Kaytranada's debut studio album, 99.9%, became one of our favourite records of 2016. The glitzy, R&B-infused and organic instrumentation, made the LP one of the year's most richly unique offerings. Last night, and on the strength of his full-length project, Kaytra was awarded with the Polaris Music Prize. The Montreal producer beat out other heavy hitters like, Grimes, Carly Rae Jepsen, and indie outfit U.S. Girls.
The Polaris Prize is in its eleventh year, and recognizes the best Canadian album, based on artistic merit alone. This is a big win for Kaytranada (and Canada in general), as 99.9% becomes the first hip-hop or R&B album to be awarded with the title. Other nominees that have failed to achieve this feat, include K'naan, Shad, The Weeknd, and Drizzy Drake Rogers.
Following his acceptance speech, Kaytranada took to Twitter to share his disbelief.
The gala also featured performances by Andy Shauf, White Lung, and Jessy Lanza. You can watch the entirety of the awards show below, via CBC Music's YouTube channel. If you're in Austin, Las Vegas, or British Columbia this month, you can catch Kaytranada perform live.
