Farid Bang

Among the most prominent German rappers, gangsta-minded Farid Bang made his recorded debut in 2005 and shortly thereafter became a fixture in the upper reaches of the country's official GfK Entertainment album chart. After he released his first few albums, Bang began a streak of Top Ten solo releases with Der Letzte Tag Deines Lebens (2012). Intermittent co-headlining albums with Kollegah, including the series Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend (through 2017) and Platin War Gestern (2018), have been similarly successful.

Born Farid Hamed El Abdellaoui in Melilla, Spain, Farid Bang grew up in Málaga until the age of eight, when his family moved to Düsseldorf, Germany. Inspired by his friend Tekken, Bang started to rap at the age of 19 and met fellow rapper Eko Fresh, who signed him to his German Dream Entertainment label. Using the pseudonym Farin Urlaub, Bang appeared on three tracks of Eko Fresh's Fick Noch Immer Deine Story mixtape in 2005. Bang issued his proper debut album, Asphalt Massaka, in 2008, followed in 2009 by a collaboration with Kollegah titled Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend, which reached number 30 on the German album chart.

With each successive album, Bang's popularity grew: his second solo album, 2010's Asphalt Massaka 2, reached number 56, while his 2011 release, Banger Leben Kürzer, managed to reach number 11. Bang's fourth album, 2012's Der Letzte Tag Deines Lebens, fared even better, entering the chart at number three. Released from 2014 through 2016 on his BangerMusik label, Killa, Asphalt Massaka 3, and Blut enhanced his reputation and either topped or nearly topped the chart. By the end of 2018, Bang also had three chart-topping releases with Kollegah: the second and third volumes of Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend, and 2018's Platin War Gestern. ~ Christian Genzel, Rovi