Biography

Ashton D. Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two critically acclaimed EPs Praise Break (2014) and Pilgrim's Paradise (2015), Caesar released his debut album Freudian in August 2017, which also garnered widespread critical acclaim.

Early life

Ashton Simmonds was born on April 5, 1995 in Oshawa, Ontario, the second eldest of four children to parents Hollace and Norwill Simmonds, a gospel singer who released his first album as a high schooler in Jamaica. Simmonds attended a Seventh-day Adventist church and private school in Oshawa. He is of Barbadian and Jamaican descent.

Career

Caesar received widespread critical acclaim for his debut 2014's EP Praise Break, which was ranked number 19 on the "20 Best R&B Albums of 2014" by Rolling Stone. His body of work is influenced by religion, which played a large role in his upbringing, as well as unrequited love.

On August 25, 2017, Caesar released his debut album Freudian, which included singles "Get You", "We Find Love", and "Blessed". The album was a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Caesar was nominated for two awards for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance for his single "Get You".  At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Caesar won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance for his single "Best Part". 

Artistry

As a singer-songwriter raised on the sounds of soul and gospel, his music draws from the experiences of his childhood and supplements them with a modern R&B and electronics while lyrics explore the subjects of religion and unrequited love. Caesar cites Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Beyoncé and The Doors frontman Jim Morrison as sources of musical and aesthetic inspirations.

Controversy

On March 19, 2019, Caesar posted a video, in which he repeatedly confesses to be drunk, to defend his friend, Julieanna 'YesJulz' Goddard via an Instagram live stream. Goddard has been called a 'culture vulture' for her use of Black culture and subsequent disregard for African Americans, especially black women. Goddard was specifically called out for her recent (January 2019) freestyle in which she infers black people take and do not give back and murder other black people. Crime across all groups is inherently predominantly intraracial, that is, within the same ethnic group. Caesar came to her defense asking why black people were "being so mean to white people," specifically Goddard, saying it was not "a quality." His comments were received negatively as while Goddard claimed the lyrics were about corporations, she also has a rocky history with race relations. His video stemmed from an interaction with Dave Chappelle on John Mayer's Instagram Live stream where Caesar thought he was being too sensitive when Chappelle called his singing 'very gay'. He then extrapolated that black people en masse, and specifically call out culture, were overly sensitive.

To , he may see a case of his friend , who has always been nice to him, making an honest mistake. To the larger social sphere that she regularly engages, though, is a habitual line stepper, who uses her problematic actions to provoke reactions then hides behind a facade of victimhood — the very thing that Caesar accuses Black fans of doing. The “jokes” he says that we can’t take, individually, don’t seem to be a problem, but they minimize any issue we may have and accusing us of sensitivity undermines us when we do speak up.

Caesar would apologize for the way in which he gave his opinions, a manner in which no one could respond, but not for the comments themselves stating, "I was talking down to you guys. I apologize for how I expressed my idea, here was no one there to challenge my ideas. That’s also dangerous. That’s why it’s tyrannical... that is where I went wrong. I believe in what I said. A real man can admit when he’s wrong. I can admit when I’m wrong.”

In April 2018, Caesar retweeted and deleted tweets from conservative Candace Owens. He noted that he did not want to 'martyr' for the tweets and that people should hear opposing arguments. He would later backtrack his comments.

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