Azad
A Kurdish refugee from Iran who moved to Germany in 1984, rapper Azad entered the German hip-hop scene in his teens, first as a breakdancer and later as a graffiti artist. He began rapping when lyricists A-Bomb, Combad, and D-Flame asked him to join their crew, Cold-n-Locco, in 1988. They were renamed Asiatic Warriors two years later and soon their streetwise lyrics -- delivered in a mix of German, English, and Kurdish -- along with their hard beats made them one of the most popular German hip-hop acts until 1999, when they broke up to pursue solo careers. Azad hooked up with the DJ team the Transformers, released some solo tracks through Germany's underground mixtape circuit, and made his aboveground debut in 2000 with the "Napalm" 12" on Pelham Power Productions.
A year later Leben became his full-length debut, with Faust des Nordwestens following in 2003. In 2004, he made an appearance on fellow German rapper Bushido's album Electro Ghetto and announced he was forming his own label, Bozz-Music, in conjunction with the major label Universal. The single "Phoenix" was the first joint release with Azad using his pseudonym the Bozz. He also made news in 2004 when two of his songs, "Blackout" and "Judgement Day," were labeled "jugendgefährdend" ("youth endangering") by the BPJM, the German government's media ratings board. He teamed with rapper Kool Savas for the 2005 album One, then released the ambitious album Game Over in 2006. With more polished production, Game Over split the fan base, with one faction thinking it was his best work to date and the other feeling he had sold out. A handful of moderately successful albums followed through 2010. In 2016, he returned with Leben II, a menacing sequel to his debut. His greatest commercial success, it topped the German chart and was a Top Ten hit in Austria and Switzerland.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
Similar artists
-
-
-
-
-
Blockschrift
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 7 Dec 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Game Over
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 31 Mar 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prison Break Anthem (Ich glaub an Dich)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Urban on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Der Bozz
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 7 Jun 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
NUR WENN DU ES BRAUCHST
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 18 Aug 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Der Bozz (Remix)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 1 Dec 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Azphalt Inferno 2
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 9 Apr 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Assassin
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 22 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For the Hopeful
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Azad Right LLC on 28 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
NICHT ALLES GOLD
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 21 Jul 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
For the Hopeful
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Azad Right LLC on 28 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Very Emotional EP
R&B - Released by Azad Right - EMPIRE on 9 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Fly Away (EP)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Sony Music - AZAD on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo