"Das Me" is the debut single of American rapper

Brooke Candy Brooke Dyan Candy (born July 20, 1989) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and tattoo artist. Raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, she rose to prominence after starring in Grimes' music video for " Genesis" (2012). Following its success ...

, released as a standalone single on October 16, 2012. It was written by Candy herself with

Jesse Saint John Jesse St. John Geller (born October 5, 1989) is an American songwriter and singer. St. John has written for a number of artists, most notably Britney Spears, Kim Petras, Dorian Electra, Charli XCX, Brooke Candy, and The Neighbourhood, among other ...

and produced by American musician Khris Lorenz.

Background and release

In her early twenties, Brooke Candy lived out of her car and worked as a

stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

for the Seventh Veil club in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

, as well as an intern for

Rachel Zoe Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig (born September 1, 1971) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman and author who rose to prominence as a celebrity wardrobe stylist. She has been credited with the creation of "the boho-meets-rock chic look that came ...

. She adopted an alarming, vibrant style and appearance that attracted the attention of producer Khris Lorenz, who approached her at a party and invited her into the studio to "try and make a song together". Candy and close friend

, who also rose to musical significance as a songwriter through the chance encounter, worked with Lorenz on Candy's first song, which eventually became "Das Me". Throughout 2011, Candy began to establish herself as a rapper and continued working on music with Lorenz, who also produced the song "Trill" from her 2013-released debut mixtape ''The Mixtape'', among a number of unreleased songs. Candy posted freestyles and snippets of then-unreleased music on her

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

blog, where she had already amassed a steady following through her photography. After circulating the internet for several months, "Das Me" received an official release on October 16, 2012, with the official music video being uploaded to Candy's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on the same day. Lyrically, "Das Me" is themed around

female empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

and

sex-positive feminism Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism, is a feminist movement centering on the idea that sexual freedom is an essential component of women's freedom. They oppose legal or soci ...

, a theme that would go on to define her image in the future, as well as reclamation of female sexuality. Candy stated in a 2014 interview with ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' that the song was written from a place of pent-up anger in response to

slut-shaming Slut-shaming is the practice of criticizing people, especially women and girls, who violate expectations of behavior and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. It may also be used in reference to gay men, who may face disapproval for ...

and

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

that she had experienced throughout her life.

Music video

Candy's first music video appearance was in Canadian musician

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

' music video for her single "

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

", which was released in August 2012. She sported pink

dreadlocks Dreadlocks, also known as dreads or locs, are a Hairstyle, hairstyle made of rope-like strands of matted hair. Dreadlocks can form naturally in Hair#Texture, very curly hair, or they can be created with techniques like twisting, Backcombing, ba ...

and performed in a metallic bodysuit that loosely resembled a

suit of armor Plate armour is a historical type of personal body armour made from bronze, iron, or steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour entirely encasing the wearer. Full plate steel armour developed in Europe during the Late Middle Ages, es ...

, which she also wore in her own music video for "Das Me". The video was shot in

Rodeo Drive Rodeo Drive () is a street in Beverly Hills, California, with its southern segment in the City of Los Angeles, known as one of the most expensive streets in the world. Its southern terminus is at Beverwil Drive, and its northern terminus is a ...

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

, Candy's town of residence at the time. ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' said of the video: "'Das Me' is so oversexed – both lyrically and visually – that it would make

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

blush.

andy's Andy's Frozen Custard is the largest frozen custard-only chain in the United States, with more than 140 company-owned and franchised stores across 15 states. The company is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, where the company is run by its ...

wordplay is filthy and funny, even if her flow resembles that of contemporary

Kreayshawn Natassia Gail Zolot (born September 24, 1989), better known by her stage name Kreayshawn, is an American rapper, singer, and music video director from Oakland, California. In 2011, while serving as a member of a rap group with her friends, she ...

, if a bit sharper." In an interview with

Mykki Blanco Mykki Blanco (born April 2, 1986) is an American rapper, performance artist, poet and activist. She has collaborated musically with artists including Kanye West, Teyana Taylor, and Blood Orange. Early life Blanco was born in Orange County, C ...

, Candy stated her intentions behind the video: "I wanted it to be a visual representation of myself and the world I've created. It's where I am right now. It's an aesthetic combination of all the different cultures I experience, with imagery I imagined. I wanted to create a video that, as a viewer, I would want to watch."

Credits

* Songwriting –

and

* Production – Khris Lorenz

Release history

References

{{Brooke Candy 2012 songs 2012 singles 2012 debut singles Brooke Candy songs Songs with feminist themes Songs written by Brooke Candy Songs written by Jesse Saint John