Azad (rapper)

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Azad
Azad in 2006
Azad in 2006
Background information
Birth nameAzad Azadpour
Born (1973-11-24) 24 November 1973 (age 50)
Kurdistan Region Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, Imperial State of Iran
OriginFrankfurt, Germany
GenresGerman hip hop
Years active1988–present
LabelsBozz Music
Websiteazad.de

Azad Azadpour (born 24 November 1973), known professionally by the mononym Azad, is a German rapper of Kurdish descent based in Frankfurt.[1] As one of the first German street rappers who become successful, he strongly influenced the German rap scene.

Career[edit]

Azad's logo

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 group 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". The single "Napalm" followed by his self-produced solo album Leben and the follow-up album Faust des Nordwestens firmly established him as a successful artist and a cult figure.

Azad performing in 2001

In 2004, Azad founded his own production company "Bozz Music",[1][3] the urban music wing of Universal Music. He formed the group Warheit together with Sezai, Lunafrow, Jeyz, and Chaker. Soon, a 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.[citation needed]

Azad released his third studio album Der Bozz in 2004, reaching the German Albums Top 10 and outselling his first two albums by far. However, the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons slammed the album as too violent and a "danger to youth".[citation needed]

Oddly enough, Azad's biggest commercial success was a joint effort with German rapper Kool Savas in One, released via BMG and hitting the top 5 on the German Albums Chart. Game Over, his fourth album, reached number 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]

Azad's German number 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 popular American television series Prison Break broadcast with German voiceover on RTL.[5]

The follow up to his debut Leben, Leben II, was released on 15 January 2016.[6]

Discography[edit]

Albums[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Azad - Fan Lexikon". www.fan-lexikon.de. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ^ "Azad". Azad – laut.de – Band (in German). laut.de. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  3. ^ Official website of Bozz Music Archived 9 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Seryoga & Azad - 2 Kaiser (Video)". YouTube (in Russian). Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  5. ^ Music video for "Ich Glaub an Dich"
  6. ^ "Endlich: Azad veröffentlicht neues Album "Leben 3" im Januar!". RapUpdate - Immer auf dem neuesten Stand! (in German). RapUpdate. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Discographie Azad". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Discographie Azad". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Discographie Azad". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 28 August 2019.