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 Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

in an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

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 musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...

and

Dem Jointz Dwayne Allen Abernathy Jr. (born July 17, 1976), better known by his stage name Dem Jointz, is an American record producer. He has produced tracks for numerous artists including Rihanna, Anderson .Paak, and NCT, among others. He also co-prod ...

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

's album "

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

"; "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 musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...

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 market ...

label-mates

X Ambassadors X Ambassadors (also stylized XA) are an American pop rock band from Ithaca, New York. Its members currently include lead vocalist Sam Harris, keyboardist Casey Harris, and drummer Adam Levin. Russ Flynn is a touring member that plays guitar and ...

. 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 expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

following the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

. 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 African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and

heritage, and mixing the

and

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 1981 births Living people People from Pietermaritzburg South African singer-songwriters South African people of Indian descent South African people of Tamil descent