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The top 22 most successful German rappers - ranking 2023
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German rappers have become increasingly popular in Germany in recent years. There are many talents in the German rap scene, but only a few have managed to establish themselves as the most successful. In this blog article we will introduce you to the 22 best German rappers—from Cro to Pashanim. Let's go!
Information about the rating system
The ranking was created on the basis of the current gold and platinum database of the Federal Association for the Music Industry (BVMI). The following scores were awarded: (as of February 2023) Single gold = 1 point Single platinum = 2 points Album Gold = 2 points Album platinum = 3 points Single diamond = 5 points Album Diamond = 7 points
In the event of a tie, it was decided based on monthly Spotify streams.
The best German rappers - overview
#1 Cro
Cro (real name Carlo Waibel, born January 31, 1990 in Mutlangen)
Awards: 29x Gold 10x Platinum 1x Diamond Total score: 67
Did you know? Cro is Germany's most successful rapper, having won 40 precious metal awards. His pseudonym is derived from the shortening of his first name. He calls his music "Raop," short for "Rap and Pop," and describes it as a fusion of the two genres.
#2 Bonez MC
Bonez MC (real name John Lorenz Moser, born December 23, 1985 in Hamburg)
Awards: 19x Gold 12x Platinum 2x Diamond
Total score: 57
Did you know? Bonez is the second most successful rapper in Germany in the BMVI Index. Since the release of his single "500 PS," more than 1.03 million units have been sold.
#3 Capital Bra
Capital Bra (real name Vladislav Balovatsky, born 1994 in Siberia, Russia)
Awards: 28x Gold 9x Platinum
Total score: 50
Did you know? Capital Bra, whose works are mainly associated with German and gangsta rap, is the artist with the most No. 1 hits, Top 10 hits and chart songs in German and Austrian chart history.
#4 Sido
Sido (real name Paul Würdig, born November 30, 1980 in East Berlin)
Awards: 17x Gold 9x Platinum
Total score: 47
Did you know? Sido is a Berlin-based rapper, music producer and songwriter. One of the most prolific German rappers, he openly communicates about topics such as his excessive drug use and talks about his remarkable past.
#5 Raf Camora
Raf Camora (real name Raphael Ragucci, born June 4, 1984 in Vevey, Switzerland)
Awards: 14x Gold 5x Platinum 3x Diamond
Total score: 41
Did you know? Raf is an Austrian dancehall and hip-hop artist and producer. He made his international breakthrough alongside Bonez MC and 187 Straßenbande and landed numerous Top 10 hits.
#6 Apache207
Apache 207 (real name Volkan Yaman, born October 23, 1997 in Mannheim)
Awards: 10x Gold 9x Platinum 1x Diamond
Total score: 35
Did you know? "Apache" is the nickname his mother gave him. It is not known how the number 207 came about. Since it is common in hip-hop to use locally patriotic numbers in stage names, some press articles referred to the 207 constituency. The rapper disputed this interpretation of the name: "It's just a number whose meaning only my brother and I know. And which has shaped us a lot. I believe that the mystery will never be properly solved."
#7 GZUZ
GZUZ (real name Kristoffer Jonas Klauß, born November 4, 1988 in Hamburg)
Awards: 14x Gold 7x Platinum
Total score: 31
Did you know? Gzuz grew up in Hamburg with his sister at his mother's side. According to his own statement, the lifestyle on the Kiez in St. Pauli enchanted him and he decided to become a part of it. As a key member of 187 Straßenbande, Gzuz is now considered one of Germany's most influential gangsta rappers.
#8 Bushido
Bushido (real name Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, born September 28, 1978 in Bonn)
Awards:
13x gold 3x platinum
Total score: 29
Did you know? Bushido, aka Sonny Black, is a German rapper from Berlin whose technique is inspired by American gangsta rap. He also works as a producer and owns the record label Ersguterjunge. Bushido is generally considered one of the forefathers of German rap and is still present in the scene today.
#9 Kontra K
Kontra K (real name Maximilian Tibor Albert Diehn, born July 3, 1987 in Berlin)
Awards: 12x Gold 1x Platinum
Total score: 29
Did you know? Kontra K grew up in Berlin. After graduating from high school, he became obsessed with rap and worshipped Nas, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G. and Naughty by Nature. Kontra K is known for his poetic and thought-provoking lyrics, as well as his involvement in boxing.
#10 Bausa
Bausa (real name Julian Otto, born 1989 in Saarbrücken)
Awards: 13x Gold 4x Platinum
Total score: 21
Did you know? On September 29, 2017, the single "Was du Liebe nennst" ("What You Call Love") was released and went to the top of the German single charts within two weeks. The song stayed at the top of the charts for nine weeks, making it the longest No. 1 streak in German-language hip-hop.
#11 Samra
Samra (real name Hussein Akkouche, born January 15, 1995 in Berlin-Lichterfelde)
Awards: 18x Gold 1x platinum
Total score: 21
Did you know? He first gained notoriety in 2016 with his guest appearances on Alpa Gun's album "Zurück zur Straße," when he was still known as Samra45. On the track "Chaos," he dissed the recently popularized 187 Strassenbande as well as Fler. Two years later, Samra received the award for "Best National Newcomer".
#12 Luciano
Luciano (real name Patrick Großmann, born January 28, 1994 in Bautzen)
Awards: 17x Gold
Total score: 19
Did you know? Luciano grew up in the Schöneberg district of Berlin as the son of a Mozambican father and a German mother. He is a member of the rap group Loco Squad Gang. His first songs were released on the YouTube channel Locosquad. The first mixtape 12812 was released a short time later. His breakthrough came with the song "Jagen die Mio," which he released with his girlfriend Nikky Santoro.
#13 Casper
Casper (real name Benjamin Griffey, born September 25, 1982 in Lemgo)
Awards: 9x Gold 2x Platinum
Total score: 19
Did you know? When he was one month old, his entire family moved to Augusta, Georgia, in the United States. After his parents died, Casper experienced abuse in his relationship with his stepfather, who had drug problems until his mother took Casper and his younger sister to Germany.
#14 Jan Delay
Jan Delay (real name Jan Philipp Eißfeldt, born 1976 in Hamburg)
Awards: 10x Gold 1x Platinum
Total score: 19
Did you know? On the one hand, the pseudonym Jan Delay is a reference to the briefly successful rapper Young Deenay in the 1990s. On the other hand, "delay" (from English), is also the name of a fundamental effect in reggae/dancehall music (with the reverberation, an important stylistic element in reggae and especially in dub).
#15 Kollegah
Kollegah (real name Felix Blume, born August 3, 1984 in Friedberg)
Awards: 10x Gold 1x Platinum
Total score: 18
Did you know? In an interview in 2008, he stated that he came into contact with Islam through his Algerian stepfather, was educated about it, and has now been a devout Muslim for 15 years.
#16 Summer Cem
Summer Cem (real name Cem Toraman, born April 11, 1983 in Mönchengladbach)
Awards: 8x Gold 4x Platinum
Total score: 16
Did you know? On June 16, 2017, the collaboration album "Maximum" with KC Rebell was released, which reached first place in the German charts.
#17 RIN
RIN (real name Renato Simunović, born June 28, 1994 in Bietigheim-Bissingen)
Awards: 11x Gold 2x Platinum
Total score: 16
Did you know? RIN underwent a series of visual changes parallel to his musical development. While he sported long dreadlocks for the releases of Eros and Planet Megatron, his hair was red and frizzy for the release of Neverland. RIN has maintained a shaved, short haircut since Small Town and is also known for his fashion brands and art in addition to music.
#18 Marteria
Marteria (real name Marten Laciny, born December 4, 1982 in Rostock)
Awards: 5x Gold 1x Platinum 1x Diamond
Total score: 15
Did you know? When he was discovered by a model scout on a trip to New York in 1999, he worked as a model for agencies all over the world. He first worked as a male model for Claudia Schiffer, then for Diesel and Hugo Boss, among others. His soccer career came second to his modeling career in the United States. However, in 2003 he dropped out again and returned to Germany, where he pursued a rap career.
#19 Nimo
Nimo (real name Nima Yaghobi, born December 25, 1995 in Karlsruhe)
Awards: 12x Gold 1x Platinum
Total score: 14
Did you know? He was imprisoned at the age of 15 for various crimes (including criminal repression) and spent less than two years in a juvenile detention center. According to his own statements, he began to rap in prison.
#20 Maxwell
Maxwell (real name Maxwell Kwabena Schaden, born March 23, 1993 in Hamburg)
Awards: 3x Gold 3x Platinum 1x Diamond
Total score: 14
Did you know? Maxwell, like the rest of the 187 Strassenbande, writes about his experiences in his youth and on the streets of Hamburg. For Maxwell, authenticity was more important than his rap-style technique.
#21 Ufo361
Ufo361 ( real name Ufuk Bayraktar, born May 28, 1988 in West-Berlin)
Awards: 5x Gold 2x Platinum
Total score: 9
Did you know? His stage name is derived from his first name (Ufuk) and the former district Kreuzberg (36/61). His unique style and also his influence beyond the German borders, brought him great success. Today he burns 150 euros' worth of scented candles a day and washes his hair with Evian water.
#22 Pashanim
Pashanim (real name Can David Bayram, born 2000 in Berlin)
Awards: 6x Gold 1x Platinum
Total score: 8
Did you know? In May 2020, the single "Airwaves" reached number two in the German singles charts, marking Pashanim's final commercial breakthrough. A Platinum award was given to the single for reaching 400,000 sales in Germany. On the streaming platform Spotify, the song has been listened to over 134 million times.
Are you a German rapper looking for music producers?
If you make music yourself and are passionate about German rap, take a look at our large musician search platform. Here you can find suitable music producers and musicians for your project. The whole thing is free for everyone to use. For more interesting Top 10 rankings, check out the Mia's Top 10 category.
Originally published on February 13, 2023, updated on March 10, 2023
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