Have you ever been absolutely certain a musician was homegrown American, only to discover they weren’t actually born in the States? It happens more often than you’d think. The way certain artists blend into the American music scene makes their international origins easy to overlook.
Some of these musicians are so embedded in hip hop, pop, and R&B culture that most fans never question their backgrounds. Their accents, their style, their entire persona screams American success story. Yet their birth certificates tell a different tale entirely. Let’s be real, when you hear these artists on the radio or see them dominating the charts, the last thing on your mind is checking their passport details.
The Weeknd: Toronto’s Gift to Global R&B
The Weeknd was proclaimed the most popular musician on the planet in early 2023 by Guinness World Records. Yet many people still assume he’s from Los Angeles, given how deeply his music connects to California lifestyle themes. The Weeknd is actually Canadian, and he grew up in Toronto, born to Ethiopian immigrants who separated shortly after his birth.
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in Ontario, the only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu. His parents came to Canada from Ethiopia, and he was raised primarily by his mother and grandmother in Scarborough. His music feels indelibly influenced by LA, celebrity culture, sex, drugs, and money, so much so that it would be easy to believe he’s a native Angeleno, but he actually grew up in Toronto.
What makes this even more interesting is how his heritage shapes his sound. Tesfaye’s vocals have a recognizable Ethiopian characteristic, with his trademark vibrato drawing from a long Ethiopian musical legacy of tortured pining, a hallmark of Ethiopian musical tradition. Think about that next time you hear his falsetto soaring through your speakers.
Justin Bieber: The Canadian Teen Sensation
Justin Bieber was born March 1, 1994, in London, Ontario, Canada. Honestly, this one surprised millions of fans when they first learned the truth. Justin Drew Bieber was born in London, Ontario, Canada, and his mother raised him alone. He grew up in the small town of Stratford, Ontario, far from the glitz of Hollywood.
American talent executive Scooter Braun discovered Bieber’s YouTube clips, which had amassed more than one million views, then flew the 13-year-old to Atlanta to record and meet with R&B star Usher. In 2011, Bieber was honoured with a star in front of Avon Theater in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, where he used to busk when he was younger. His Canadian roots remain strong despite his massive American success.
Here’s something wild: On November 23, 2012, Bieber was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the former Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, and he was one of 60,000 Canadians to receive the Diamond Jubilee medal that year. Pretty impressive for someone many Americans assumed was one of their own.
Cardi B: Bronx Rapper With Caribbean Roots
Wait, you might be thinking, isn’t Cardi B the ultimate Bronx native? Well, yes and no. Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar was born on October 11, 1992, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, with a Dominican father Carlos and a Trinidadian mother Clara, and was raised in the Highbridge neighborhood of the South Bronx. While she was definitely born in New York, her parents were both born abroad.
The rapper’s father, Carlos, is of Dominican descent and relocated to the United States of America in 1990, while Cardi B’s mother was born in Trinidad and Tobago. This makes Cardi B first-generation American, which technically means she was born in the U.S. However, her deep Caribbean heritage is something she celebrates constantly in her music and public persona.
Her mother is Trinidadian and father Dominican, and she loves soca, having famously done YouTube videos with Uncle Ellis and mimed some of Destra Garcia’s hits. Her Caribbean background gives her music a distinctive flavor that sets her apart from other American rappers. She’s proof that American identity comes in many forms.
Drake: Another Canadian Hip Hop Giant
Drake dominates American charts and embodies American hip hop culture so completely that many fans forget he’s not actually American. He was born Aubrey Drake Graham in Toronto, Canada. His connection to American music came through his early acting career on the Canadian teen drama Degrassi before transitioning into rap.
The Toronto native has become so synonymous with American hip hop that his Canadian origins often get overshadowed. He reps Toronto hard in his music, frequently mentioning the 6ix and putting Canadian artists on the map. Yet his success in American markets has been so thorough that younger fans sometimes don’t realize he’s not from the States.
Drake’s influence on American hip hop culture is undeniable, from popularizing Toronto slang to bringing Canadian artists into the mainstream American consciousness. His record label OVO Sound has been instrumental in bridging Canadian and American music scenes, creating a cultural exchange that blurs national boundaries.
Shaggy: The Reggae Star Everyone Thought Was Jamaican American
Shaggy became so popular in American pop culture during the late 1990s and early 2000s that many assumed he was born in the States. His hits dominated American radio, and his presence felt distinctly American mainstream. Yet Shaggy was born Orville Richard Burrell in Kingston, Jamaica, before moving to Brooklyn as a teenager.
What makes his story fascinating is how he actually served in the United States Marine Corps during the Gulf War. That military service cemented his connection to America in ways most international artists never experience. It’s hard to say for sure, but his military background probably contributed to perceptions of him as American.
His reggae fusion sound bridged Caribbean music and American pop perfectly. Songs like “It Wasn’t Me” and “Angel” became so embedded in American culture that questioning his nationality probably never crossed most listeners’ minds. He successfully navigated between his Jamaican heritage and American adoption.
Kehlani: Oakland Native With Filipino and Native American Heritage
Okay, this one’s a bit different. Kehlani was actually born in Oakland, California, making her American by birth. However, her mixed heritage including Filipino, Native American, African American, and Spanish roots makes her story worth exploring in this context. Many fans are surprised to learn about her diverse international background.
Her Filipino heritage comes from her father’s side, connecting her to Asian Pacific Islander communities in ways that aren’t immediately obvious from her music. She’s spoken openly about navigating multiple cultural identities and how that complexity shapes her artistry. Her sound reflects this multicultural reality.
The reason she fits this conversation is because perception versus reality matters in how we understand identity in music. While technically American born, her international heritage creates layers that challenge simple categorization. She represents the increasingly complex nature of American identity in contemporary music.
H.E.R.: California Born With Filipino Heritage
H.E.R., born Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson, is another artist whose international heritage surprises fans. Born in Vallejo, California, she’s American by birth, but her Filipino mother and African American father give her a bicultural identity. Her Filipino heritage particularly influences her connection to diverse fan bases.
She’s embraced both sides of her heritage publicly, performing in the Philippines and speaking about her connection to Filipino culture. This dual identity enriches her perspective as an artist, even though she was raised entirely in the United States. Her Grammy wins celebrate both her American success and her diverse background.
What’s interesting here is how second-generation Americans like H.E.R. navigate identity in music. While she’s unquestionably American, her international family ties create connections that transcend simple nationality. It reminds us that American music increasingly reflects global influences through artists with multicultural backgrounds.
21 Savage: The British Rapper Who Shocked America
Perhaps no revelation shocked the hip hop world more than discovering 21 Savage was actually born in the United Kingdom. Born She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph in Newham, London, England, he moved to Atlanta at age seven. His entire persona screamed Atlanta trap music, making the British birth certificate revelation absolutely stunning.
When immigration authorities detained him in 2019, revealing he was actually British and had overstayed his visa, the internet exploded. Memes flooded social media as fans tried to reconcile his hard Atlanta image with British origins. It was honestly one of the wildest celebrity revelations in recent memory.
His case highlighted complicated immigration issues and identity questions in American music. Despite living in Atlanta since childhood and embodying Georgia’s trap music culture, his British birth made him technically foreign. The situation sparked serious conversations about what makes someone “American” in cultural versus legal terms.
