# Brooke Candy
**Brooke Candy** (born 1989 in [Oxnard, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/oxnard-california)) is an American rapper, singer, and performance artist known for explicitly sexual, genre-blurring music that moves between hardcore rap, pop, electronic, and punk styles.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) Her given name is Brooke Candy.[2](https://www.laweekly.com/meet-brooke-candy-rapper-stripper-warrior/) She first drew wide attention in 2012 with a cameo in Grimes' video for "Genesis" and the viral video for her single "Das Me", and after a difficult stint signed to RCA she released her debut album *Sexorcism* in 2019, followed by *Candyland* and *Spiral* in 2024.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) • [3](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2024/08/interviews-brooke-candy/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989, Oxnard, California[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) |
| Breakthrough | Cameo in Grimes' "Genesis" video (2012) and the viral "Das Me" video, late 2012[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) |
| Major-label period | Signed to RCA in 2014; recorded "Living Out Loud" with Sia (2017); left the label in 2017[4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-brooke-candy-sexorcism-is-torpedoed-by-humorless-innuendo/) |
| Debut album | *Sexorcism*, October 25, 2019, NUXXE; 12 songs, 33 minutes[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/sexorcism/1895745802) |
| Later albums | *Candyland* (part one, July 2024, 16 tracks, 37 minutes) and *Spiral* (2024)[3](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2024/08/interviews-brooke-candy/) • [6](https://www.vanndigital.com/musician-brooke-candy-launches-on-onlyfans/) |
| Recent work | Podcast *Brooke Candy: Unwrapped* (November 2025); single "VIP" (September 4, 2026, ONErpm)[7](https://vmagazine.com/article/brooke-candy-is-her-own-vip/) |
## Early life
Candy grew up in the greater Los Angeles area, developing an early interest in fashion, music, and posting her artistic statements on social media.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) Her father, Tom Candy, was formerly the chief financial officer of *Hustler* magazine, and her mother is a nurse; the two split when she was 8, and she grew up in Agoura Hills.[8](https://www.last.fm/music/Brooke%2BCandy) • [9](https://www.laweekly.com/brooke-candy-the-rapping-provocateur/) She was raised in an observant Jewish family.[10](https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/brooke-candy-isnt-all-that-sweet-587000)
She has described her upbringing as strange and her household as hostile, taking solace in 1990s hip-hop, particularly [The Notorious B.I.G.](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-notorious-b-i-g) and [Lil' Kim](https://www.edgepedia.org/lil-kim), whose music she says gave her an empowering anger.[11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/brooke-candy-remaking-the-girl) At 17 she moved to San Francisco, where she says she was "raised by drag queens" and immersed herself in queer and drag culture; she came out at 21 after returning to Los Angeles.[11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/brooke-candy-remaking-the-girl) • [9](https://www.laweekly.com/brooke-candy-the-rapping-provocateur/) In a 2019 conversation with the rapper and performance artist [Mykki Blanco](https://www.edgepedia.org/mykki-blanco), she said that after coming out to her mother during an argument she was effectively homeless as a teenager, living on friends' couches, and entered the San Francisco punk scene as an aspiring photographer, shooting for *Vice*; she had wanted to be "the next Nan Goldin" and never planned to make music.[12](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/brooke-candy-mykki-blanco-sexorcism-conversation) She also worked as a stripper, first at Cheetah's and then at Seventh Veil, and has said the experience trained her to hold an audience's attention.[9](https://www.laweekly.com/brooke-candy-the-rapping-provocateur/) • [13](https://galoremag.com/interview-with-brooke-candy/)
## Career beginnings (2012–2014)
Candy's music career began with the outlandishly stylized video for her late-2012 single "Das Me", but by that point she was better known for her cameo in Grimes' video for "Genesis", which went viral.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) Her early singles "Das Me" (2012), "Everybody Does" (2013), and "I Wanna Fuck Right Now" (2013) set the groundwork for her career, pairing hyper-sexual, highly explicit rap with colorful videos.[14](https://www.nylon.com/brooke-candy-sexorcism-interview) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) She built a following partly through Tumblr and by posting videos on WorldStar Hip-Hop, performing in underground gay clubs before Instagram existed.[12](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/brooke-candy-mykki-blanco-sexorcism-conversation) • [11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/brooke-candy-remaking-the-girl) In 2014 she released the *Opulence* EP, whose title video was widely praised for its visual style.[15](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brooke-candy/688736528) • [4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-brooke-candy-sexorcism-is-torpedoed-by-humorless-innuendo/)
## The RCA years
Candy signed to Sony's RCA Records in 2014.[16](https://www.ladygunn.com/music/brooke-candy-talks-sexorcism-collaboration-and-being-a-tastemaker/) After the "Opulence" video, RCA reportedly pushed her in a more mainstream direction, producing a series of watered-down pop songs that clashed with her established style; the planned album and its pop direction were eventually scrapped.[4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-brooke-candy-sexorcism-is-torpedoed-by-humorless-innuendo/) • [15](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brooke-candy/688736528) During this period she recorded the 2017 single "Living Out Loud" with Sia, which became a modest hit, and she stepped away from its explicit pop direction, reversing course with the punk-flavored "War", "My Sex", and "Nuts" in 2018.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) She parted ways with RCA in 2017. Looking back, she has said the label took away her creative control, that she was pulled off a trajectory she had built herself to be fitted into a profitable mold, and that the years involved identity crisis, drug use, and episodes of severe depression.[4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-brooke-candy-sexorcism-is-torpedoed-by-humorless-innuendo/) • [14](https://www.nylon.com/brooke-candy-sexorcism-interview) • [12](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/brooke-candy-mykki-blanco-sexorcism-conversation)
## Sexorcism (2019)
After years of uncertainty and studio changes, Candy issued her official debut full-length, *Sexorcism*, on October 25, 2019, through the London independent label NUXXE.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008) • [17](https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/i-m-explicit-but-what-artist-these-days-isn-t-brooke-candy-on-industry-double-standards-mental-health-and-more/078010) The album runs 12 songs in 33 minutes and features guest appearances from [Charli XCX](https://www.edgepedia.org/charli-xcx), Iggy Azalea, Ashnikko, Rico Nasty, Bree Runway, Violet Chachki, Aquaria, Erika Jayne, La Goony Chonga, Maliibu Miitch, and TOOPOOR.[5](https://music.apple.com/us/album/sexorcism/1895745802) • [18](https://metacritic.com/music/sexorcism/brooke-candy) Candy described it as a sex-positive, feminist record made entirely with female contributors, and as a purge of sexual shame: "every woman should get out all of that pent up sexual energy that has been pushed and forced down."
[14](https://www.nylon.com/brooke-candy-sexorcism-interview) • [19](https://www.out.com/music/2019/10/25/brooke-candy-just-released-horniest-album-2019) Critics were divided: the album received a Metascore of 55 based on four reviews, with PopMatters calling it the second coming of Brooke Candy while Slant Magazine found it disappointingly one-note.[18](https://metacritic.com/music/sexorcism/brooke-candy) She had by then also directed or co-directed nearly every music video from the project.[20](https://www.ladygunn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/LADYGUNN19DOJACAT.pdf)
## Candyland and Spiral (2024)
After a hiatus from releases following 2019, Candy announced her return in a November 2021 *Inked* interview.[21](https://inkedmag.com/original-news/brooke-candy) The first installment of *Candyland* arrived in July 2024 as a 16-track, 37-minute club-ready project including "Safe Word" and "Pills", with a second part announced.[3](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2024/08/interviews-brooke-candy/) • [22](https://www.papermag.com/brooke-candy-candyland) Her third studio album, *Spiral*, followed the same year.[6](https://www.vanndigital.com/musician-brooke-candy-launches-on-onlyfans/) Around this period her song "Drip" was featured in the Best Picture-winning film *Anora*, and in March 2025 she launched an OnlyFans account.[6](https://www.vanndigital.com/musician-brooke-candy-launches-on-onlyfans/)
## Recent work
In late 2025 Candy launched the podcast *Brooke Candy: Unwrapped*, which premiered on YouTube on November 5, 2025 and on streaming services on November 11; early episodes featured conversations with [Nicole Byer](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicole-byer), Willam, and [Margaret Cho](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-cho).[23](https://shows.acast.com/unwrappedofficial) Her single "SWANS" with COUCOU CHLOE, developed with Dextreau and Reysha Rami, moved her into a heavier, industrial-tinged electronic sound that V Magazine described as the beginning of a full shift in her artistic identity.[24](https://vmagazine.com/article/brooke-candys-berghain-energy-awakening-with-swans/) On September 4, 2026 she released "VIP", the first single from a forthcoming album arriving via ONErpm, described as one of two records nearly finished and made in the wake of her divorce.[7](https://vmagazine.com/article/brooke-candy-is-her-own-vip/)
## Artistry and influences
Candy's style fuses drag culture and feminist ideals, and her work is consistently framed around sex positivity, female empowerment, and queerness; she has said everything she does is for the gay community, which she calls family.[11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/brooke-candy-remaking-the-girl) Her stated influences range from Lil' Kim and Madonna's *Erotica* to [Marilyn Manson](https://www.edgepedia.org/marilyn-manson), Iggy Pop, riot grrrl figure Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill, and filmmaker [John Waters](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-waters).[11](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/brooke-candy-remaking-the-girl) • [4](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-brooke-candy-sexorcism-is-torpedoed-by-humorless-innuendo/) Commentators have noted that the openly sexual style she pioneered in the early 2010s Tumblr era had become fully commercialized mainstream pop by 2024, a shift Candy herself acknowledged, saying shock value is harder to achieve now because "nothing is really crass anymore".[22](https://www.papermag.com/brooke-candy-candyland)
## References
1. [Brooke Candy Biography by Neil Z. Yeung, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/brooke-candy-mn0003106008)
2. [Meet Brooke Candy: Rapper, Stripper, Warrior, LA Weekly (2012)](https://www.laweekly.com/meet-brooke-candy-rapper-stripper-warrior/)
3. [Brooke Candy Interview, EUPHORIA Magazine (2024)](https://www.euphoriazine.com/blog/2024/08/interviews-brooke-candy/)
4. [Review: Brooke Candy's Sexorcism, Slant Magazine (2019)](https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review-brooke-candy-sexorcism-is-torpedoed-by-humorless-innuendo/)
5. [SEXORCISM, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/sexorcism/1895745802)
6. [Musician Brooke Candy Launches On OnlyFans, VannDigital (2025)](https://www.vanndigital.com/musician-brooke-candy-launches-on-onlyfans/)
7. [Brooke Candy Is Her Own "VIP", V Magazine (2026)](https://vmagazine.com/article/brooke-candy-is-her-own-vip/)
8. [Brooke Candy, Last.fm](https://www.last.fm/music/Brooke%2BCandy)
9. [Brooke Candy: The Rapping Provocateur, LA Weekly (2014)](https://www.laweekly.com/brooke-candy-the-rapping-provocateur/)
10. [Brooke Candy isn't all that sweet, The Jerusalem Post (2019)](https://www.jpost.com/j-spot/brooke-candy-isnt-all-that-sweet-587000)
11. [Brooke Candy cut through label interference to find herself again, The Line of Best Fit (2019)](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/interviews/brooke-candy-remaking-the-girl)
12. [Brooke Candy Tells Mykki Blanco Sexorcism is A Big "Fuck You" to Everyone Who Didn't Believe in Her, Interview Magazine (2019)](https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/brooke-candy-mykki-blanco-sexorcism-conversation)
13. [Brooke Candy: On Sexuality, Empowerment and Music, Galore](https://galoremag.com/interview-with-brooke-candy/)
14. [Brooke Candy Wants Fans To "Embrace Who They Are", NYLON (2019)](https://www.nylon.com/brooke-candy-sexorcism-interview)
15. [Brooke Candy, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/artist/brooke-candy/688736528)
16. [Brooke Candy Talks Sexorcism, Collaboration, and Being a Tastemaker, LADYGUNN](https://www.ladygunn.com/music/brooke-candy-talks-sexorcism-collaboration-and-being-a-tastemaker/)
17. [Brooke Candy on industry double standards, mental health and more, Music Week (2019)](https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/i-m-explicit-but-what-artist-these-days-isn-t-brooke-candy-on-industry-double-standards-mental-health-and-more/078010)
18. [Sexorcism Reviews and Tracks, Metacritic](https://metacritic.com/music/sexorcism/brooke-candy)
19. [Brooke Candy Just Released the Horniest Album of 2019, Out.com (2019)](https://www.out.com/music/2019/10/25/brooke-candy-just-released-horniest-album-2019)
20. [LADYGUNN Issue No. 19 (2020)](https://www.ladygunn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/LADYGUNN19DOJACAT.pdf)
21. [Brooke Candy, Inked Magazine (2021)](https://inkedmag.com/original-news/brooke-candy)
22. [Brooke Candy Wants to Prove People Wrong With "Candyland", PAPER Magazine (2024)](https://www.papermag.com/brooke-candy-candyland)
23. [UNWRAPPED, hosted by Brooke Candy, Acast](https://shows.acast.com/unwrappedofficial)
24. [Brooke Candy's Berghain Energy Awakening with "SWANS", V Magazine (2025)](https://vmagazine.com/article/brooke-candys-berghain-energy-awakening-with-swans/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Hip hop scenes worldwide › Artists, groups, and people: Hip hop scenes worldwide › West Coast rap (Bay Area and Los Angeles) › Los Angeles and Southern California rappers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license