Brandon Perry (born January 12, 1991), better known as K.A.A.N. (acronym for Knowledge Above All Nonsense), is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

rapper from

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He is best known for his fast-rhyming Chopper style, breathless-style, vast vocabulary, and

cynical Cynicism is an attitude characterized by a general distrust of the motives of "others". A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism, goals, and opinions that a cynic ...

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

based on

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

issues,

abuse Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

, and

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, along with struggling to grow his fanbase.

Life and career

Brandon Perry was born and raised in

, and grew up in a trailer park. He got into music at an early age when his parents would play

Tupac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, among others such as

Wiz Khalifa Cameron Jibril Thomaz (born September 8, 1987), better known by his stage name Wiz Khalifa, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He released his debut album, ''Show and Prove'', in 2006 and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 200 ...

Mac Miller Malcolm James McCormick (January 19, 1992 – September 7, 2018), known professionally as Mac Miller, was an American rapper and record producer. Miller began his career in Pittsburgh's hip hop scene in 2007, at the age of fifteen. In 2010, h ...

, and

Big Krit Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. Af ...

. He cites "When I was ten or so I bought every Tupac CD. I bought all his music. My parents played him,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

and

Biggie Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

in the car and stuff. I listened to other guys, like

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

Big Pun Christopher Lee Rios (November 10, 1971 – February 7, 2000), better known by his stage name Big Pun (short for Big Punisher), was an American rapper. Emerging from the underground hip hop scene in the Bronx borough of New York City in the ea ...

, O.C.,

Big L Lamont Coleman (May 30, 1974February 15, 1999), known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper and record executive. Emerging from Harlem in New York City in 1992, Coleman became known among underground hip-hop fans for his freestyling ...

, a lot when I was younger too.". Perry started releasing music around 2014, but it wasn't until he released the video "''KAANCEPTS"'' where his music started to gain attention. Perry used to work for a contracting and

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

company, working six days a week from Monday-Saturday to fund his rap career. He currently resides in Los Angeles where he writes and records music at Dr. Dre's Record One Studio.

Artistry

Perry has stated

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

is one of his greatest influences, stating how Shakur was "the only artist where I could literally feel the music", adding that he studied Shakur's music and would "

isten Isten may refer to: Mythology * Istanu, a god in Anatolian mythology * ''Isten'', an alternative spelling of Astennu, a figure in Egyptian mythology * ''Isten'' () is the word for God in the Hungarian language Others * Isten, áldd meg a magyart ...

to catch every word, mannerism, voice inflections." Perry has listed many other rap artists he took inspiration from, naming

Das EFX Das EFX is an American hip hop duo. It consists of emcees Dray (also known as Krazy Drayz, born Andre Weston, September 9, 1970) and Skoob (also known as Books and Boogie Bang, born William "Willie" Hines, November 27, 1970). They named the ...

EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...

and

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 ...

. He has added that acts from other genres are also big influences in his style,

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million re ...

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

, and

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

. When asked about his role and race in rap Perry responded "I'm obviously a younger black man, so that stuff is definitely in the back of my mind....All that stuff we're seeing nowadays with police brutality and racism and bigotry that we've always seen in this country, it's always in the back of your mind...I feel like if you're born black it's kind of like it comes with the territory. You've gotta know what's going on around you and what situations you're in. But in terms of me writing, I don't feel like I speak for anyone. I don't speak for young black men or black people. I speak for myself."

Discography

Mixtapes *''Losing My Religion'' (2014) *''Abstract Art'' (2015) *''Nameless'' (2019) Extended Plays *''1/12/199?'' (2015) *''Eclectic Audio'' (2016) *''Uncommon Knowledge'' (2016) *''K.A.A.N X SGULL'' (2016) *''K.A.A.N. X Genshin'' (2016) *''K.A.A.N. X Eremsy EP'' (2017) *''Abstractions'' (2017) *''K.A.A.N. X SGULL Vol.2'' (2017) *''2609'' (2017) *''The Middle'' (2017) *''Littlegreenhouse'' (2017) *''Heart Shaped Melody'' (2018) *''Mission To Mission Hillz'' (2019) Albums * ''The Black Blood LP'' (2017) * ''Voices'' (2017) * ''Paradise / / Lost'' (2018) * ''Pure Intentions'' (2018) * '' 4/29/17'' (2018) * ''Subtle Meditation'' (2018) * '' Gathering'' (2019) * ''I.C.a.B.S.'' (2019) * '' Requiem For A Dream Deferred'' (2019) * '' Naiveté'' (2019) * '' Twenty Nine'' (2020) * '' Blissful Awareness'' (2020) * '' Lost in Translation'' (2020) * '' All Praise Is Due'' (2020) * '' Vivid Canvas'' (2020) * '' Long Time No See'' (2021) * '' Kaizen'' (2021) * '' Kaizen, Pt.2'' (2021) * '' Sunset Crest Dr.'' (2021) * '' Mission Hillz'' (2022) * ''The High Before You Fall (2022)''

References

American male rappers Living people Rappers from Baltimore 1991 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American male rappers 21st-century African-American musicians {{Musician-stub