Kool Savas has been at the top of the German hip-hop scene for 20 years. The self-proclaimed King of Rap has fought his way to the top from the position of the underdog.
The son of a Turkish father and a German mother, Kool Savas was born Savaş Yurderi in Aachen on 10 February 1975. At the age of one, he moved to Turkey with his parents, where his father became politically active and was imprisoned for it. The mother then flees back to Germany with her son. Savaş and his mother live in Aachen until the family reunites in Berlin after the end of his father's imprisonment.
The boy grows up in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin and makes his first contacts with the rap scene here. At that time, he tried his hand at rapping in various crews under the stage name Juks. He released his first mix tapes on which he emulated his West Coast hip-hop idols in English.
For two years he is part of the hip-hop duo Basic Elements. After a trip with a rapper friend to the USA - to the origin of rap - the musician decides to rap in German in future. He also drops his old stage name and from then on calls himself Kool Savas.
In his early years, Kool Savas was very active, worked with various rappers, made many contacts and also tried his hand at acting. Thanks to the network he had built up over the years, one of his tapes ended up with the editor-in-chief of the hip-hop magazine Juice
, which brought him a record deal and further collaborations.
One of the biggest hip-hop artists of the 2000s
The rapper entered the charts through a collaboration with the singer Valezka. In 2001, "Haus & Boot" is released and stays in the charts for nine weeks. The video for the single is shown by MTV and Kool Savas decides to push ahead with his solo career. He splits from his record company, which causes a stir in the scene and spawns the track "Fuck Peter" and the campaign "Free Savas".
In 2002, the rapper unceremoniously founds his own label Optik Records as part of Sony BMG. He discovers Eco Fresh and the rapper and now hip-hop producer Melbeatz, whom he signs. Kool Savas thus develops from an absolute underdog to one of the most important players in the upper league of the scene. As head of a label, disputes with several artists now follow, which leads to various diss tracks and generates a lot of attention.
His first solo studio album "Der beste Tag meines Lebens" (The best day of my life) is released in 2002 and reaches number 6 in the German charts. In 2004, tracks with other artists such as Samy Deluxe appear and the following year Kool Savas collaborates with Azad. The rapper is present in the charts and on music stations and gains even greater fame through television appearances such as on "TV total".
Experience the German hip-hop legend live
In 2007, the rapper releases his second solo album "Tot oder lebendig", which reaches number 10 in the charts. In 2008, he dissolves his label, which is celebrated with a tour by Kool Savas and all other artists of the label in 2009. But the rapper does not say goodbye with this, but instead founds his independent label Essah Entertainment. His own albums "Aura", "Martyr", "KKS" and "Aghori" followed, all of which reached number one in the charts.
Massive record sales, numerous prizes and awards and sold-out shows time and again: Kool Savas is successful all along the line. The battle rapper convinces with his unmistakable flow and his rhythms, whereby G-funk or electro-rap influences can be found in his music time and again.
With tickets for Kool Savas, fans can experience the King of Rap live. Usually together with other rappers, he makes the stage shake and inspires the audience with banging beats, crass rhythms and an energetic show.
