Since the mid-1990s, multiple partnerships have arisen between dance music figures from Germany and the United States, and the project known as Mr. X & Mr. Y ranks among the more notable. Berlin DJ and producer Westbam, widely regarded as Germany’s greatest DJ and the driving force behind the massively attended Mayday and Love Parade events, joined forces with New York MC Africa Islam, acknowledged as a rap pioneer. Performing together as Mr. X & Mr. Y, the pair distinguished themselves through an innovative mix of electro, house, and hip-hop. They connected in 1996 and soon built a reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting live acts, with their Mayday sets from that era widely remembered. Throughout the late ’90s they issued several acclaimed underground club tracks, among them “Free Me.” Their first album, New World Order, appeared in 2000 and collected what they viewed as their strongest material to that point.
