Vega

Born Andre Witter in Offenbach am Main to a German mother and an Italian father, the German rapper Vega began his career under the alias VRS. He issued his first homemade download EP, Erst der Anfang, in 2004 and followed it a year later with the download mixtape Unzerfikkbar Mixtape. Alongside rapper Kid Kobra and producer Djorkaeff he cut the track “Nicht Mehr Feierlich,” which caught the ear of Separate; the established artist promptly welcomed the newcomer to his Buckwheats Music imprint. The pair issued the joint album Deutsche Probleme in 2006, yet Vega’s repeatedly promised solo debut continued to be delayed. He supplied another download EP, Adlerjunge, in 2007, then parted ways with Buckwheats Music the following year to launch his own Butterfly Music label in partnership with the production duo Emonex (M1X). Vega’s long-awaited first album, Lieber Bleib Ich Broke, finally arrived in October 2009 and was succeeded in September 2010 by the download EP Die Wahrheit Ist Hässlich. That same month a rift with Emonex prompted him to exit Butterfly Music; in March 2011 he established the new imprint Freunde von Niemand. His second solo effort, Vincent, reached stores in January 2012 and debuted at number five on the German charts. Even stronger results followed with the 2013 full-length Nero, which climbed to number two in Germany and performed solidly in Austria and Switzerland.