Face Candy was an American improvisational

jazz rap Jazz rap (or jazz hip hop) is a fusion of jazz and hip hop music, as well as an alternative hip hop subgenre, that developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. AllMusic writes that the genre "was an attempt to fuse African-American music of th ...

group by led rapper

Eyedea Micheal David Larsen (November 9, 1981 – October 16, 2010), better known by his stage name Eyedea, was an American musician, rapper, and poet. He was a freestyle battle Freestyle is a style of improvisation, with or without instrumental ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. The group released one album, ''This Is Where We Were'', in 2006. The initial lineup on the album consisted of Eyedea,

Kristoff Krane About Kristoff Krane is a rapper from Minneapolis, MN known for his stream-of-consciousness approach to writing, freestyling, and performing. In addition to his solo releases, Krane was also frontman alongside Eyedea (of Eyedea & Abilities) ...

, J.T. Bates, and Casey O'Brien until Eyedea's sudden death in 2010. The group released a second album second album in 2011, ''Waste Age Teenland''.

History

Eyedea & Friends

Formed in 2005 as Eyedea & Friends the group originally consisted of well known freestyle battle champion and underground rapper

with drummer J.T. Bates, (also of Eyedea's rock band Carbon Carousel), bassist Casey O'Brien, and local rappers

(also of Abzorber), Carnage, and Mazta I. The group started playing shows at local hip-hop oriented venues where much of the audience which showed up was expecting the music be similar to Eyedea's solo work and work as part of

Eyedea & Abilities Eyedea & Abilities (often abbreviated as E&A) was an American hip hop duo from Saint Paul, Minnesota, consisting of rapper Eyedea and DJ Abilities. The duo was founded in 1999 and became a prominent figure of the underground hip hop scene, b ...

. However the Eyedea and Friends show's actually consisted entirely of extended freestyles with freely improvised instrumental backing this lend to disappointment and anger in many of the fans who in turn booed and threw objects at the group. After the first tour the group stopped performing for a while due partly to the negative reaction. However the project was revived with the new name Face Candy and found a better reaction to the music playing now that fans knew what to expect and through playing Jazz venues where the crowds were more receptive to the group's sound.

''This Is Where We Were (2005)''

''This Is Where We Were'' was recorded live in 2005 while the group was touring the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. The album was released on November 21, 2006.

Change in lineup

Carnage and Mazta I left in 2006 reducing the group to a four-man line up they continued to perform and record new material. Eyedea died in his sleep on October 16, 2010 due to an overdose.Gottfried, Mara H. ''Twincities.com'', 19 November 2010
"St. Paul rapper Eyedea's death ruled accidental drug overdose"
/ref>

''Waste Age Teenland (2011)''

In mid 2011, it was confirmed the second album ''Waste Age Teenland'' would be released posthumously by

Rhymesayers Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis. History Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley ( Slug), Anthony Davis (Ant), Musab Saad (Sab t ...

. This album was recorded in two days at the Winterland studios and one night in front of an audience at Black Dog Cafe in Saint Paul. It was released May 24, 2011, seven months after Eyedea's death.

Members

The band had several lineups.

Initial members

(deceased) – Vocals *Carnage – Vocals, Human percussion *Mazta I – Vocals

Later members

– Vocals *

J.T. Bates Face Candy was an American improvisational jazz rap group by led rapper Eyedea in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The group released one album, ''This Is Where We Were'', in 2006. The initial lineup on the album consisted of Eyedea, Kristoff Krane, J.T. ...

– Drums *Casey O'Brien – Bass

Discography

*''This Is Where We Were'' (2006) *''Waste Age Teenland'' (2011)

References

{{Authority control American hip hop groups American jazz ensembles from Minnesota Rhymesayers Entertainment artists