Candice Pillay (born June 10, 1981) is a South African singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. She is best known for writing songs for artists including

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and

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.Hale, Andreas (August 11, 2015
"Meet Candice Pillay, the Singer/Songwriter Dr. Dre Says Reminds Him of Kendrick Lamar"
''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' (Interview) Retrieved August 25, 2015

Career

Pillay was born and raised in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa in an Indian family. She released her first mixtape in December 2014. The mixtape, titled ''The Mood Kill'', is a 15-song compilation written by Pillay and collaborators such as

Alex da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British music producer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for producing several hit singles for artists of multiple music g ...

and

Dem Jointz Dwayne Allen Abernathy Jr. (born July 17, 1976), known professionally as Dem Jointz, is an American record producer, songwriter and singer. He has been credited with production work for artists including Kanye West, Rihanna, Anderson .Paak, Emi ...

. In August 2015, Pillay's vocals were featured on two songs from

's album " Compton"; "Medicine Man" (ft.

and Anderson .Paak). In an interview with MTV, Pillay spoke about working with Dr. Dre stating, "He really made an impression on me from the moment I met him. Of course, he's a legendary guy. We all look up to him. You never know what to expect when you meet someone of his caliber. But, from the first meeting, he was one of the most humble guys I've met." In 2015, Candice co-wrote Rihanna's American Oxygen in a collaborative effort with

Alex Da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British music producer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for producing several hit singles for artists of multiple music g ...

and her

KIDinaKORNER Kidinakorner (stylized as KIDinaKORNER) is an American record company founded in 2011 by British music producer and songwriter Alexander "Alex da Kid" Grant. The company houses a record label, music publishing, commercial production and a ma ...

label-mates

X Ambassadors X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York, that consists of lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member who plays guitar and bass. Their m ...

. Pillay told reporters the song hit close to home for herself,

and

who all moved to America to further their careers in the music industry."Toronto Paradise (April 20, 2015)
"Candice Pillay: African Air To American Oxygen"
TorontoParadise.com (Interview). Retrieved August 8, 2015. In September 2020, Pillay released Stand Silent ft.

Jon Connor Jon Kevin Freeman Jr. (born April 13, 1985), better known by his stage name Jon Connor, is an American rapper and record producer. Connor has released various mixtapes and an album effort during his career including the Jay-Z inspired ''The Blu ...

in the midst of

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

following the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

. In April 2021, Candice announced her upcoming EP, The Rise

Influences

In an interview with ''Toronto Paradise'', Candice spoke about her musical influences. "I have African and Indian heritage, and mixing the African and Indian rhythms and drums together is very close to RnB and hip hop," she said. "A lot of my melodies are very Indian and you wouldn't think that because they're under a heavy 808, but I try to access all those cultures that I grew up on."

Discography

Singles

As a featured artist

As lead artist

As a songwriter

"World Music Candice Pillay"
Retrieved August 25, 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillay, Candice South African pop singers South African women pop singers 1981 births Living people Musicians from Pietermaritzburg South African singer-songwriters South African people of Indian descent South African people of Tamil descent English-language singers from South Africa