&B chart. In 2015, iLoveMakonnen released Drink More Water 5.
In 2017, iLoveMakonnen tweeted that he was gay. However, after revealing the information, he was maligned on social media. He responded with his first album, Fun Summer 17 Vol. 1 which took on his detractors. The following year, 2018, he released iLoveAmerica featuring the single “Sunlight On Your Skin.” His next project, “I’ve Been Waiting,” a collaborative project with Lil Peep, featured on iLoveMakonnen’s 2019 album Everybody’s Everything, peaked at no. 62 US. “I’ve Been Waiting” reached no. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and generated sales of more than 500,000 copies. In 2021, iLoveMakonnen released My Parade Through Timeless Magic.
Otis D. Alexander, Library Director at Saint John Vianney College Seminary & Graduate School in Miami, Florida, has also directed academic and public libraries in the District of Columbia, Indiana, Texas, and Virginia. In addition, he has been a library manager in the Virgin Islands of the United States as well as in the Republic of Liberia. His research has appeared in Public Library Quarterly, Scribner’s Encyclopedia of American Lives, and Virginia Libraries journal. Alexander received the Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from the University of the District of Columbia and the Master of Library & Information Science degree from Ball State University. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from International University and studied additionally at Harvard Graduate School of Education Leadership for Academic Librarians, Oberlin Conservatory of Music Voice Performance Pedagogy, and Atlanta University School of Library & Information Studies.
