Ferdinand Sarnitz, known by his stage name Ferdinand fka Left Boy, is an Austrian singer and producer from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria.

Biography

Sarnitz was born on 17 December 1988 in Vienna, Austria to Austrian musician

André Heller Franz André Heller (; born 22 March 1947 as Francis Charles Georges Jean André Heller-Hueart) is an Austrian artist, author, poet, singer, songwriter and actor. Biography Heller was born in Vienna into a wealthy Jewish family of sweets manufac ...

and Sabina Sarnitz. He attended the

American International School of Vienna The American International School Vienna (AISV) is a non-profit international school in Vienna, Austria. AIS Vienna is accredited by the Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges, USA, and the Council of International Schools, and is recog ...

and graduated in 2007. Sarnitz spent much of his free time at school rapping. At the age of 18, Sarnitz went to New York City to study

audio engineering Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound * Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum * Digital audio, representation of sou ...

at the

Institute of Audio Research The Institute of Audio Research (IAR) was an educational institution in New York City. Students of IAR were offered a wide variety of academic programs in the field of music production and audio engineering. Students could choose from courses in a ...

for a year. After living in his hometown Vienna for a short while, he decided to move to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

to live in a shared apartment with two directors, a producer and a photographer. In December 2010, Sarnitz released his first mixtape ''The Second Coming'' for free download. In mid-2011, he started making music videos for all of the songs. Sarnitz often uses samples for his English songs which haven't been released for usability which is why an official sound carrier couldn't be released. Even though he hadn't been signed to a record label, he was able to perform at festivals in 2012, including "Sea of Love" and "HipHop Open". Live, he is accompanied by the dance group "Urban Movement". Sarnitz has a son called Yves-Louis. He cites

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close affili ...

Oxmo Puccino Abdoulaye Diarra (; born 3 August 1974), better known by his stage name Oxmo Puccino (, ), is a French-Malian rapper. Career A longtime hip hop fan, at age 21 Diarra began his collaboration with the fledgling rap collective Time Bomb, honing ...

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

Ugly Duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'' ...

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pia ...

Nina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, ...

Oumou Sangaré Oumou Sangaré ( bm, Umu Sangare; born 25 February 1968 in Bamako) is a Grammy Award-winning Malian Wassoulou musician, sometimes referred to as "The Songbird of Wassoulou". Wassoulou is a historical region south of the Niger River, where the mu ...

, and

Gipsy Kings Gipsy Kings are a group of flamenco, salsa, and pop musicians from Arles and Montpellier in southern France, who perform mostly in Catalan but also mix in Spanish with southern French dialects. Although the group members were born in France, t ...

as his inspirations. In 2015, he rapped in the Official Theme Tune for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

"Building Bridges".

Discography

Album

Mixtapes

EP

Singles

References

External links

Official homepage
1988 births Living people 21st-century Austrian male singers English-language singers from Austria Austrian expatriates in the United States {{Austria-musician-stub