Candy Ken

Jakob Kasimir Hellrigl, known as Candy Ken, is an Austrian rapper, model and artist. He started his career as a rapper in 2014. He combines a masculine appearance with feminine pop culture.[1]

Early life and education

Born in Bregenz, Austria, Hellrigl studied photography and film design at the Lette-Verein college in Berlin, but dropped out of his studies in 2014.[2]

He attended Wenatchee High School at Wenatchee, Washington for a year where he played football.[3]

While studying at college, he invented the gender-bending persona of Candy Ken,[4] incorporating imagery from Hello Kitty,[5] Japanese Kawaii culture,[6] Barbie dolls[7] and pink clothing in his dress style and visual appearance.[8][9]

Career

Music

He started his rapping career in Berlin, releasing his first EP, Welcome to Candy Land in 2014 as a self-directed video series on YouTube.[10] The music is produced by Lets Go Radio, and distributed by Spinnup.[11]

The video series was re-made as a short film Welcome to Candy Land, which won an award at the Austrian short film festival Alpinale in 2015.[12]

In September 2015 he released the second EP Candy Ken Paradise produced by DJ Smokera and distributed by Spinnup.[13]

In November 2015 he released a third EP, Daddy 69, containing five songs and five videos. Four videos are directed by him, and the video for the song "69" is directed by London-based underground director Kassandra Powell.[14] Candy Ken appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in April 2018 on a segment of Guess Who's High [15]

In June 2016 he released his first album Real Talk containing twelve songs, ten of which were made in collaboration with the rapper Gigi Tays.[16] The release of the album was promoted with a club party at Visions Video Bar in London.[17] The album was also produced by Smokera and the video for the song "What I Like" directed by Powell.[18] He mentions the American rapper Riff Raff as his main musical and artistic influence for the album.[19]

Modeling

His modeling career started when he was noticed on Instagram in 2015 by stylist and Diesel brand creative designer Nicola Formichetti, who invited him to do a photo shoot[20] for a photo session in Formichetti's Japanese magazine FREE.[21] Formichetti introduced him to the photographer Terry Richardson, who also made a photo shoot with him in full frontal nudity for the magazine Man about Town. At the same time he was booked as a fashion model by the Italian Diesel clothing brand at the Pride Week in New York City.[22] He also made a runway appearance at the opening for designer Roberto Piqueras' fashion show at Berlin's alternative fashion week,[23] and for Japanese fashion designer Michiko Koshino.[24] He has been in photo shoot sessions for VMAN magazine,[25] Paper magazine, Vogue Taiwan,[26] and the Korean edition of Dazed magazine[27]

Discography

Studio albums

  • Real Talk (2016)
  • Flamingo (2018)

EPs

  • Welcome to Candy Land (2015)
  • Basic Bitches (2015)
  • Candy Ken Paradise (2015)
  • Daddy69 (2015)
  • Candy Trap (2017)
  • Send Nudes (2017)

References

  1. ↑ Stone, Zak (2016-08-19). "Candy Ken Does L.A." MEL Magazine. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  2. ↑ Anina Frischknecht (March 19, 2015). "Gestatten: Das ist Candy Ken". 20 Minuten Friday. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  3. ↑ Nadja Sayej (February 25, 2015). "Is a Jacked Berlin-Based Rapper Named Candy Ken Fashion's New It Boy?". Paper.
  4. ↑ Luca Imbimbo (April 15, 2015). "Sugar Pop - Interview with Candy Ken!". Fucking Young!. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  5. ↑ Out editors (February 27, 2015). "Who the Hell Is Candy Ken?". Out. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  6. ↑ "Fashion's Favorite: Candy Ken". MTV Germany (in German). Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  7. ↑ Cody Gohl (March 28, 2016). "Hello Kitty Gets Nasty With Model-Rapper Candy Ken". NewNowNext.
  8. ↑ "Breaking Down Stereotypes With Hello Kitty Lover Candy Ken". Galore. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  9. ↑ papermagazine (2016-02-18). "Premiere: Candy Ken Preaches Self-Love In "Sorry Not Sorry"". Paper. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  10. ↑ ""Welcome To Candyland" ist das Seltsamste und Beste, das wir diese Woche gesehen haben". Vice (in alps). Retrieved 2016-11-19.
  11. ↑ "Candy Ken - Welcome To Candyland Part I + II". Kaltbut. November 23, 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  12. ↑ "Welcome to Candyland". ALPINALE. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  13. ↑ "Candy Ken Paradise - EP by Smokera & Candy Ken". Apple Music, iTunes (US). September 2, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Candy Ken visits a VHS sex dungeon for the video for "69"". Hunger TV. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  15. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mMj2wiiDXY.
  16. ↑ Marcel Schlutt (May 6, 2016). "CANDY KEN`S Debut Album #REALTALK Is On The Way". Kalbult. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  17. ↑ "One Night In Candy Land: An Interview With The Larger Than Life Candy Ken". Autre Magazine. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  18. ↑ "Video World Premiere: Candy Ken feat. Gigi Tays - WHAT I LIKE (Na Na Na)". Kaltblut. September 6, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Culture - Global Heroes - Candy Ken". MAC Cosmetics - Official Site. Retrieved 2016-11-02.
  20. ↑ PAPERMAG (2015-07-30). "Chilling With Berlin Model/Partyboy, Candy Ken". PAPERMAG. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  21. ↑ "CANDY KEN | ウィメンズ＆メンズファッション誌『FREE MAGAZINE』". freemagazine.jp. Retrieved 2016-11-17.
  22. ↑ "Candy Ken gets naked for Terry Richardson | KALTBLUT Magazine". www.kaltblut-magazine.com. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  23. ↑ "Be Yourself! Interview with Candy Ken - kowei 插畫試衣間 - kowei ∣ 風格達人 ∣ VOGUE時尚網". www.vogue.com.tw. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  24. ↑ "Iconic designer Michiko Koshino celebrates the 30th anniversary of her prolific brand, Michiko London". News Powered by Cision. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  25. ↑ "VMAN MAGAZINE featurin' CANDY KEN, Aura Photo Agency". www.auraphotoagency.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  26. ↑ "做自己！粉紅系潮男 Candy Ken 台灣首訪 - kowei 插畫試衣間 - kowei ∣ 風格達人 ∣ VOGUE時尚網". www.vogue.com.tw. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  27. ↑ Dazed (2016-02-27). "CANDY KEN". dazedkorea. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
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