Lido Pimienta

A swirling mix of traditional Latin American music, avant production, and politically charged songwriting has transformed Lido Pimienta into an agent of pop revolution who packages searing indictments on racism and gender-based violence within deceptively catchy tunes. Pimienta was born in Barranquilla, Colombia, in 1986 and moved to Canada when she was 18, settling in London, ON, and later relocating to Toronto. The prolific singer/songwriter and producer is Afro-Colombian and indigenous Wayú, frequently honoring her heritage through textured visual art and records fusing cumbia and bullerengue with synth-pop and house music. Her 2010 debut, Color, and the sweet, soaring vocals of cult hit “Humano” established Pimienta as a formidable new talent before she became a household name with 2016's self-produced La Papessa. On the album, Pimienta unspooled abusive relationships (“La Capacidad”) and embattled water access (“Agua”), leading her to win the prestigious Polaris Music Prize. Her 2020 follow-up, Miss Colombia, took the fight even further, unpacking diasporic disillusionment on “Eso Que Tu Haces” and the pains of motherhood on “Nada,” earning Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations. In 2022, Pimienta took a more humorous approach to critiquing colonialism and inequality with her sketch show, Lido TV, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.