“I describe my music as hip-pop,” says Candi Lynn, New Jersey’s newest young diva, about the unusual amalgamation of styles on her new album. “It’s like, unique, individual. I’m not trying to be like anybody else, or steal anybody else’s style. I’m trying to do what I want to do, and it comes out the way that it does. Some of my songs have a hip-hop element mixed with a rock element, or a pop element.”
The new CD, ILLMissBehavin, is available on Ill Miss Musick, the independent label Candi Lynn owns with her mother/manager. ”I started singing about two years ago. Before that I was really just rhyming and stuff like that, since I was 14,” she explains. “I always wanted to sing, since I was a little girl. When I was 13 or 14 years old, my mom was managing different artists, like rappers, so I was like, why can’t I do that?”
Having your mother be your manager could cause friction in many cases, but Candi Lynn finds it to be a blessing. “I think it’s totally a lot better. I am her child, her instinct is to always protect me,” she relates. “I am getting the things I am deserving to get. It’s great to have someone that close. If you have someone not close to you, their interest is not always looking out for you. I‘m blessed to have that relationship with her.”
Her music is hard to classify, being a mix of genres, but she explains it’s really just a combination of many of her influences. “My music has a hint of Fergie, a hint of Britney, and a hint of Pink,” she says. “Fergie because of the rap element; Britney because of the sexy, fun, naughty element; Pink because of the rock element and the snarl and the raspiness that I sometimes have in my voice when I sing. I love Pink. She just says what she wants to say, and I love that about her.” Other influences include TLC, Alanis Morrissette, Rise Against, Eminem, Jay-Z, and many others. “I love music, you know, one minute I say let’s turn on Christina Aguilera, and the next minute Rise Against. I like a lot of older music, the Eagles, Billy Joel, I like to go back to listen to those kind of things, listen to how music was, and how music is.”
While much of her music creates a good time, party atmosphere, it also has a more serious element to it. “’Hey Girl,’ my single, is a girl anthem,” she exclaims. “It’s all about embracing yourself as a woman. I guess since my name is Candi, people think I’m talking about myself, but I’m not when I say, ‘You want your candy.’ Every girl is a candy, and girls just want to have fun. That’s what it’s about, being empowered, do your thing, it’s your world, be true to yourself. It’s getting some spins on 99.3 and some mix shows up in New York. I’m really excited about that.”
Another serious subject she broaches is the topic of domestic abuse. “I’ve read written stuff about it, but I’ve never put it down in a song. I never recorded anything, it’s not really on my album—it is, but it isn’t. My mother and myself were victims of domestic violence. My mom was married to a guy that abused us. I was four or five, and we stayed in shelters. I want to help bring a light into it, and be positive for women. I want to talk about it. I want to give those people a sense of the fact that they can be free of all those things, and break through that boundary.”
All of 21 years old, Candi Lynn has some big goals and knows it’s a long and arduous process to get where she wants to go. “There’s so many things that I would love to do, its really just about taking one step at a time,” she says. “You have to just take this moment and take one step at a time, I would love to do some modeling, I would love to influence the world in a positive way. Obviously, to get bigger shows, interact with people, gain a lot of fans, help people, get into acting, I have no idea what the future holds. For all I know, my view in three months might be completely different! I just want to embrace it and I hope other people embrace those things too.”
You can get Candi Lynn’s CD at FYE stores, iTunes, Amazon, E-music, and many other outlets.
