Kay One

German rapper Kay One was born Kenneth Glöckler in Friedrichshafen on September 7, 1984 to a German father and a Filipino mother. Influenced by his older brother, he started to rap at the age of 13, winning the Royal Rumble competition in Stuttgart at the age of 16. He teamed up with rapper Jaysus to form the duo Chablife, which signed with Royal Bunker when Kay One was 17. In 2005, he quit the project and signed with Eko Fresh's German Dream label, but then switched to Bushido's Ersguterjunge label in 2007. Building up his popularity with guest appearances, compilation cuts, and free download tracks, Kay won a Juice Award in the Newcomer category in 2009 and then released his first solo record, Kenneth Allein zu Haus, in May 2010. The album, which featured guest appearances by Bushido, Fler, Frauenarzt, and others, reached number seven on the German album charts. The same year, he teamed up with Bushido and Fler to release the album Berlins Most Wanted, which charted at number two. Kay One's second solo album, Prince of Belvedair (number four in Germany and Austria), was released in early 2012, shortly before the rapper announced that he left the Ersguterjunge label. ~ Christian Genzel