Jephté Kweto (professionally known as jev.) is a Congolese-Canadian refugee who considers himself a loner. The loner theme aims to highlight the positive aspects of being someone who paves their own path. Having lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Canada, jev lacks a specific home city to pay homage to, thus he gravitates towards a more worldly and individualized sense of home. As a citizen of the world, jev aims to bring people together from all walks of life through his “it’s okay to be different” overarching message and his experimental music, which incorporates various styles and genres (particularly alternative hip-hop, classic hip-hop, and R&B). Inspired by legends like Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Andre 3000, Nas, YMCMB, and Jay Z, Jev is vying for his own spot upon the Mount Rushmore of the genre. He released his first EP “The Color Grey.” in December 2022, and his lead single from the project reached #1 on the Spotify US Viral 50 chart less than a month later. This inspired Jev to quit his day job, hire major music firms for his management and legal representation, and continue releasing consistently towards another and even stronger body of work. “The Color Grey.” garnered attention from prominent media outlets such as Lyrical Lemonade, Pigeons & Planes (Best New Artists of 2023), and Sheesh Media. He also landed on the cover-photo for two major editorial playlists: Northern Bars and Alternative Hip-Hop between April and June 2023, and appeared on Mellow Bars, Most Necessary, Fresh Finds: Hip Hop, and many more since gaining traction on TikTok and Reels. Jev has amassed over 60 million streams on Spotify alone, as well as 4.5 million aggregate views with 2 million aggregate likes across his TikTok and Instagram reels content. Jev. has established himself as a compelling live performer, opening for major artists such as Lil Tjay in front of 7,000 fans in Ottawa during the Beat the Odds tour (September 2023), Erick the Architect in Toronto (March 2024), and viral rap star Lexa Gates in a sold-out Toronto show (March 2025). Jev also teamed up with local Toronto Film School students to shoot his music videos free-of-charge, which has led to him growing his YouTube following from the ground up to almost 10k subscribers. The emerging rapper’s plans for the second half of 2023 include a six-song EP, a Pigeons & Planes NYC showcase as his debut show, and his debut album, “when angels cry”. He is also being featured by Spotify as a Radar Canada artist for the entirety of Q3, landing him a major city-centre billboard in Dundas Square beginning July 14th. With all of his momentum, Jev has also been co-signed by platforms like Complex, Medium Sized Backyard, On The Radar, Audiomack and Overtime Sound.