Menu

Humble The Poet (Kanwer Singh Mahl), Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Quick Info→
Age: 40 Years
Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Marital Status: Unmarried

Humble The Poet

Bio/Wiki
Real nameKanwer Singh Mahl [1]Humble The Poet official website
Profession(s)Spoken Word Artist/MC, YouTuber, Hip-Hop Artist, Author, Public Speaker, Designer, Filmmaker, Creative Consultant
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)in centimeters- 180 cm
in meters- 1.80 m
in feet & inches- 5’ 11”
Eye ColourBlack
Hair ColourBlack
Career
Debut• Music Album: Humble The Poet Presents: -00​.​05 (2009)
• Modelling: Did modelling for designer Raji Aujla at The Fashion & Art’s Toronto CitySCAPE event
• Commercial Single: Leh, a song in collaboration with Lilly Singh (2014)
• Book: Unlearn: 101 Simple Truths For A Better Life (2014)
• Self-Directed Music Video: H.A.I.R (2017)
• Podcast: Humble The Poet Daily'ish Podcast (2021)
Awards, Honours, Achievements • 20 March 2017: Won the CBC Canada Reads - an annual "battle of the books" competition with the book "Fifteen Dogs" by André Alexis
• May 2014: Featured in "Top 10 Canadian-South Asian artists to look out for" in CBC music blog celebrating South-Asian Heritage month
• November 2012: Documentary on Singh titled “Humble The Poet” by Chapman University Director Brendan Naumas won Best Short Film in International Sikh Film Festival and was nominated for the 2012 Cecil Award
Documentry on Humble The Poet wins Best Short Film in 2012

• Featured in Apple's first Canadian ad spot for their #ShotOnIphone campaign
• Featured in Goa as part of the documentary series "The Dewarists" that won Bronze at The Cannes Lions Festival.
Personal Life
Date of Birth12 July 1981 (Sunday)
Age (as of 2021) 40 Years
BirthplaceMississauga, Ontario, Canada
Zodiac signCancer
NationalityCanadian
HometownToronto
Religion/Religious ViewsHumble The Poet doesn’t follow Sikhism as a religion. He says, "I don’t view Sikhi as a religion, and personally believe it was never intended to be one. The writings in Sikhi are very intuitive on the nature of man, and the causes of displeasure, it’s not a one size fits all recipe on how to live; that dogma came later. I have a good relationship with Mother Nature and don’t concern myself with concepts of the supernatural... I’m a life long learner and life is my teacher. I just want to soak in the world as long as I’m here." [2]Hindustan Times
Political InclinationAutonomist [3]Rolling Stone
Mailing AddressKanwer Singh
6-6150 Highway 7
Suite 226
Woodbridge, Ontario
L4H 0R6
Canada
HobbiesSocial activism
Tattoo(s)Humble The Poet has more than 12 tattoos on his body.

• Back of the neck to shoulder: Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor... - First tattoo
Humble The Poet's first tattoo

• Back of the shoulder: Stand Tall (in the shape of a Giraffe) - Confidence
Humble the Poet's 'stand tall' tattoo

• Side of the neck: Map of complete Punjab - Tribute to his Punjabi heritage when Punjab resembled a butterfly
Humble The Poet's tattoo of Punjab's map

• Other side of the neck: Freedom is having nothing to lose
Humble The Poet's neck tattoo

• Inner wrist: Rahaao in Gurmukhi/Punjabi script - Pause or stop and reflect, inspired by a #LaurynHill song titled 'Selah'
Humble the Poet's Rahaao tattoo

• Outer wrist: Pattern of an Italian resort's wristband - To remember his trip to Italy
Humble the Poet's tattoo to remember his trip to Italy

• Right hand: Now. - Birthday present to himself
Humble the Poet's 'Now' tattoo

• Side of the hand: Truth - For his ability to tell the Truth
Humble the Poet's 'Truth' tattoo

• Upper arm: Love - For his ability to love that only he can forfeit
Humble the Poet's 'Love' tattoo

• Other upper arm: Muhammad Ali - Gifted himself after the successful launch of #Unlearn
Humble the Poet's Muhammed Ali tattoo

• Lower arm: Warriors are born soldiers are made - A quote by his high school friend
Humble the Poet's tattoo on lowerarm

• Right leg: 14 airplanes, each decorated by a member of the tour and 26 dashes between the planes - To commemorate his #AT2UI world tour
Humble the Poet's airplane tattoo on right leg
Controversies• Made derogatory remarks about Guru Gobind Singh: In 2012, Humble The Poet sparked controversy with his disrespectful remarks about the last Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Gobind Singh, on his Facebook profile, which he later deleted. [4]Sikh Sangat [5]Sikh24
Humble the Poet's disrespectful remarks about Guru Gobind Singh

• Attracted the wrath of Indians after commenting about Indian food: In 2016, Humble posted on his Instagram that he didn't like Indian cuisine, which didn't go down well with Indians. The Canadian-Punjabi was accused of perpetuating negative stereotypes and hating India. In retribution, Singh posted his video "Do I hate India?" [6]Instagram [7]Twitter
Relationships & More
Marital StatusUnmarried
Family
Wife/SpouseN/A
ParentsFather- His father is a cab driver.
Humble The Poet with his father

Mother- Name not known
Humble The Poet with his mother
SiblingsBrother- None

Sister(s)- 2
• Gurbir Mahl (Consultant, Co-owner and Managing Partner of MALTO Group)
• Navneet Samra
Humble The Poet with his two sisters
Favourites
BookAutobiography of Malcolm X
Artists• Lauryn Hill
• André 3000
• Dr. Suess
Poets• Rupi Kaur
• Saul Williams
• Ian Kamau
• Mustafa The Poet
• K'naan
Money Factor
Net Worth (approx.)$5.77K - $34.6K (Rs. 4.2 lakhs - Rs. 25.5 lakhs) [8]YouTubers.Me
Humble The Poet

Some Lesser Known Facts About Humble The Poet

  • Kanwer Singh Mahl, professionally known as “Humble The Poet” is a Canadian elementary school teacher-turned-creative. He is a YouTuber, MC/Spoken Word artist, author, public speaker, hip-hop artist, designer, filmmaker, and creative consultant.
  • Humble was born to immigrant Indian Punjabi Sikh parents in Toronto, Ontario. His father has a Master’s degree in Economics who has been driving a cab for 30 years. [9]Instagram – Humble The Poet
  • The Poet lives by the motto – [10]The Indian Express

    Shake your ass, shake your heart, and shake your mind.”

  • Humble is also an influencer and has a massive following on social media. He has 527K followers on Instagram, 361.5K on Facebook, 115K on Twitter, and more than 10K members on Mighty Network. [11]Humble The Poet official website
  • He also runs his own website called “brwnppl.com,” a clothing line, and a podcast titled “Humble The Poet Daily’ish.” [12]Humble The Poet official website
  • The Canadian YouTuber has performed at several concerts and major international festivals in London, Delhi, and Pune including When Lions Roar, Lollapalooza, and Believe Me Music festival. He has also been featured in major media including The Huffington Post (Canada), The Times of India, VancouverDesi, Rolling Stone, Buzzfeed, MTV Iggy, MTV K, 24hr (Sun Media), Metro Morning (CBC), FHM, World Star Hip Hop, 2DOPEBOYZ, and twice on AllHipHop.com. [13]Waterloo Records
  • Kanwer is a strong advocate of anti-racism and has revealed that he and his family have encountered racism multiple times since their immigration to Canada. [14]Humble The Poet official website

  • Apart from racism, Humble has also rapped about a variety of social and political issues in his hit music videos, including domestic violence, the plight of immigrants in Canada, the prison system, Palestine, and the issues of the desi gay community in Canada. [15]Rolling Stone
  • Singh started by reciting spoken word poetry as gigs in coffee shops. He joined the Toronto Spoken Word Club when he was working as a school teacher and high school tutor, and he started participating in various competitions. Humble eventually transformed his talent into a creative adventure. [16]Rolling Stone [17]Desi Today When asked about it in an interview, Humble said,

    I started going for open mic nights and poetry slams around Toronto. That is where I nailed my unique sense of identity. I am a Canadian Punjabi. I am not Indian, make no mistake.”

  • Kanwer, who initially started his YouTube channel “Harman the Hater” with his friends, became a YouTube phenomenon in May 2008 after he posted his independently recorded track “Voice for the Voiceless” on his channel. [18]Sikhchic He said in an interview,

    I was very hesitant to put my work out there for a long time. I had that American Idol fear – you know, that you think you’re better than you are.”

  • In early 2009, Kanwer adopted the stage name ‘Humble The Poet’ and launched “thepoetproject.com,” an online platform where he shares his work and of those who inspire him. [19]DesiHipHop
  • In the same year, Singh released his first mixtape album titled -00.05. Since then, he has been dropping similarly titled albums in the countdown series. [20]Rolling Stone
  • In 2010, Humble left his job as an elementary school teacher to pursue full-time poetry and Spoken Word.
  • On 4 November 2010, Humble The Poet released a song “Baagi Music” of his album -0.003 that instantly went viral and attracted mass attention to the singer not only from his fans but also from music journalists and South-Asian culture magazines too.
  • The hip-hop rapper did modelling in 2012 for designer Raji Aujla at The Fashion & Art’s Toronto CitySCAPE event. [21]Last.fm He has also featured (as himself) in the 2012 film Picture Day, which was selected for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.
  • Humble released his first self-published e-book “UnLEARN – Butterflies and Lions” in 2013 and released a music video by the same name. He had crowdfunded the project through Indiegogo Campaign and had accumulated $26,129, surpassing his actual goal. [22]Indiegogo
  • In 2014, Singh teamed up with fellow Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh (a.k.a Superwoman), and they released their first track called “Leh,” which went on to have over 18 million views as of 2021. [23]Huffing Post

    Humble The Poet with Lilly Singh

    Humble The Poet with Lilly Singh

  • In the same year, Singh’s first paperback “Unlearn: 101 Simple Truths For A Better Life” was published. It became a Heather’s Pick and has stayed on the Globe and Mail best-sellers list since its release. The book went on to become an international bestseller and was re-released with Harper Collins Publishers in April 2019.
  • According to Kanwer, a quote by J.K Rowling inspired him, and he started writing ideas and things from his life experiences on Facebook, which laid the foundation for Singh’s debut motivational book. [24]The Ikonns
  • In 2015, the author released volume 2 of his debut book titled “Beneath The Surface: 101 Honest Truths To Take Life Deeper (Unlearn) (Volume 2).”

    Humble The Poet with his two books of UNLEARN series

    Humble The Poet with his two books of UNLEARN series

  • In the same year, Kanwer and Lilly Singh released their second track, “IVIVI,” on April 16, a date significant to the song. [25]Huffing Post
  • Humble also featured as an artist in the film “Inland” directed by Deepa Mehta in 2015. [26]Waterloo Records
  • On 25 July 2017, Humble released his debut self-directed video on YouTube titled H.A.I.R. with his YouTube collaborator Lilly Singh. The video has touched over 2.5 million views since its release – the highest number of views on YouTube during the rapper’s career.
  • The Poet released his second international bestseller “Things No One Else Can Teach Us” in October 2019.

    Humble The Poet with signed copies of his third book

    Humble The Poet with signed copies of his third book

  • Humble twice appeared on the show “A Little Late With Lilly,” first in April 2020 with Lilly Singh with Jay Shetty, and again by himself in May 2021.
  • When asked about his future endeavours, Singh revealed that he planned to continue to work the way he has been doing – making all his music available for free and creating music with his friends. [27]Rolling Stone He said,

    I make money via gigs and merchandising, that is more than enough for me.”

References/Sources:[+]