Azad (rapper)
Azad Azadpour (born 24 November 1973) is a German rapper of Kurdish descent based in Frankfurt am Main.[1] As one of the first German street rappers who become successful, he strongly influences the German rap scene.
Azad | |
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 Azad in 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Azad Azadpour |
| Born | 24 November 1973 Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Iran |
| Genres | German hip hop |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Bozz Music |
| Website | www.azad.de |
Career
After having arrived in Germany from Sanandaj in Iranian Kurdistan at the young age of 10, he was into hip hop, rap, beatboxing and graffiti. In 1988 he joined D-Flame (Daniel Kretschmer), A-Bomb, and Combad in Cold-N-Locco. The band was renamed Asiatic Warriors in 1990 and mixed songs in German, English, Persian and Kurdish and achieved great fame through signing with Ruff'n'Raw Label and the EP Told Ya!. Internal differences between the band members resulted in the Asiatic Warriors breaking up.[2]
In 1999, Azad signed as a solo artist with Pelham Power Productions. He became a sensation on the hip hop scene winning "Da Swing DJ Battle". Single "Napalm" followed by his solo album Leben completely produced by Azad and follow up album Faust des Nordwestens firmly established him as a successful artist and a cult figure.
In 2004, Azad founded his own production company "Bozz Music",[1][3] the urban music wing of Universal Music. Azad formed the group Warheit with Sezai, Lunafrow, Jeyz, Chaker. Soon a huge rivalry erupted between Azad and Bozz Music label on the one side and Aggro Berlin label on the other. This put Azad even more in the spotlight as the rivalry escalated.
Azad released his third studio album Der Bozz in 2004 reaching the German Albums Top 10 by far outselling his first 2 albums. However the watchdog body BPjM slammed the album as too violent and a "danger to youth".
Oddly enough, Azad's biggest commercial success was a joint effort with German rapper Kool Savas in One released on BMG and hitting the Top 5 in German Albums Chart. Game Over his fourth album reached #8. He has released further albums but with relative success (Blockschrift in 2007, Azphalt Inferno and Assassin both in 2009)
He is also known for his collaborations with various artists like Belarusian rapper Seryoga.[4]
His German #1 hit single is "Prison Break Anthem (Ich glaub' an dich)", featuring Adel Tawil of Ich + Ich. It is a German language theme song for the hugely popular American television series Prison Break broadcast with German voice over on RTL.[5]
The follow up to his debut Leben, Leben II, was released on 15 January 2016.[6]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE [7] |
AT [8] |
CH [9] | ||
| 2001 | Leben | 46 | – | – |
| 2003 | Faust des Nordwestens | 24 | – | – |
| 2004 | Der Bozz | 10 | – | 66 |
| 2005 | One (with Kool Savas) | 5 | 32 | 33 |
| 2006 | Game Over | 8 | 48 | 28 |
| 2007 | Blockschrift | 37 | 59 | 39 |
| 2009 | Azphalt Inferno | 24 | 55 | 29 |
| 2009 | Assassin | 31 | 52 | 27 |
| 2010 | Azphalt Inferno II | 18 | 50 | 19 |
| 2016 | Leben II | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| 2017 | NXTLVL | 3 | 9 | 5 |
| 2019 | Der Bozz 2 | 2 | 19 | 3 |
| 2020 | Goat | 8 | 44 | 15 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE [7] |
AT | CH | |||
| 2001 | Napalm | – | – | – | Leben |
| Gegen den Strom | – | – | – | ||
| Leben | – | – | – | ||
| 2003 | A | 65 | – | – | Faust des Nordwestens |
| Faust des Nordwestens | – | – | – | ||
| Mein Licht | – | – | – | ||
| 2004 | Phoenix | 65 | – | – | Der Bozz |
| Kopf hoch (feat. Jonesmann) | 57 | – | – | ||
| 2005 | Signal (J-Luv feat. Azad) | 52 | – | – | |
| Locked Up (Akon feat. Azad & Styles P.) | 15 | – | – | Trouble (Akon) | |
| Monstershit (with Kool Savas) | 29 | – | – | One | |
| All 4 One (with Kool Savas) | 4 | 24 | 85 | ||
| 2006 | Guck My Man (with Kool Savas) | 27 | – | – | |
| Alarm | 48 | – | – | Game Over | |
| Eines Tages (feat. Cassandra Steen) | 28 | – | – | ||
| 2 Kaiser (with Seryoga) | 85 | – | – | ||
| 2007 | Prison Break Anthem (Ich glaub' an dich) (feat. Adel Tawil) |
1 | 12 | 13 | Blockschrift |
| Zeit zu verstehen (This Can't Be Everything) (feat. Gentleman) |
30 | 72 | – | ||
| 2008 | Alles Lügen/ Ghettobass | 74 | – | – | |
| On Top (with Kool Savas) | 78 | – | – | Tot oder Lebendig (Kool Savas) | |
| 2009 | Klagelied (wie lang) (with Tino Oac) | 92 | – | – | Assassin |
| 2010 | Fly Away/Immer wenn es regnet (with Francisco & Kool Savas) | – | – | – | Azphalt Inferno 2 |
| 2012 | Alle Mann (with J-Luv & DJ-Teddy-O) | – | – | – | |
| 2015 | Dreh' ab | 92 | – | – | Leben 2 |
| RAP (with MoTrip) | 83 | – | – | ||
| 2016 | Triumph (with Kool Savas, Sido & Adesse) | 28 | 28 | 31 | Essahdamus (Kool Savas) |
| 2018 | Hände an der 9 (with Olexesh) | 94 | – | – | Rolexesh (Olexesh) |
| 2019 | Dieser Weg | 77 | – | – | Der Bozz II |
| 2020 | Headshot | - | – | – | Goat |
| Azzazzin | - | – | – | ||
| My Eyes | - | – | – | ||
| Zu wild (feat. Farid Bang) | 79 | – | – | ||
References
- "Azad - Fan Lexikon". www.fan-lexikon.de. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- "Azad". Azad – laut.de – Band (in German). laut.de. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- Official website of Bozz Music Archived 9 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- "Seryoga & Azad - 2 Kaiser (Video)". YouTube (in Russian). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- Music video for "Ich Glaub an Dich"
- "Endlich: Azad veröffentlicht neues Album "Leben 3" im Januar!". RapUpdate - Immer auf dem neuesten Stand! (in German). RapUpdate. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- "Discographie Azad". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- "Discographie Azad". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- "Discographie Azad". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
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