Introduction
Alexander Eli Morand (born 1997), known professionally as Smiley (formerly Smiley_61st), is a Canadian rapper. He signed to hometown native Drake's OVO Sound record label, an imprint of Warner Records in 2021. The same year, he released the single "Over the Top" (featuring Drake), which peaked at number 13 on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Career
Smiley began rapping in 2014 with rap crew Garden Gangafter seeing his friends freestyling. In 2015, he released his track "9 on Me" which captured the attention of record producer Boi-1da. His track "Garden Girl" also helped him gain traction. He first interacted with Drake in 2017. In 2018 he released his debut project Buy or Bye. Also in 2018, Drake cited Smiley's lyrics during his first public statement following the release of diss track The Story of Adidon by American rapper Pusha T. In July 2021, he released Over the Top, collaboration with Drake produced by American record producer Tay Keith. In November 2021, he released his album Buy or Bye 2, the sequel to his 2018 project with appearances from Yung Bleu, Duvy, Drake, Pressa and OhGeesy.
Musical style
Jordan Darville, writing for The Fader, describes Smiley's style in the following manner: "Stark street bars rapped with a cadence that's light but fills the room with its presence, like a cloud of good weed."
Legal issues
In 2015, Smiley was in jail for a gun-related charge.