Azad (rapper)
Azad (real name Azad Azadpour ; born November 24, 1973 in Sanandadsch , Iran ) is a German rapper of Kurdish descent from Frankfurt am Main . He is considered one of the most influential pioneers of German gangsta rap and is one of the most important representatives of battle rap . As the first male German solo rapper, he reached number one in the German charts with his single Prison Break Anthem (I believe in you) and received a gold record for it.
Life
Azad was born to Kurdish parents in Sanandadsch in the Iranian province of Kordestān and came to Germany as a refugee child . In 1984 he came into contact with hip-hop for the first time , initially with breakdance . This was followed by developments in graffiti , rapping, beatboxing , cutting and producing.
In 1989 he joined the group Cold-N-Locco , then still under the name Azazin , which consisted of D-Flame and the DJs and producers A-Bomb and Combad . In 1990 the name was changed to Asiatic Warriors . Due to the mix of German, English and Kurdish-speaking street rap, which is unusually hard for German standards, the group initially became local, in 1994 with the EP Told Ya! Released on the Ruff'n'Raw label . known nationwide. Over the years, however, there were internal differences between the artists, so the group broke up. In 1999 Azad signed a contract with Pelham Power Productions .
With features on mixtapes and on the albums of label colleagues, Azad came back into the focus of the scene. Together with his turntablism team "Transformers" (with DJ Dragon , Twister and Release), which has been successful for years , he won the "Da Swing DJ Battle" in 1998.
Development phases
With the release of the single Napalm / Heartcore (2000), he confirmed his return to the scene. In 2001, Azad released his first solo album, Life . The album was produced entirely by Azad and thanks to its minimalist beats, tough choice of words, sophisticated rap techniques and a large list of guest rappers, it enjoys cult status among fans to this day.
In 2003 the album Faust of the Northwest was released. Again through hard battle rap, but also through deep melancholy songs, Azad consolidated his reputation in the scene. He dedicated a song to his young daughter called Mein Licht , but also mentioned her in other songs. He also appeared on Bushido's album Electro Ghetto with Feuersturm and Ewige Nacht .
In 2004 he left 3p and founded his own label Bozz Music under Urban , which was part of Universal Music . The group Warheit (Sezai, Lunafrow, Jeyz , Chaker and Azad themselves) as well as the rappers Jonesmann and STI were signed. In the same year there was a scandal at the Hip-Hop Open in Stuttgart . In a fight between the members of Bozz Music and Aggro Berlin u. a. Sido slightly injured. On the one hand, this brought restrictions on Azad's appearance at the Splash! 2004 , but also with enormous media attention. On August 2, 2004, Azad's third album, Der Bozz , was released, which was originally supposed to be released as an EP on Optik Records under the name Phoenix . Despite the shortest playing time so far of less than 42 minutes, the album sold very well and entered the top 10 of the album charts. It offers a varied mix of hard street rap and deeper songs. The solo album was later indexed, so that the original version may no longer be sold to young people since December 31, 2005. Since then, only the “light version” of the album has been allowed to advertise in stores. The indexing referred to text passages of the songs Blackout and Judgment Day , which were classified by the BPJM as "harmful to young people". At the end of 2004 the Bozz-Music Sampler Vol. 1 was published, on which Azad presented his own label.
He was able to celebrate a great success with the joint album with Kool Savas , One , which was released on March 29, 2005 via Sony BMG Music Entertainment . The next Azad solo album Game Over was released on March 31, 2006 on the Urban label. It polarized its fans: Many consider it to be his best album to date, but other fans miss the "raw hardness" that was heard on his first CD. Game Over reached number 8 on the album charts. The album's second single, Eine Tag , made it into the top 30 of the German charts.
In November 2006, Azad appeared in the first international video clip of the Russian rapper Seryoga as a collaboration partner. The single by the Russian , who is a star in his home country and has already received MTV awards, gold and platinum records , is called 2Kaiser and was released on November 24, 2006. On December 8, 2006, Bozz-Music released Der Bozz - Remix . The album includes remixes of songs from Der Bozz produced by Sti . As a replacement for the indexed tracks, the Shok Muzik- Diss AZ Pitbull vs. Shmok Muzik as well as the song Frankfurt with the group Warheit are included on the CD.
In 2007, Azad was with the song Prison Break Anthem (I believe in you) (title song of the RTL series Prison Break ) together with Adel Tawil , the singer of Ich + Ich , the third German rapper on number one in the German single charts (before him only Fantastischen Vier and Sabrina Setlur managed it). The single sold over 150,000 times in Germany and thus achieved gold status. The song was also included on the fifth solo album Blockschrift , released in late 2007 .
In 2008 Azad appeared at an MTV Unplugged concert by the Sons of Mannheim (Wettsingen in Schwetzingen) and was there in Xavier Naidoo's “Open the gates for you” . In August 2008, the tattoo magazine published an article about the Frankfurt rapper and took Azad on the cover of the magazine.
On January 30, 2009, Azad's first street album, Azphalt Inferno, was released via Groove Attack . There were productions u. a. used by Shuko , STI, Brisk Fingaz and M3 & Noyd. Guest contributions by Samy Deluxe , Freeman, Kool G Rap and Capleton were also made.
In May 2009, Azad released his sixth solo album Assassin . There were productions u. a. by Shuko , STI, Milan Martelli , Brisk Fingaz, Benny Blanco, M3 & Noyd, X-Plosive, guest contributions by Tino Oac , Kool Savas, Tone and the American rapper Rakim were also made. Furthermore, in February 2010 he was a guest on the documentary soap Die Mädchengang produced by RTL II .
On April 9, 2010, Azad's second street album entitled Azphalt Inferno 2 was also released via Groove Attack. There were productions u. a. used by STI, Brisk Fingaz , M3 & Noyd, Abaz , Gee Futuristic , X-Plosive and Azad themselves, with guest contributions from Godsilla , Snaga, Kool Savas and Francisco.
After a long break, Azad's seventh solo album Leben II was released on January 15, 2016 , with which he reached number 1 in the German charts for the first time . The eighth solo album NXTLVL followed on July 21, 2017, which entered the charts at number 3.
Azad's ninth solo album The Bozz II was released on August 16, 2019.
Awards
Hiphop.de Awards
- 2006: Best National Album for Game Over
- 2010: Best single national for Always when I rhyme (with Kool Savas , Olli Banjo , Moe Mitchell )
- 2015: Lifetime Achievement National
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
|||
| 2001 | Life |
DE46 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: May 28, 2001
|
| 2003 | Fist of the northwest |
DE24 (4 weeks) DE |
- | - |
First published: April 28, 2003
|
| 2004 | The bozz |
DE10 (9 weeks) DE |
- |
CH66 (2 weeks) CH |
First published: June 7, 2004
indexed |
| 2006 | Game over |
DE8 (15 weeks) DE |
AT48 (1 week) AT |
CH28 (5 weeks) CH |
First published: March 31, 2006
|
| 2007 | Block letters |
DE37 (5 weeks) DE |
AT59 (1 week) AT |
CH39 (4 weeks) CH |
First published: December 7, 2007
|
| 2009 | Assassin |
DE31 (3 weeks) DE |
AT52 (1 week) AT |
CH27 (4 weeks) CH |
First published: May 22, 2009
|
| 2016 | Life II |
DE1 (6 weeks) DE |
AT5 (3 weeks) AT |
CH4 (5 weeks) CH |
First published: January 15, 2016
|
| 2017 | NXTLVL |
DE3 (6 weeks) DE |
AT9 (1 week) AT |
CH5 (3 weeks) CH |
First published: July 21, 2017
|
| 2019 | The Bozz II |
DE2 (3 weeks) DE |
AT19 (1 week) AT |
CH3 (3 weeks) CH |
First published: August 16, 2019
|
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alexander Wurst: Walk with Azad Des Pitbulls Kern . In: FAZ . September 12, 2008 ( faz.net [accessed October 27, 2015]).
- ↑ D-Flame at laut.de
- ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Azad goes gold: 150,000 CDs sold )
- ↑ Annual review & award ceremony 2006 . May 5, 2008 ( hiphop.de [accessed January 1, 2017]).
- ↑ Hiphop.de Awards 2010: The official award ceremony . February 24, 2011 ( hiphop.de [accessed January 1, 2017]).
- ↑ Hiphop.de Awards 2015: The winners! January 9, 2016 ( hiphop.de [accessed January 1, 2017]).
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Azad |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Azadpour, Azad (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German-Kurdish rapper |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 24, 1973 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Sanandaj , Iran |