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."Casper signt bei Four Music". (German). hiphop.de. Retrieved 29 July 2012
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."Casper Interview". (German). juice.de. Retrieved 29 July 2012 At the age of 11, he moved back to Germany with his mother and younger sister."Casper - Interview". (German). allschools.de. Retrieved 29 July 2012 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 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 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."Casper nun offiziell bei FOUR Music". (German). rap4fame.de. Retrieved 29 July 2012 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."Casper-Interview@zdf@bauhaus 2012". (German). YouTube. Retrieved 29 July 2012
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."Casper - Interview mit dem 'Emo-Rapper'". (German). burnyourears.de. Retrieved 29 July 2012 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 2018: 1982 together with Marteria 2022: Alles war schön und nichts tat weh 2023: Nur Liebe, immer.
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 2018: 1982 - album with Marteria
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. 2017: Alles ist erleuchtet 2018: Champion Sound with Marteria 2018: Supernova with Marteria 2018: Chardonnay & Purple Haze with Marteria
Trivia Casper is a fan of the football club Arminia Bielefeld. His song "Eines Tages" is dedicated to Arminia Bielefeld."11 Freunde Interview". (German). 11freunde.de. Retrieved 9 November 2012"NW Interview". (German). nw-news.de. Retrieved 9 November 2012 In the 1LIVE Schulduell (School duel), the winning school, Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf, won an exclusive concert with Casper."1LIVE SCHULDUELL 2012". (German). einslive.de. Retrieved 29 July 2012
References