Inuk pop singer Kelly Fraser, whose 2017 album Sedna earned a Juno nomination, died Christmas Day in Winnipeg. She was 26.
A cause of death was not immediately revealed. Fraser had previously opened up about her struggles with substance abuse and her father’s suicide.
"She was an Inuk pop music sensation, who helped introduce the rest of the world to the North," tweeted Mike Gibbs. "Her achievements and talent, and a powerful voice for Indigenous nations, cannot be overstated."
Toronto music journalist Ben Rayner described Fraser as "too young and too talented to leave us so soon" and Liberal MP Marc Miller took to Twitter to remember Fraser as "an immensely talented young artist."
Fraser sang and rapped her politically-charged songs in both English and Inuktitut.
“I’m like the native Madonna, Rihanna, Cardi B with a taste of Buffy Sainte-Marie just to remind you that we still have rights,” Fraser explained in a YouTube video message last month.
“I just love to sing and I want to sing all the time. I love singing in my language and I love singing about Inuit and what we’ve gone through. And I believe that this country and this whole world needs to hear my music so we can heal together.”
In addition to her own music, the singer regularly shared Inuktitut covers of pop songs, including Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and Camila Cabello’s “Havana.”
Born in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, Fraser attended schools in Ottawa and Merritt, B.C. with a goal of becoming a lawyer. She began playing music at a young age and released her debut album Isuma in 2014.
Last month, Fraser launched a campaign to raise $60,000 to record her third album, Decolonize, which she hoped to release in early 2020.
A GoFundMe page has been set up on behalf of Fraser’s sisters Jessie, Max and Rachel. "Please help if you can," Inuk singer Tanya Tagaq tweeted on Thursday. Singer Bif Naked also shared a link to the fundraiser. "Our love and condolences to Kelly’s family," she tweeted.
“Making music, singing, performing, and teaching others is what I love," Fraser is quoted as saying, in her online bio. “It makes me happy and helps my own self-esteem, too. I want to do everything I can for a better Nunavut.”