Singer/songwriter Candi Lynn has always had a passion for music. The 22-year-old Long Beach Island resident remembers pulling Tupperware containers out of kitchen cabinets, banging on them like drums and singing in the car as a child. A graduate of Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin, Lynn started writing poetry at 8 and structuring songs at 13.
As her talent developed, her mother Carrie Ariemma urged her to participate in a Philadelphia nightclub open-mike night in 2004. After receiving a favorable reaction from the event’s hip-hop crowd, mother and daughter dove into the music industry, creating their own independent music label Ill Miss Musick in 2008.
In the following months, Lynn co-wrote and recorded fifteen tracks. In 2009, she released her debut album, ILLMissBehavin, produced by Chris “The Hitman” Conway. A blend of hip-hop and pop, the album is available in regional FYE stores and on iTunes. “That album was a great stepping stone for me,” she says. “It was a great learning process, and I had a lot of fun making it.”
The lead single “Hey Gurl” has been heard on various radio stations in New Jersey, including 99.3 Kiss FM. To promote the album, Lynn has performed at the Chelsea and at the Pool at Harrah’s Casino, both in Atlantic City. She was also selected by the East Coast fashion chain Mandee to do in-store performances at its Toms River and Manahawkin locations.
Lynn, whose musical inspirations include TLC, Pink, the Black Eyed Peas, and Beyonce, is currently working on her second album, which she hopes to wrap up this summer. She hasn’t finalized her performance schedule, but says listeners can expect a more mature sound. “It’s different from the first because there’s more live instruments, and also, my actual voice is just more powerful and there’s more passion behind it,” Lynn says. “I was just 18, 19 years old [when I made that first album] so you can definitely hear the difference from that point to where I am now.”
For the latest news on Candi, check out her website, CandiLynn.com.