Xatar

Rapper Giwar Hajabi (December 24, 1981), who is better known by his stage name Xatar is of Kurdish origin and was born in the village of Kuh-e Qala in Iran. He came to Germany as a refugee and was raised in Bonn and as a young teenager became involved in the city's gang culture. During this period, he became aware of hip-hop through listening to artists such as Dr. Dre and began rapping with two friends, Samy and SSIO, who later went on to become stable mates with Xatar on the same record label. He was given a break when he landed the role of a gangster rapper in the German reality show Der Bluff but the show received very negative reviews and was withdrawn. Xatar released his first solo album titled Alles Oder Nix in 2008 but it was later banned by Germany's Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons. Xatar's material contains frequent references to drugs and armed violence and in 2009 he brought it all to life when he and seven accomplices attacked a security vehicle transporting gold on the autobahn. He fled to Iran with Samy but was later arrested by Interpol. In 2011, he was sentenced to eight years imprisonment and his second album Nr. 415, a name inspired by his prisoner’s number, had to be completed through a series of guest spots by Farid Bang, Nate57, and Eko Fresh, among others. Released in 2012, the LP debuted at Number 19 on the German charts and cleared the way for his breakthrough album, Baba aller Babas, issued in 2015 - just one year after his release from jail. Featuring a staggering lineup of contributors, including Haftbefehl, Schwesta Ewa, and Olexesh, the full-length reached Number 1 in Germany, considerably boosting the rapper’s profile. He scored yet another Number 1 record with 2016’s Der Holland Job, a joint effort with Haftbefehl, and signed with Universal Music Group for 2018’s Alles oder Nix II, which became his third album to reach the top of the German charts. Subsequently, the star-studded HRRR saw the light in 2021 and spawned the single “Die Straße lebt,” a menacing trap track that peaked at Number 33 in Germany and included appearances by Bonez MC, Gzuz, and Almany.

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