| Azad | |
|---|---|
 Azad at a 2004 concert in Berlin
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Azad Azadpour |
| Born | January 1 1974 Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran |
| Origin | Frankfurt, Germany |
| Genre(s) | German hip hop |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Label(s) | Bozz Music |
| Associated acts |
Asiatic Warriors |
| Website | www.azad.de |
Azad Azadpour (born January 1, 1974 in Sanandaj, Kurdistan, Iran), better known as Azad, is a German rapper. Azad is a kurdish given name meaning "Freedom".[1]
Contents |
Personal background
Azad came from the Kurdish part of Iran as the child of a Kurdish family of refugees and now lives in Frankfurt, Germany. He found his home in hip hop culture since it was a common part of life in the area he grew up. He became a member of multicultural, radical rappers Asiatic Warriors, who used to rap in English, Kurdish and German. After the crew disbanded, Azad focused on his solo career and the hip-hop formation Warheit, which he was a part of, and became one of the first German rappers to be successful in the German Singles Charts. (see Discography section)
Recent career
In 2007 Azad recorded the hip-hop collaboration song "Prison Break Anthem (Ich glaub an dich)" with German singer Adel Tawil for his yet-to-be-released studio album Blockschrift. The song debuted at #3 on the German Singles Charts and managed to reach #1 in its fourth week, making it Azad's highest-charting single to date and the first hip-hop song by a German artist to reach number one on the German Singles Charts since 1997's "Du Liebst Mich Nicht" by female rapper Sabrina Setlur. It serves as the opening theme for the American hit television series Prison Break which currently airs Thursdays on German television channel RTL. In November Azad's latest single "Zeit zu verstehen" featuring Gentleman premiered on MTV Germany's show Total Request Live.
Discography
Studio albums
- 2001 - Leben ("Life")
- 2003 - Faust des Nordwestens ("Fist of the North-West")
- 2003 - Bozz-Music Volume One
- 2004 - Der Bozz ("The Bozz")
- 2005 - One (with Kool Savas)
- 2006 - Game Over
- 2006 - Der Bozz Remix ("The Bozz Remix")
- 2007 - Betonklassik (as part of the hip-hop formation Warheit) ("Concrete Classic")
- 2007 - Blockschrift ("Block Letters")
Mixtapes
- 2007 - Azphalt Inferno
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER[2] | AUT | SWI | ||||
| 2003 | "A" | 65 | – | – | Faust des Nordwestens | |
| 2004 | "Phönix"1 | 65 | – | – | Der Bozz | |
| 2005 | "Kopf hoch"2 | 57 | – | – | ||
| "Locked Up" (Akon feat. Azad) | 15 | – | – | Trouble (Akon album) | ||
| "Signal" (J-Luv feat. Azad) | 52 | – | – | Threeshot (J-Luv album) | ||
| "Monstershit" (with Kool Savas) | 29 | – | – | One (with Kool Savas) | ||
| "All 4 One" (with Kool Savas) | 4 | 24 | 85 | |||
| 2006 | "Guck My Man"3 (with Kool Savas) | 27 | – | – | ||
| "Alarm" | 48 | – | – | Game Over | ||
| "Eines Tages"4 (feat. Cassandra Steen) | 38 | – | – | |||
| "2 Kaiser"5 (Seryoga feat. Azad) | 85 | – | – | Russia's No. 1 (Seryoga album) | ||
| 2007 | "Hölle auf Erden"6 (as part of the hip-hop formation Warheit) |
85 | – | – | Betonklassik (Warheit album) | |
| "Prison Break Anthem (Ich glaub an dich)"7 (feat. Adel Tawil) | 1 | 13 | 18 | Blockschrift | ||
| "Zeit zu verstehen"8 (feat. Gentleman) | – | – | – | |||
Title translations:
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References
- ^ Babynamesworld.com – Meaning of the name Azad
- ^ Chartsurfer.de – By typing in the artist's name you will find the official German singles charts positions
External links
- Official website (German, needs Macromedia Flash)
