Mark Makora Mbogo[2] (born September 23, 1997),[3] known professionally as KayCyy or KayCyy Pluto, is a Kenyan-American rapper, singer and songwriter.
KayCyy | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mark Makora Mbogo |
| Also known as |
|
| Born | September 23, 1997 Keroka, Kenya |
| Origin | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2016–present |
| Labels | |
Born in Keroka, Kenya, Mbogo moved with his family to the United States at an early age. Throughout his career, he has released five mixtapes, and several singles with his debut studio album Who Is KayCyy? set to release within 2024. KayCyy has worked as a songwriter and credited vocalist alongside several major artists, including Kanye West, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, and Travis Scott amongst others. Most notably, KayCyy had a large contribution towards the production of West's tenth studio album Donda, writing and recording references for a multitude of tracks.
Early life
editMark Makora Mbogo was born in Keroka, Kenya on September 23, 1997.[3] At the age of nine, he and his family moved to the United States and resided in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He attended Tartan Senior High School in the nearby suburb of Oakdale.[4] During school breaks, he spent time in New York City collaborating with other musical artists.[5] After he graduated from high school, Mbogo moved to New York City and later Los Angeles in pursuit of his music career.[5]
Career
editIn 2016, while still in high school, he signed to Alive Productions, a record label founded by music producer Reefa, with him later leaving in 2021.[3] He released two mixtapes, Patient Enough and Ups & Downs, in 2020 and 2021 respectively.[6][7] His debut album, titled Who Is KayCyy?, was released in 2024.[8]
Mbogo has worked with multiple other artists, having writing credits on Lil Wayne's album Funeral and Kanye West's single "Wash Us in the Blood".[9][10]
Mbogo has worked closely with West since 2019. The rappers met through record executive Abou "Bu" Thiam, who later became West's manager, as well as KayCyy's.[11][12] KayCyy is currently signed to Bu's record label BuVision and Columbia Records[8] and is credited as a performer and writer on West's tenth studio album Donda, including on the single "Hurricane", which topped multiple international song charts.[13][14]
Mbogo was nominated for a Grammy Award for Album of the Year for his work on Kanye's studio album Donda, and won a Grammy Award for contributing background vocals to the single, "Hurricane" by Kanye West which won Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance.[15] Mbogo released a collaborative EP with Gesaffelstein titled TW20 50 on March 11, 2022, and he released the mixtape, Get Used To It on June 2, 2022. On May 26, 2023, he released his second collaborative EP with Gesaffelstein, TW2052. Mbogo was featured and involved with the songwriting on the song, "Thank God" on Travis Scott’s album Utopia.
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| KAYCYY |
|
Collaborative Albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| SADDEST TRUTH (with sign crushes motorist, as HIIBRYD) |
|
Extended Plays
edit| Title | Extended plays details |
|---|---|
| PLUMAN 2 |
|
| PLUMIXES |
|
| HAVING MY WAY |
|
| TW20 50 [16] (with Gesaffelstein) |
|
| Who Else Would It Be |
|
| #NEWMUSICMONDAYS |
|
| TW2052 (with Gesaffelstein) |
|
Mixtapes
edit| Title | Mixtape details |
|---|---|
| Pluman (as KayCyy Pluto) |
|
| VACATION |
|
| Pluman 3 |
|
| Patient Enough |
|
| Ups & Downs |
|
| Get Used To It [17] |
|
| Never Been So Sure |
|
Other charted songs
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [18] |
US R&B [19] |
US Rap [20] |
AUS [21] |
CAN [22] |
UK R&B [23] | |||
| "Keep My Spirit Alive" (Kanye West featuring KayCyy, Westside Gunn, and Conway the Machine) |
2021 | 59 | 28 | 23 | 41 | 51 | 17 | Donda |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ Blanchet, Brenton (February 17, 2022). "Ye Protege KayCyy Is More Than Just 'The Kid With the Melodies'". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ "ACE Repertory : MBOGO MARK MAKORA". Ascap.com.
- ^ a b c Mbogo, Mark [@kaycyy______] (September 23, 2018). "On this day a real nigga was born 💫 Happy Birthday to myself 🛸🚀 21" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Lucia, Ali (May 17, 2016). "Minnesotan To Meet: KayCYY Pluto". WCCO-TV. CBS. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "From Kenya to Kanye West, KayCyy's unique journey has Minnesota roots". kare11.com. September 28, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ "Patient Enough on Spotify". KayCyy. Spotify. March 27, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "Ups & Downs on Spotify". KayCyy. Spotify. February 14, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ a b Skelton, Eric (August 4, 2021). "KayCyy Is a New Star From the School of Kanye West". Complex. Complex Networks. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
- ^ Pulse (2020). "Kenya's KayCyy Pluto collabos with Lil Wayne". The Standard. The Standard Group. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ West, Kanye (June 30, 2020). "Wash Us In The Blood". Universal Music Group. Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020 – via YouTube.
- ^ Hissong, Samantha (September 28, 2020). "At Work With Abou 'Bu' Thiam, Kanye West's Elusive Manager". Rolling Stone. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ Arshan (February 27, 2021). KayCyy Interview: Kanye's New Protégé? DONDA, New Music (1on1) (Video). Kids Take Over. Event occurs at 4:11. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ Skelton, Eric (July 21, 2021). "8 Predictions for Kanye West's New Album 'Donda'". Complex. Complex Networks. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ Rutherford, Kevin (September 7, 2021). "Kanye West Hits No. 1 on Streaming Songs for First Time Since 2018". Billboard. Lynne Segall. Archived from the original on September 10, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "15 Rappers from Minnesota you should know in 2022". Music In Minnesota. February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
- ^ Callas, Brad. "KayCyy Drops New EP 'TW20 50' and Shares Video for "The Sun"". Complex Networks.
- ^ Mahdevan, Tara. "Listen to KayCyy's New EP 'GUTI' f/ 070 Shake". complex.com. Complex. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ^ "Kanye West – Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "Kanye West – Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "Kanye West – Chart History: Hot Rap Songs". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "Discography Kanye West". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ "Kanye West – Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40: 3 September 2021 – 9 September 2021". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 4, 2021.