Casper (rapper)
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Casper (born September 25, 1982 in Lemgo ; bourgeois Benjamin Griffey ) is a German - American rapper and rap - rock artist.
biography
Casper, the son of a US soldier and a German, initially lived with his mother in the village of Bösingfeld in the municipality of Extertal in East Westphalia-Lippe . The entire family moved to the United States to Augusta ( Georgia ) when he was a month old. After his parents' marriage failed, Casper first experienced violence when he lived with his stepfather, who had drug problems , until his mother moved back to Germany with Casper, who was eleven at the time, and his sister. In the United States, Casper grew up speaking completely English and could hardly speak a word of German , so he wrote down texts in a notebook, which helped him to improve his language skills. Casper first attended the Extertal-Bösingfeld secondary school before moving to the Barntrup grammar school , from which he graduated with a high school diploma. In the theater group of his high school he played Draco Malfoy . After graduating from high school, he moved to Bielefeld to study , which he sees as his "home". However, he broke off his pedagogy studies with a minor in psychology and a focus on media education at Bielefeld University after 14 semesters due to alleged fear of examinations before the preliminary diploma examination .
Casper has been married to the model Lisa Andrea Volz since December 30, 2016 . The wedding took place at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas .
Career
Musical beginnings
Casper was inspired by a friend to take part in various freestyle events. He was involved in various studio recordings, where he met the rapper Abroo . Together with him and the rapper Separate , he founded the group Kinder des Zorns . In addition to the Kinder-des-Zorns recordings, the members also supported each other on their solo releases.
On separate label Buckwheats Music , the joint Kinder-des-Zorns album Rap Art War was released in 2004 , which remained the only release of the trio . Due to internal differences, the group split up. Casper looked for a new project with the help of a short guest appearance in metalcore with his band A Fear Called Treason, which he founded there . He then co-founded the hardcore band Not Now Not Ever , which released an EP with him.
Back in the hip-hop genre , in 2006 he released the mixtape The world hears me on the 667 label - One More Than the Devil . In the following two years Casper toured Germany. On May 9, 2008 his first solo album Hin zur Sonne was released on the 667 label , in which Shuko from Mainz was involved as executive producer. For Hin zur Sonne , Casper recorded pieces with rappers Prinz Pi and Kollegah, among others .
On the limited exclusive MZEE edition of the album Freiheit by Curse , Casper can be heard on one of the bonus songs alongside Kool Savas , Olli Banjo and FR . The MZEE edition was sold out before the actual release date.
In the winter of 2008/09 Casper accompanied the rapper Prinz Pi on his neopunk tour through Germany. In 2009 Casper won the MZEE Award for the best album of 2008 with Hin zur Sonne .
Further career from 2009
In February 2009 Casper signed with the Selfmade Records label and left his old label. Together with the other rappers from the Kollegah , Shiml and Favorite labels , he subsequently contributed to the contributions to the Chronik 2 label sampler , which reached number 15 in the German album charts. On October 31, he performed alongside hip-hop musicians such as Kool Savas , Olli Banjo and Marteria at the Juice Jam 09 in Munich's Backstage .
In October 2010, Casper announced the termination of the contract with Selfmade Records . At the same time he signed a contract with the record label Four Music . The relationship with his former label is described as good; This was followed, for example, by a feature on Kollegah's album King and a joint appearance by Casper and Kollegah at the Splash Festival on July 13, 2013.
On July 8, 2011 his second album XOXO was released , which entered the charts at number 1 in the first week of sales and for which he was awarded a gold record in spring 2012 and a platinum record in autumn 2013 .
On April 12, 2012, the Kraftklub single Songs for Liam was released as vinyl in a version with Casper on Record Store Day . The edition was limited to 700 pieces.
Casper performed at the Hurricane Festival in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
On August 2, 2013, the first single from the album Hinterland was released with the title Im Ascheregen . The video for the single was made available on the official website one day before it was released, and on August 25th (according to own statement) the title was played live for the first time at the Winterthur Music Festival . His associated Hinterland Club Tour in October 2013 was sold out within a few hours. The album Hinterland was awarded a gold record in October 2013 and reached platinum status in July 2014.
In 2016 the single Krumme Symphonie was released by Bosse , on which Casper contributed.
Musical development and reception
Casper has a noticeably rough rap voice. It can be traced back to the fact that he used to scream with punk and hardcore bands as a singer without practice and thus permanently damage his vocal cords. He refuses an operation suggested by his doctor.
Thematically, autobiographical elements can often be found in his music , for example in the piece Hundeleben , which addresses his problems in developing into a full-time musician. He is often criticized in the German rap scene for his emotional texts and is disparagingly referred to as an " emo rapper", a term that he now uses in a self-ironic way.
Before the release of the album XOXO , Caspers Musik was reviewed by zeit.de in 2011 as an alternative to gangsta rap by musicians like Bushido and Sido , which could point out German rap as “intelligent rap” prospects. The 2013 album Hinterland was later said to be more guitar rock than rap music.
Since the end of 2015, Casper has also appeared under the name Lil Creep as part of the Trap trio Gloomy Boyz and has already released an EP .
His album Long Live Death was released on September 1st, 2017 .
At the Kosmonaut Festival 2018, Casper and Marteria announced their 1982 collab album , which was released on August 31, 2018.
On May 31, 2019, Materia and Casper began their joint tour entitled “Champions Sounds Open Air” at the Expo Plaza in Hanover , during which they performed at various festivals and open air concerts in the summer of 2019.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
|||
| 2004 | Rap Art War Buckwheats Music |
- | - | - |
First published: May 20, 2004
with Kinder des Zorns |
| 2006 | The world hears me Rough Trade Distribution |
- | - | - |
First published: April 7, 2006
|
| 2008 | Towards the sun Rough Trade Distribution |
- | - | - |
First published: May 9, 2008
|
| 2011 |
XOXO Four Music |
DE1  × 3
(53 weeks)DE |
AT14 (12 weeks) AT |
CH30 (5 weeks) CH |
First published: July 8, 2011
Sales: + 300,000 |
| 2013 |
Hinterland Four Music |
DE1 × 3
(36 weeks)DE |
AT1 (15 weeks)AT |
CH3 (6 weeks) CH |
First published: September 27, 2013
Sales: + 307,500 |
| 2017 |
Long live death Sony Music |
DE1 (13 weeks) DE |
AT2 (6 weeks) AT |
CH2 (4 weeks) CH |
First published: September 1, 2017
|
| 2018 | 1982 Sony Music |
DE1 (14 weeks) DE |
AT3 (3 weeks) AT |
CH6 (3 weeks) CH |
First published: August 31, 2018
with Marteria |
Trivia
- The name Casper comes from the ghost of the same name from the film Casper . His American father gave him the name because of his fair skin, which did not turn tan even in summer.
- Casper is an avowed fan of Arminia Bielefeld , for whom he contributed the track One Day to a fansampler for this reason .
- In 2012 Casper was the main prize of the 1 live school duel. The winning school, the Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf , won an exclusive concert with him at his own school.
- In January 2012, Arte showed an episode Through the Night with… , in which Casper Lena Meyer-Landrut took us to selected locations in Berlin.
- On August 30, 2013, the magazine Jetzt.de of the Süddeutsche Zeitung published a quiz in which excerpts from texts by Casper and Roland Kaiser could be guessed. This comparison made Casper and his management feel “defamed” and even refused to allow the magazine to release a previously conducted interview.
- On February 1, 2018, he could be heard together with Jürgen von der Lippe in the blind date podcast “Talk-O-Mat” on Spotify .
- Casper translated three songs into German for the album Viva the Underdogs by the Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive and also took over some German rap passages on the title Schattenboxen , which he was allowed to write himself based on the actual text.
Awards
- 2011: 1 Live Krone ( Best Album )
- 2012: 1 Live Krone ( Best Live Act )
- 2012: Gold record in Germany for XOXO
- 2012: ECHO in the HipHop / Urban category
- 2013: Platinum record in Germany for XOXO
- 2013: Gold record in Germany for the hinterland
- 2013: 1 Live Krone ( Best Album )
- 2013: 1 Live Krone ( Best Artist )
- 2014: Gold record in Austria for the hinterland
- 2014: Platinum record in Germany for the hinterland
- 2016: Gold record in Germany for the single So Perfect
- 2016: Gold record in Germany for the single Im Ascheregen
- 2016: Prize for Pop Culture ( Favorite Song )
- 2017: Juice Awards in the Best Live Act category
- 2017: Prize for Pop Culture ( Favorite Video )
- 2018: 1 Live Krone ( Best Album ) with Marteria
- 2018: 1 Live Krone ( best hip-hop act ) with Marteria
- 2019: 1 Live Krone ( best live act ) with Marteria
swell
- ↑ Casper. Star profile . prosieben.de, accessed on January 4, 2015.
- ↑ casper xoxo: 100%! however i was born in lemgo pic.twitter.com/BCJT3CGjNg. In: @CASPERxOFFICIAL. September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017 .
- ^ Note in Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung of September 25, 2013, page culture
- ↑ Casper on life in America and the first time in Germany
- ↑ Interview with allschools.de
- ↑ Casper's dream of speaking English . In: Die Zeit , No. 32/2011
- ↑ DASDING Interview, September 6, 2018.
- ^ Casper - Live in Bielefeld . ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: MeinRap.de (video)
- ↑ Your homegirls: # 67 Your homegirls ft. Casper. Retrieved November 22, 2019 .
- ↑ n-tv.de
- ↑ Not Now Not Ever . In: myspace.com
- ↑ First information about Caspers "Towards the Sun". ( Memento of the original from April 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Mzee.com
- ↑ Curse "Freedom": Edition with u. a. Kool Savas, Olli Banjo, Casper and FR ( Memento of the original from October 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: MZEE.com
- ↑ Curse "Freiheit" Edition sold out before release. ( Memento of the original from September 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: MZEE.com
- ↑ Wall - the Hip Hop News !. ( Memento of the original from January 22nd, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: MZEE.com
- ↑ Casper signs with Selfmade Records. February 6, 2009, archived from the original on June 19, 2009 ; Retrieved June 15, 2013 .
- ↑ Selfmade: Chronik II charted in 15th place. In: Hip-Hop.de. Archived from the original on May 1, 2009 ; Retrieved January 6, 2012 .
- ↑ Juice Jam presents Legends Stage. In: hiphop.de
- ↑ Casper officially on Four Music . rap4fame.de
- ↑ Casper: Platinum for "XOXO". In: 16bars.de , October 9, 2013
- ↑ Release details. In: discogs.com
- ↑ Hurricane Festival 2015: Line-up causes criticism on the net. In: noz.de. June 2, 2015, accessed August 17, 2015 .
- ↑ He's a golden boy !: Casper secures gold for "Hinterland". ( Memento of the original from October 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: ampya.com , October 17, 2013
- ↑ Casper: "Hinterland" achieved platinum status . In: 16bars.de , accessed on September 22, 2014
- ↑ Interview with Casper. ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Voices.de
- ↑ Interview with Casper. In: Hitparade.ch
- ↑ Interview with Burn Your Ears
- ↑ Casper . In: Die Zeit , No. 28/2011
- ^ Casper interview. In: Zeit Online , September 25, 2013; Retrieved October 27, 2013
- ↑ Casper has a new trap project and puts out the first video "Keiner". In: noisey . Retrieved December 20, 2015 .
- ↑ Gloomy Boyz publish "Auz der Grvft" EP. In: rap.de. Retrieved December 20, 2015 .
- ↑ Casper and Marteria provide several huge surprises at the festival. Retrieved July 9, 2018 .
- ↑ Big party with Marteria and Casper on the Expo-Plaza. Retrieved June 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Felix Goth: MARTERIA & CASPER announce “Champion Sound Open Airs” for 2019. Accessed September 4, 2019 (German).
- ↑ Casper: "Destroy to build up" . In: nw-news.de
- ↑ Rapper Casper on gallows humor in Bielefeld - "Arminia is my St. Pauli" . ( Memento of the original from August 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: 11Freunde.de
- ↑ 1live school duel 2012 - win by playing ( Memento from September 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: einslive.de
- ↑ Pretty bitchy, Lena Meyer-Landrut! In: Welt Online , January 7, 2012; Retrieved March 19, 2014
- ↑ Casper or Emperor? In: Jetzt.sueddeutsche.de , August 30, 2013; Retrieved March 19, 2014
- ↑ I have no reservations . In: Jetzt.sueddeutsche.de , September 5, 2013; Retrieved March 19, 2014
- ↑ The 7 best podcasts on Spotify . In: GIGA . May 8, 2018 ( giga.de [accessed November 6, 2018]).
- ↑ # 6: Casper x Jürgen von der Lippe. Retrieved November 6, 2018 .
- ↑ Sebastian Kessler: Parkway Drive: Casper and the Rolling R. Metal Hammer , accessed on March 15, 2020 .
- ^ Austria: Gold / platinum database
- ↑ Gold / platinum database. Federal Association of the Music Industry
Web links
- official homepage
- Casper . WDR Rockpalast Backstage; Backstage interviews, concert impressions, specials
- Casper at laut.de
- Casper at Allmusic (English)
- Casper at Discogs (English)
- Works by and about Casper in the catalog of the German National Library
- Casper in the Internet Movie Database (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Casper |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Griffey, Benjamin (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-American musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 25, 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bösingfeld |