Cassandra Steen

Cassandra Steen, a German contemporary R&B vocalist, first drew notice through solo successes including the single “Darum Leben Wir” and through vocal contributions to tracks by Bushido, Xavier Naidoo, and additional artists. Born on February 9, 1980, in Ostfildern-Ruit, Baden-Württemberg, she entered the studio in 1997, lending her voice to “Telefonterror,” a cut from the Freundeskreis album Quadratur des Kreises. Shortly afterward she joined Glashaus, a collective formed on the Pelham Power Productions (3P) roster alongside producers Moses Pelham and Martin Haas. The group issued its self-titled debut album in 2001, anchored by the Top Five single “Wenn Das Liebe Ist.” Follow-up releases Glashaus II (Jah Sound System) in 2002 and Drei in 2005 both performed solidly, peaking at numbers 16 and four on the German albums chart respectively and each yielding three singles. During the same period Steen attempted a solo career, releasing Seele mit Herz in 2003 on 3P; the project reached only number 59 and its lone single, “Wie du Lachst,” made no impression on the charts. After departing the 3P fold she became a frequent guest vocalist on German rap recordings, most prominently Bushido’s Top 30 entry “Hoffnung Stirbt Zuletzt” in 2004 and his 2005 track “Bis Wir uns Wiedersehen.” Further notable appearances included Azad’s 2006 hit “Eines Tages” and Xavier Naidoo’s 2008 single “Wann.” Capitalizing on that exposure, she resumed her solo path with the 2009 album Darum Leben Wir, issued through Universal Music; both the full-length project and its title-track single climbed into the Top Ten.