Biography
German rap veterans Fettes Brot earned the self-applied nickname “Hamburg’s hip-hop dinosaur,” a tag that underscores their longevity and mirrors the Beastie Boys through parallel staying power, wide-ranging musical tastes, and shared Caucasian heritage. The trio, whose name translates literally to “fat bread” yet also serves as street slang for premium hashish, came together in 1992 after the breakup of Poets of Peeze. Former Poets of Peeze members Dokter Renz (Martin Schrader) and Tobi Tobsen joined forces with König Boris (Boris Lauterbach), Schiffmeister (Björn Warns), and Mighty (Tobsen’s brother) to launch the new project. The two brothers departed almost immediately, leaving the remaining three to finish their debut EP Mitschnacker, which appeared on the independently run Yo Mama imprint in 1993. Their first proper album, 1995’s Auf Einem Auge Blöd, delivered an early hit via the novelty track “Nordisch by Nature,” yet still drew praise for its tightly layered rhymes and technical skill. Commercial momentum grew the following year when “Jein” connected with a wider audience and the second LP, Außen Top Hits, Innen Geschmack, achieved strong chart placement. The 1998 release Lässt Grüßen drew complaints from longtime supporters who felt the sound had drifted too far from hip-hop, even though the singles “Viele Wege Führen Nach Rom” and “Lieblingslied” became the group’s highest-charting tracks up to that point. Despite the backlash, the band declared an extended break in 1999 and filled the gap a year later with the B-sides-and-remixes set Fettes Brot für die Welt. They returned in 2001 on Demo Tape, scoring fresh successes with “Schwule Mädchen” and “The Grosser”; the Skunk Funk collaboration “Fast 30” further restored credibility with purists. Following the 2002 greatest-hits package Amnesie, the trio established its own self-titled label and stayed largely out of sight until 2005’s Am Wasser Gebaut, their biggest commercial success to date. More steeped in soul than rap, the record spawned the massive single “Emanuela.” Ownership of the imprint gave the three members latitude to operate beyond rap conventions, which they tested in 2006 by staging a publicity stunt: they issued a fabricated press release, fake photographs, and a bogus Hungarian tour itinerary announcing a new single from the nonexistent teenage power-pop act D.O.C.H.!—a release that was actually their own. Additional Fettes Brot singles surfaced throughout 2006, and in 2008 the sixth album Strom und Drang revisited the party-oriented rap style of their early work. After another stretch of relative quiet, the seventh LP 3 Is ne Party arrived in 2013 and reached number three on the German charts.
Singles
