Benjamin Griffey[1] (born 25 September 1982), better known by his stage name Casper, is a German American rapper signed to the German music label Four Music.[2]

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Reception in the German rap scene 4 Discography 5 Awards 6 Trivia 7 References Biography

Casper was born in Extertal in North Rhine-Westphalia to a German mother and an American father, Arlen Griffey, who was a soldier stationed in Extertal.[3] His family moved to Augusta, Georgia, in the United States, when he was two weeks old, where he lived in a trailer park.[3][1] At the age of 11, he moved back to Germany with his mother and younger sister.[4] Despite his mother being German, he had not been raised bilingually and therefore struggled at school initially.[3]

Career

Casper was involved in many studio recordings with other German rappers, such as Abroo and Separate. Together they founded the hip-hop group Kinder des Zorns. In 2004 they released Rap Art War, their first and only album.

In 2006 he released a mixtape called Die Welt Hört Mich with the label 667 - One More Than The Devil. In the two years following the release of Die Welt Hört Mich, he toured through Germany and on 9 May 2008 he released his first album, Hin Zur Sonne with the 667 record label.

In February 2009, he left 667 Records and signed a contract with Selfmade Records. Together with Kollegah, Favorite and Shiml, who were also signed to Selfmade Records, they released Chronik 2 in April 2009.

In October 2010 Casper left Selfmade Records and signed a new contract with Four Music.[5] His second album, XOXO, was released on 8 July 2011.

Casper is known for his slightly hoarse sounding voice: this was as a result of him having played in punk/hardcore bands in the early days of his music career which resulted in some damage to his vocal cords.[6]

Reception in the German rap scene Casper at Southside Festival 2014

Casper has often been labelled as an "emo rapper", which he also uses to describe himself, stating that he was fed up of being asked about his style.[7] His lyrics are mainly autobiographical, in particular in the song "Hin zur Sonne", describing his early life in America.

Discography Albums 2008: Hin zur Sonne 2011: XOXO 2013: Hinterland 2017: Lang lebe der Tod Mixtapes 2006: Die Welt hört mich 2007: Exclusive Mixtape (Online-Mixtape) EPs 2003: Grundstein 2011: Auf und davon - EP Freetracks 2006: Kann nicht verlieren 2006: Sie lieben mich jetzt 2007: Party wie die Rockstars 2008: Nie wieder (feat. Prinz Pi) 2011: Nie Wieder (Akustik Version) (feat. Prinz Pi) 2012: Nie Auf (with Cro feat. Timid Tiger) 2012: Halbe Mille Collaborations 2004: Rap Art War (Kinder des Zorns album) 2009: Chronik 2 - Sampler with Kollegah, Shiml and Favorite Singles 2009: Herz aus Holz 2009 2009: Mittelfinger hoch feat. Kollegah, Shiml and Favorite 2011: So perfekt 2011: Michael X 2011: Auf und davon 2013: Im Ascheregen 2013: Hinterland 2013: Jambalaya 2014: Alles endet (aber nie die Musik) 2016: Lang lebe der Tod feat. Blixa Bargeld, Dagobert & Sizarr 2017: Keine Angst feat. Drangsal 2017: Alles ist erleuchtet Awards 2011: 1LIVE Krone - Best Album 2012: Gold Record for XOXO 2012: ECHO Award - Hip-Hop/Urban category Trivia Casper is a fan of the football club Arminia Bielefeld. His song "Eines Tages" is dedicated to Arminia Bielefeld.[8][9] In the 1LIVE Schulduell (School duel), the winning school, Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf won an exclusive concert with Casper[10] References ^ a b "DER EMO-RAPPER KOMMT". (German). einslive.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ "Casper signt bei Four Music". (German). hiphop.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ a b c "Casper Interview". (German). juice.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ "Casper - Interview". (German). allschools.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ "Casper nun offiziell bei FOUR Music". (German). rap4fame.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ "Casper-Interview@zdf@bauhaus 2012". (German). YouTube. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ "Casper - Interview mit dem 'Emo-Rapper'". (German). burnyourears.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 ^ "11 Freunde Interview". (German). 11freunde.de. Retrieved November 9, 2012 ^ "NW Interview". (German). nw-news.de. Retrieved November 9, 2012 ^ "1LIVE SCHULDUELL 2012". (German). einslive.de. Retrieved July 29, 2012 Authority control WorldCat Identities GND: 136635547 ISNI: 0000 0003 6865 5241 MusicBrainz: fd3ff7a2-e1d2-4486-9d25-cb9d69fa084c VIAF: 80946587