Azad

Azad Azadpour (Sorani: ئازاد ئازادپوور, born 24 November 1973), known professionally by the mononym Azad, is a German rapper of Kurdish descent based in Frankfurt. As one of the first successful German street rappers, he had a strong influence on the German rap scene.

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 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.

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.

In 2004, Azad founded his own production company "Bozz Music", 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.

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".

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.

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.

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

Discography Albums Year Title Chart positions 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 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 AT CH2001 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 852006 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 13Blockschrift 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 II2020 Headshot - – –Goat Azzazzin - – – My Eyes - – – Zu wild (feat. Farid Bang) 79 – –