Cupcakke

CupcakKe

CupcakKe in 2017
Background information
Birth name Elizabeth Eden Harris
Born (1997-05-31) May 31, 1997
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2012–present
Associated acts
Website Official website

Elizabeth Eden Harris (born May 31, 1997),[1] known professionally by her stage name CupcakKe (often stylized as cupcakKe), is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois.

Harris began her career as a rapper by releasing material through the internet in late 2012. In 2015, two of her songs, "Deepthroat" and "Vagina", went viral on video sharing websites such as YouTube and WorldStarHipHop.[2] The songs were later included on her debut mixtape Cum Cake, which was released in February 2016 and placed at #23 in Rolling Stone's "Best Rap Albums of 2016" list[3] and received attention from Pitchfork.[4] Her hyper-sexualized and often comical lyrical content has gained her songs notoriety across the internet, and she has since developed a strong online fanbase whom she nicknamed "slurpers".[5][2]

Her second mixtape, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas), was released in 2016 and was included in Rolling Stone's June 2016 list of the "Best Rap Albums of 2016 So Far".[6] She has also received attention from music publications Complex[7] and The Fader.[8]

Following the release of her mixtapes, Harris debuted her album Audacious in 2016. Her sophomore studio album Queen Elizabitch was released in 2017.

Early life

Harris was born on May 31, 1997,[1] in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised on King Drive, near Parkway Gardens. Being raised by a single mother, Harris spent nearly four years in Chicago’s homeless shelters starting at age seven.[9] She grew up and went to school with other established Chicago rappers such as Lil Reese and Chief Keef. She got an early start into music and poetry at the age of 10 by her involvement in her local church. It was also there that she got her start in performing, where she would perform for her local pastors by reciting poetry about her Christianity and faith.[10]

When she was 13, she met a fellow church-goer who encouraged her to turn the poetry into rap music, and she became infatuated with the new art form. She cites 50 Cent, Lil Kim, & Da Brat as early influences to her musical style.[11][10]

Music career

2012–2014: Early output

Harris released her first music video, "Gold Digger" onto her official YouTube channel in August 2012, which went viral on the internet. She was only 14 at the time of its release—the original video has since been deleted.[12] Over the next few years, she continued to release original music, as well as freestyles using beats from other artists, through her YouTube channel, where she has amassed over 200,000 subscribers.[13]

2015–2016: Cum Cake, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas), and Audacious

In October 2015, the official music video for her song "Vagina" was released on YouTube via YMCFilmz. According to Cupcakke, she wrote the song because she was inspired by Khia's song "My Neck, My Back".[14] One month later, Harris released "Deepthroat" on her own channel. Within weeks, the two videos went viral on YouTube, Worldstar, and Facebook due to their overt sexual nature and raunchiness. The songs later became singles for Harris' debut mixtape, Cum Cake, which was released in February 2016. Its release was also supported by further singles such as "Juicy Coochie", "Tit for Tat", and "Pedophile". A writer for Pitchfork called the mixtape a "well rounded introduction to a skilled writer" and said it used songs "about love, loss, and hardship with its more explicit tracks to create a full profile of the up-and-coming Chicago rapper".[4] "Pedophile" was also specifically noted for its powerful lyrics and blunt commentary on sexual assault.[15]

In June 2016, Harris released her second mixtape, S.T.D (Shelters to Deltas) It was preceded by the single "Best Dick Sucker". Other tracks, such as "Doggy Style" and "Motherlands", were also later released as singles. The mixtape was listed among Rolling Stone's "Best Rap Albums of 2016 So Far".[16]

In October 2016, Harris released her debut studio album, Audacious.[17] The album was preceded by the single "Picking Cotton", which was described by MTV News as "a protest song about racist cops".[18] Other tracks on the album such as "Spider-Man Dick" and "LGBT" were accompanied by music videos.

2017–present: Queen Elizabitch

In February 2017, Harris released "Cumshot", which served as the lead single to her second studio album.[19] On March 7, English singer-songwriter Charli XCX premiered her song "Lipgloss" which features CupcakKe. The song was later included on XCX's mixtape, Number 1 Angel, which was released on March 10.[20]

On March 24, 2017, Harris officially announced her second studio album, titled Queen Elizabitch, which was released on March 31, 2017.[21] The Fader described it as "the type of nasty rap that made her a viral sensation, alongside all-out pop bangers like "33rd" and the confessional a cappella freestyle "Reality, Pt. 4."[22] Stereogum also noted that the album "sees CupcakKe engaging with the current political climate and radio trends in a way that could help her cross over to a more mainstream audience".[23]

On April 7, 2017, Queen Elizabitch was removed from online streaming services and digital music stores due to an illegal backing track that Harris had purchased from what she described as a "shady producer". She soon announced on Twitter that Queen Elizabitch would be re-released on April 16, 2017.[24][25][26]

Discography

Mixtapes

Studio albums

Tours

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Harris, Elizabeth [@CupcakKe_rapper] (4 May 2017). "Yes I am 19 turning 20 on may 31st" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017 – via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 Song, Sandra (2016-02-12). "Listen To Raunchy Chicago Rapper Cupcakke's Anti-Predatory Anthem "Pedophile"". PAPERMAG. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  3. ↑ "40 Best Rap Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  4. 1 2 Pearce, Sheldon. "9 Great Rap Mixtapes You Might Have Missed This Year". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Breihan, Tom. "On the Triumphant Nastiness of CupcakKe". Stereogum. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Weingarten, Christopher R. (June 28, 2016). "Best Rap Albums of 2016 So Far". Rolling Stone.
  7. ↑ Drake, David. "Bout to Blow: 10 Dope Songs You Should Be Hearing Everywhere Soon". Complex.com.
  8. ↑ Zeichner, Naomi (June 27, 2016). "Best Rappers to Watch 2016". TheFader.com. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  9. ↑ Downing, Andy. "Concert preview: Chicago rapper Cupcakke brings her "Vagina" monologue to MINT". columbusalive.com. Columbus Alive. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  10. 1 2 Carvey, Meghan (November 24, 2016). "The True, Freaky Originality of CupcakKe - MTV". Retrieved 19 January 2017.
  11. ↑ Drake, David (April 7, 2016). "A Conversation With CupcakKe, Whose Explicit Sex Raps Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg". Complex.com. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Smith, Josh. "Listen To Raunchy Chicago Rapper CupcakKe's Anti-Predatory "Pedophile"". papermag.com. PAPER Magazine. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  13. ↑ "cupcakKe - YouTube". Youtube. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  14. ↑ Zane, Zachary (March 30, 2017). "A Kiki with CupcakKe: The Audacious Rapper Is a Queer Icon in the Making". Out. Here Media Inc. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  15. ↑ Song, Sandra (February 2, 2016). "Listen to Raunchy Chicago Rapper Cupcakke's Anti-predatory Anthem "Pedophile"". Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "40 Best Rap Albums of 2016". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  17. ↑ "CupcakKe Announces New Album "Audacious"". Fader.com. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "THE TRUE, FREAKY ORIGINALITY OF CUPCAKKE". MTV News. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  19. ↑ "CupcaKKe - CumShot (Audio)". YouTube. Retrieved 2017-03-06.
  20. ↑ "Charli XCX Announced Number 1 Angel Mixtape, Shared Three New Songs". The FADER. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  21. ↑ Elizabeth Harris [@CupcakKe_rapper] (24 March 2017). "NEW ALBUM QUEEN ELIZABITCH OUT NOW ON iTUNES 8:30 PM on 03/31/17" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ↑ "Listen To CupcakKe’s New Album Queen Elizabitch". The FADER. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  23. ↑ "Stream CupcaKke Queen Elizabitch". Stereogum. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  24. ↑ Elizabeth Harris [@CupcakKe_rapper] (7 April 2017). "Queen Elizabitch was taking down from every store cuz I "PAID" key word "paid" for a beat that was sold so many times from a shady producer" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ↑ Elizabeth Harris [@CupcakKe_rapper] (7 April 2017). "10 days is all I'm going to say !!!!!!!!!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ↑ Lee, Christina (April 8, 2017). "Cupcakke’s ‘Queen Elizabitch’ Taken Down From Streaming Services". Idolator. Retrieved 9 April 2017.
  27. ↑ McNeilage, Ross (April 4, 2017). "CupcakKe Announces North American Dates For "Marilyn Monhoe Tour"". BreatheHeavy.com. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
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