Casper

Biography

Benjamin Griffey (born 25 September 1982), better known by his stage name Casper, is a German rapper and singer with US roots signed to Sony Music.

Early life

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

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×Die Welt hört mich7 April 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Intro0:582Wieder zurück2:183Caspers Stadt2:584Klatschtüte3:025Lippenlesen2:296Druck3:297Letz fetz2:508Die Hütte brennt2:439Abriss4:2310Propeller4:1911Zauber pur2:2712Immer fly2:5613Die Welt hört mich3:0214Kippenpause4:0615Blute mich durch3:0916Rasierklingenliebe4:21 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×Hin zur Sonne9 May 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Hin zur Sonne4:062Deine Jugend2:443Die Welt steht still3:014Hundeleben4:235Casper! Bumaye3:026Bevor das Licht erlischt3:107In deinen Armen3:518Der letzte Tanz4:119Unzerbrechlich3:3810Verdammt nah dran (Supermänner)4:1011Stampf ihn ein4:5912Strasse 23:2213Skit0:5714Kein Held4:5515Lerne Laufen4:29 via 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. 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 and hardcore bands in the early days of his music career which resulted in some damage to his vocal cords.

Reception in the German rap scene

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. His lyrics are mainly autobiographical, in particular in the song "Hin zur Sonne×Hin zur Sonne9 May 2008 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Hin zur Sonne4:062Deine Jugend2:443Die Welt steht still3:014Hundeleben4:235Casper! Bumaye3:026Bevor das Licht erlischt3:107In deinen Armen3:518Der letzte Tanz4:119Unzerbrechlich3:3810Verdammt nah dran (Supermänner)4:1011Stampf ihn ein4:5912Strasse 23:2213Skit0:5714Kein Held4:5515Lerne Laufen4:29", describing his early life in America.

Trivia

Casper is a fan of the football club Arminia Bielefeld. His song "Eines Tages" is dedicated to Arminia Bielefeld.
In the 1LIVE Schulduell (School duel), the winning school, Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf, won an exclusive concert with Casper.