Ken Ring (born January 29, 1979) is a Swedish

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

artist.

Career

He was born in

Hässelby Hässelby is a Swedish town that is a part of Hässelby-Vällingby in the city of Stockholm, Sweden, comprising the suburban areas Hässelby Gård, Hässelby Strand and Hässelby Villastad. The territory also corresponds to Hässelby parish in ...

, a suburb west of Stockholm, Sweden. Ken wrote the song "Mamma" about his mother becoming ill and dying of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

when he was 13 years old; it was his breakthrough song, released in 1999. He released his first studio album later that year, entitled ''Vägen tillbaka'', with the hit single "Eld och djupa vatten". After a show on "Vattenfestivalen" in Stockholm later in 1999, Ken Ring got arrested for performing the song called "Spräng regeringen" in which he rapped about rushing the Royal Palace in Stockholm and raping

Princess Madeleine Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. Because of this controversy Ken's record label ended their cooperation with the rapper, in the year 2000, however, before parting ways, Ken managed to release his second studio album ''Mitt hem blir ditt hem'', through the same label. After that album was released, Ken Ring became what is known as an

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

rapper, being unable to find a willing record label. He continued releasing songs on the internet. In 2004, Ken Ring started a collaboration with

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

producer Tommy Tee. The collaboration was successful, and they released the album ''Två legender utan pengar'' (Two Legends Without Money) together, in 2004. Ken Ring has collaborated with rappers and producers Tommy Tee, Saigon, Heltah Skeltah, Morgan Heritage, Kalamashaka, and many others. Along with Proof and

Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...

from

D12 D12 (an initialism for The Dirty Dozen) was an American hip hop collective from Detroit, Michigan. Formed in 1996, the group achieved mainstream success with its lineup of ''de facto'' leader Eminem, Proof, Bizarre, Mr. Porter, Kuniva and Swift ...

, Ken helped in the production of rap group Smif-n-Wessun's self-titled album. Ken has released 9 studio albums so far. He has 3 grammy nominations and has performed more than 950 shows worldwide. Ken has 4 children in Sweden. Using his connections with many members of the hip-hop "game", Ken is building a large studio in Kenya and is planning to take over the African hip hop industry, according to his own claims. He has also been in a few, low-budget films, including "''Blodsbröder''". He was an extra in the Swedish TV-show

Rederiet ''Rederiet'' (''High Seas'' or ''The Shipping Company'') was a (318 episodes) Swedish soap opera that aired on Sveriges Television between August 1992 and April 2002. The cast featured many popular and renowned Swedish actors. The 45-minute epi ...

, in 1995. He is currently writing his first movie script. He is also the owner of a newly started football club called "K.R.A.C.K UNITED", located in the coastal region of Kenya. He has stated the goal for this being to sell players to the European market in the future. The team has done very well and is now the best youth team of the south coast. During 2013, Ken Ring participated in the TV-show ''

Så mycket bättre Så mycket bättre (, "So Much Better") is a Swedish reality television show that airs on TV4. The basic premise is that each artist attempts to do their own version of another artist's well-known songs, with each person getting an episode feat ...

'' where he regained a lot of media attention after being "kept in the dark" for so long due to his controversy. Since January 2014, Ken Ring has been signed to the "Orlando John Agency", a talent agency owned by

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

's manager. On April 12, 2021 Ken announced his retirement from music on a LinkedIn post.

Discography

Albums

;Charting ;Others * ''Vägen tillbaka'' (1999) * ''Mitt hem blir ditt hem'' (2000) * ''Mellanspelet'' (2002) * ''InblicKEN'' (2003) * ''Det bortglömda'' (2003) * ''2 legender utan pengar'' (with Tommy Tee; 2004) * ''KENnelklubben'' (2004) * ''RubriKEN'' (2005) * ''Äntligen hemma'' (2007) * ''Hip Hop'' (2009) (see table above) * ''AkustiKen'' (2013) (see table above)

Singles

;Charting ;Other singles * "Gatuslang" (1998) * "Tidiga demor" (1999) * "Stockholm stad" (1999) * "Stockholm stad 12"" (1999) * "Mamma" (1999) * "Eld och djupa vatten" (1999) * "Dödens gränsland" (1999) * "Vill inte veta" (2000) * "Grabbarna från förorten" (2000) * "Situation Stockholm" (2000) * "Mitt hem blir ditt hem" (2000) * "BB berättelsen" (featuring Tommy Tee) (2004) * "Måste seja hei" (featuring Tommy Tee) (2004) * "Cutta dom" (2006) * "På väg hem (EP; 2006) * "Det hände något på vägen hem" (EP; 2006) * "Snart hemma" (EP; 2007) * "Ta det lugnt" (2007) * "Kelian" (2007) * "STHLM CITY" (2008) * "Hip Hop" (2009) * "Helt Jävla Beng" (2010) * "Plocka Han" (feat. Tommy tee and M.O.P) (2011)

Mixtapes

* "165 - Various Mixtapes" (1997) * "165 - Unreleased Joints Vol. 1" (1999) * "165 Allstars Vol. 1" (2000) * "Ken Ring & BB Inc Kaddo Presents: Soundclap Vol. 1" (2005) * "Ken Ring & BB Inc Kaddo Presents: Soundclap Vol. 2" (2005) * "Ken Ring & BB Inc Kaddo Presents: Soundclap Vol. 3 (Svensk Hiphop Special)" (2005) * "Ken Ring & BB Inc Kaddo Presents: Soundclap Vol. 4" (2005) * "Ken Ring & BB Inc Kaddo Presents: Soundclap Vol. 5 (Hosted by Sam-E)" (2005) * "Ken Ring & BB Inc Kaddo Presents: Soundclap Vol. 6 (XXX-special. Hosted by Bingo Rimér & Pernilla Lundberg)" (2006) * "Shu Bre Express - Mixtape Vol. 1" (2008) * "Mixtape "10"" (2009) * "SommarbänKEN" (2009) * "Kiprono" (2010)

References

* ;Notes

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ring, Ken 1979 births Living people Swedish rappers Swedish people of Kenyan descent