Naïka

Birth Name: Victoria Naika Richard

Place of Birth: Miami, Florida, U.S.

Date of Birth: March 2, 1995

Ethnicity:
*father – French
*mother – Arab-Haitian [Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian]

Naïka is an American-born French-Haitian singer and songwriter. She is known for her songs “One Track Mind” and “Sauce.” She sings in English, French, and Haitian Creole.

Naïka was born in Miami, Florida. Her father is French, and was raised in Madagascar. Her mother is a Haitian, of Arab descent, and is of Palestinian, Syrian, and Lebanese ancestry. Due to her father’s work, Naïka lived in Guadeloupe, Vanuatu, Kenya, France, and South Africa during her childhood, before moving back to Miami at age sixteen. She identifies as a “third culture kid,” and describes her music as “world pop.”

She has stated:

My culture is Haitian… But my mom’s ancestors were Lebanese on her father’s side and Syrian-Palestinian on her mother’s side. Centuries ago, trying to flee religious persecution of the Ottoman Empire, they got on a boat to America, but ended up in Haiti in the 1800s… For me to connect with the Arab world has been really cool…