Kesi (rapper)

Kesi
Kesi at Kolding kulturnat (19 July 2009)
Kesi at Kolding kulturnat (19 July 2009)
Background information
Birth nameOliver Kesi Chambuso[1]
Also known asKesi
Born (1992-09-07) 7 September 1992 (age 32)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Genres
OccupationRapper
InstrumentVocals
Years active2010–present
Labels

Oliver Kesi Chambuso (born 7 September 1992[2]), known professionally as Kesi (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʰe̝ːsi]),[3] is a Danish rapper and songwriter.

Kesi initially promoted himself through his own YouTube channel within the grime genre,[4] also cooperating with others, notably Kidd and Gilli.[5][6] In addition to his solo career, Kesi was a member of the hip hop group BOC (abbreviation for Bars of Crack or Bombs Over Copenhagen or Bombs Over Centrum), a Nørrebro-based group.[6] Success on the Internet with particularly debut song "Byen Sover" led to a series of concerts and interest from established record labels, meaning that Kesi, at the age of 18, signed with Universal Records in July 2011.[7]

In August 2011, Kesi released his first official single "Slem dreng".[8] This brought in huge media visibility,[9] and an appearance on Danish broadcaster, TV 2 in a special feature[10] Kesi also performed in a series of concerts, including at Roskilde Festival, Copenhagen Distortion and festival Sounds.[11] His follow-up single on Universal was the single "Født I Dag", produced by Benny Jamz from BOC and also the single "Ku godt". His debut album Bomber Over Centrum was released in February 2012,[12] followed by Ung hertug (2013) and Barn af Byen (2015).[13][14]

During the following years, Kesi mostly focused on releasing singles, with "Følelsen", "Ligesom mig", "Kom over", "Su casa" (featuring Gilli), and "X" all topping the Danish charts between 2017 and 2019.[15] After taking a five year break from albums, Kesi released his fourth studio album, BO4L, in 2020.[16]

  1. ^ "Kesi - Musik - DR". www.dr.dk. Danmarks Radio. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Dansk musiker trak stikket midt i karrierens højdepunkt: 'Jeg blev nødt til at finde ud af, om jeg var færdig'". 30 December 2020.
  3. ^ Jensen, Pelle Peter. "Pelle Peter på P3 - Torsdag 12. dec. 2019". www.dr.dk. Danmarks Radio. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
  4. ^ MetroXpress: Unge kometer eksploderer uden pladeselskaber (in Danish)
  5. ^ Jensen, Pelle Peter (16 June 2011). "Her er dansk hiphops fremtid". soundvenue.com. Soundvenue. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. ^ a b Garner, Mikkel (13 November 2014). "BOC: Det hele startede her". www.redbull.com. Red Bull. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  7. ^ MetroXpress: Kesi - »Undergrunden betaler jo ikke mine regninger« (in Danish)
  8. ^ Spolopdate: Oliver Kesi klar med første singleudspil
  9. ^ SoundVenue: Her er dansk hiphops fremtid (in Danish)
  10. ^ Nyhederne: Mød fremtidens rapstjerner her (in Danish)
  11. ^ SoundVenue: Se billeder fra Distortions Final Party (in Danish)
  12. ^ Frandsen, Helge (24 February 2012). "Kesi 'Bomber over centrum' / Album". soundvenue.com. Soundvenue. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  13. ^ Rud, Troels (15 January 2013). "Kesi 'Ung hertug' 'Ung hertug' / Album". soundvenue.com. Soundvenue. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  14. ^ Frandsen, Helge (22 June 2015). "Kesi holder sin egen fest på overfladisk album med masser af banger-potentiale". soundvenue.com. Soundvenue. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  15. ^ "FAKTA: Dansk rapper topper streamingtjenesternes hitliste". www.avisen.dk. Avisen. 20 March 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  16. ^ Jul Bruun, Niels (5 August 2020). "Kesis nye album 'BO4L' åbner op for en mere nuanceret version af Danmarks store hitrapper". soundvenue.com. Soundvenue. Retrieved 21 August 2020.