Azad
Top
- Genres: Rap
Biography
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 while the other felt he had sold out. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi
Related Videos:
Top
Azad
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
Azad (rapper)
 |
This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2010) |
| Azad | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Azad Azadpour |
| Born | January 1, 1974 |
| Origin | Sanandaj, Iran |
| Genres | Rap, Hip hop |
| Years active | 1988 - present |
| Labels | Bozz Music |
| Website | Official website |
Azad Azadpour (born 1 January 1974) is a German rapper of Kurdish descent based in Frankfurt am Main.
|
Contents
|
Career
After having arrived in Germany from Iran as young as 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.
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] 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 Seryoga, a successful Belorussian rapper.
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.[2] His hit single "All 4 One" with Kool Savas remains his second best-selling single having reached #4 in the German Singles Chart.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart Position | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | AT | CH | ||
| 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 | ||
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Position | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE | 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) | – | – | Tot oder Lebendig (Kool Savas) | ||
| 2009 | Klagelied (wie lang) (with Tino Oac) | 92 | – | – | Assassin |
References
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
Chaker
(Rap Artist, 2000s)
Fratricide
(2005 Drama Film)
Jeyz
(Rap Artist, 2000s)
Muzaffarabad
(city, Kashmir/Pakistan)
Sezai
(Rap Artist, 2000s)
» More