Azad

Azad is a German rapper of Kurdish descent, born in Sanandaj, Iran, who became one of the founding figures of German gangsta rap in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He rose through the Frankfurt hip-hop scene and earned a reputation as one of the genre's fiercest battle rappers, building a career on aggressive, confrontational lyricism at a time when German-language rap was still establishing its own identity distinct from American models.

His breakthrough came with the single «Prison Break Anthem (Ich glaub an dich)», which made him the first German solo rapper to top the domestic singles chart, a milestone that also earned him a gold record and cemented his crossover appeal beyond the underground scene that had first embraced him. The track's blend of a hard-edged street narrative with an unexpectedly anthemic, motivational hook helped it reach listeners well outside hip-hop's usual audience.

Throughout his career Azad has stayed rooted in a raw, unpolished delivery and confrontational, often autobiographical songwriting, drawing on his own migration story and life in Frankfurt's rougher neighborhoods. He is widely credited alongside a small group of peers with shaping the tone and lyrical standards of German gangsta and battle rap, influencing a generation of rappers who followed in the 2000s and 2010s.