Career

Ken Kiprono Ring is a Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 rap

Rap

Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...

 artist of Kenyan descent. He was born in Hässelby

Hässelby

Hässelby is a part of Hässelby-Vällingby in the City of Stockholm in Sweden, comprising the suburban areas Hässelby Gård, Hässelby Strand and Hässelby Villastad.-Hässelby in literature:...

, a suburb west of Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. He got his breakthrough with the song "Mamma", which is about how his mother got sick and died of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 when he was 13. He released his first studio album "Vägen tillbaka" with the hit single "Eld och djupa vatten" in 1999. After a show on "Vattenfestivalen" in Stockholm year 1999 Ken Ring got arrested after performing the song called "Spräng regeringen" in which he rapped about rushing the castle (Royal castle) and raping princess Madeleine

Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland

Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland is the youngest child and second daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden...

.

Because of this controversy Kens recordlabel ended their cooperation with the rapper, but before their parting in ways Ken managed to release his second studio album "Mitt hem blir ditt hem" in year 2000. After that album Ken Ring became a so called underground rapper that could not get a record-deal but he kept releasing songs on the internet.

In 2004 Ken Ring started a collaboration with Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 producer Tommy Tee

Tommy Tee

Tommy Flaaten , best known by his stage name Tommy Tee, is a Norwegian record producer, rapper, broadcaster, record executive, concert promoter and magazine publisher. He is known as the godfather of Norwegian hip hop. Tee owns the label Tee Productions, which is located in Oslo, Norway and is...

. The collaboration was a successful one and they released the album "Två legender utan pengar" (Two Legends Without Money) together in 2004.

He has collaborated with rapper and producer Tommy Tee

Tommy Tee

Tommy Flaaten , best known by his stage name Tommy Tee, is a Norwegian record producer, rapper, broadcaster, record executive, concert promoter and magazine publisher. He is known as the godfather of Norwegian hip hop. Tee owns the label Tee Productions, which is located in Oslo, Norway and is...

, Saigon, Heltah Skeltah, Morgan Heritage, Kalamashaka, and many other rappers. Proof

Proof (rapper)

DeShaun Dupree Holton better known as Proof his stage name, was an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. During his career, he was a member of the groups Goon Squad, 5 Elementz, Promatic, and most notably D12...

 and Swift

Swifty McVay

Ondre Moore , better known as his stage name Swifty McVay, Swift, or Swift-E, is an American rapper and most notably, a member of Detroit rap group, D12. Swift used to be in a rap group called "Da Rabeez". Swift joined D12 shortly after Bugz, an original D12 member, was murdered, Bugz's last...

 from D12

D12

D12, an acronym for The Dirty Dozen, is an American hip hop group from Detroit, Michigan. D12 has had chart-topping albums in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia...

 and helped in the producing of the rap group Smif-n-Wessun

Smif-N-Wessun

Smif-n-Wessun is a hip hop duo consisting of members Tek and Steele . Smif-n-Wessun comprise two-fifths of the Brownsville, Brooklyn supergroup Boot Camp Clik, with Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C...

's self-titled album

Smif-n-Wessun: The Album

Smif-n-Wessun: The Album is the fourth album by Hip hop duo Smif-n-Wessun, of the supergroup Boot Camp Clik, released on October 23 through Duck Down Records. The album comes two years after the duo's last effort, 2005's Smif 'n' Wessun: Reloaded. The Album features guest appearances from Rock of...

. He has released 9 studio albums so far. He has 3 grammy nominations and did over 950 shows worldwide. He has 4 kids in Sweden. He is building a big studio in Kenya and is planning to take over the African hip hop industry he says. Through connections with almost everybody in the hip hop game, this Swedish rapper is now moving to Kenya to set up his industry. He has also been in a few movies (Blodsbröder, etc.). He was an extra in the Swedish TV-show Rederiet

Rederiet

Rederiet was a long-running Swedish soap opera that aired on Sveriges Television between 1992 and 2002....

, in 1995. He is currently writing his first movie script.
He is also the owner of the new started football club K.R.A.C.K UNITED located in the coast region of Kenya.
The goal for that is 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.

Albums

• 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)
• 2 legender utan penger: Igjen (with Tommy Tee; 2010)

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)

See also

• Swedish hip hop
  Swedish hip hop
  Emerging in the first half of the 1980s, Swedish hip hop was first heard from the cities of Stockholm and Malmö. In the early days, most rappers in Sweden rapped in English. Funkalics and The Latin Kings, two very different acts united by their innovative use of the Swedish language, debuted a...