Ashton Dumar Norwill Simmonds, known professionally as Daniel Caesar, was born on April 5th 1995 to Jamaican and Bajan parents. He grew up in a Christian household in Oshawa, Ontario with heavy musical and gospel influences. Receiving his first guitar at the age of ten, he was a boy with a love for acoustic.

At the age of 17, he moved out and was homeless for a brief time. He began couch surfing in friend’s apartments and park benches. During this period local act Sean Leon introduced him to producers Jordan Evans and Matthew Burnett who introduced him to R&B titans Jodeci and D’Angelo, helping to shape his sound. Critical acclaim came in 2014 with his EP Praise Break and later Pilgrims Paradise.

His 2016 song “Get You” featuring Kali Uchis broke down the industry door earning him millions of views and launching his career. He began creating more live performances as the demand increased and is now one of top ten most streamed Canadian artists on Spotify. His 2017 album Freudian included break-out hit “Get You” as well as “Best Part” featuring H.E.R. Both songs were nominated for Grammy awards for Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album, with “Best Part” taking home the win for Best R&B Performance in 2019.

Finding success on his own and through collaborations, in 2021 he was featured on fellow Canadian star Justin Bieber’s hit track “Peaches” scoring him his first #1 Canadian and U.S. billboard hit as a collaborating artist. Other collaborations that year include work with FKA Twiggs, Charlotte Day Wilson and BadBadNotGood.

For his latest album Never Enough, Caesar took on more of a producer role which brought a welcomed challenge to his process. The album was released in 2023 and his SuperPowers World Tour was an immediate success. Daniel Caesar continues to fuse his emotionally charged soul with ambient electronics.

Award

• Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance – “Best Part” (2019)
• Soul Train Music Award for Best Collaboration (2018)
• Juno Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year- Freudian (2018)
• MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop- Peaches (2021)
• Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist (2018)