Making a name for yourself in the music scene is an uphill battle that requires a lot of perseverance. An endless number of competitors who pursue the same goal: to be able to finance their lives with their passion. However, the argumentative hip-hop scene in particular is known for its protagonists supporting each other.
“Aggu gave me the name,” says the rapper Ritter Lean – whose real name is Adrian Julius Tillmann. By Aggu he means Ski Aggu. It was Ritter Lean who persuaded his best friend to release music in the first place. Now Ski Aggu, the dandy with the ski goggles, is one of the high-flyers on the German scene. And he is grateful to his friend Knight Lean for it. “As a child, I took a lot of Ritalin. I was treated for ADHD for eight years,” is how Ritter Lean explains the pun on his rapper name. With his “Prescription Tour 2024” Ritter Lean is now on stage himself.
Five weeks of work, eleven days on the road, nine concerts, two days off. Although he has always known that he feels comfortable on stage, he is currently feeling the pressure and fear of disappointing his audience. “I’m super excited because it’s so much responsibility to stand in front of 600 to 700 people who are all there specifically because of you and have spent money,” explains the Berlin musician.
It all started during Corona. Tillmann longed for independence. The solution? He taught himself to play the piano and produced his first own songs. Only fear stopped him from releasing the tracks.
Summer stars: With the 30-year-old “Friesenjung” by Otto Waalkes (center), the rapper Ski Aggu (right) scored a huge hit together with the Dutch musician Joost Klein (left).
(Photo: Luis Frederik Erdmann/dpa)
Eleven months ago he brought the fictional character Knight Lean to life with his first single “Lonely Island”. He never thought that he could inspire such a large crowd with such personal topics. The almost 500,000 listeners on Spotify speak a different language and make the last doubts disappear.
His music shows both sides of his personality. With songs like “Fly Agaric” Ritter Lean reveals his feelings and appears approachable and vulnerable. The soon-to-be-released single “Todeshai” motivates Ritter Lean to go “crazy” on stage because the song is made to “freak out”.
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“I make music to touch people and show that it is completely okay and should be encouraged that people cry, that people are sad and that people talk about their feelings,” says Tillmann. He says he makes “indie pop,” but the hip-hop origins are unmistakable. In the past, he used to cover up his emotions with arrogance and play it big. You don’t notice any of that anymore today. A down-to-earth, sensitive young man with a lot of feeling and depth looks into the cell phone camera.
Even more artists are now pursuing their careers (again) after helping other musicians achieve success. For example, the singer Chris James will soon be coming to the Munich club Milla (January 26th). He began his career as Chris Brenner in 2014. He released “Before We Fall” with his then musician flat share. This was followed by more singles and a YouTube channel with cover versions. He said goodbye to that in 2018.
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During this period of change, he not only released his first own single “I Know You Can Dance” under his current stage name Chris James. He also has the song “Life Goes On” for the South Korean boy band world stars BTS written down. Last year he worked with the likes of rap frontrunner Apache 207 and Udo Lindenberg. He was co-author of the hit “Komet”, which was at the top of the official German charts for 15 weeks.
Actress Paula Hartmann is now used to major performances as a musician, like here at the Munich festival Superbloom.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
22-year-old Paula Hartmann is another newcomer who already has a name. The versatile Berliner first appeared in film and television (for example with Matthias Schweighöfer and Julie Delpy), but she also worked with the rapper Luciano on the song “Passion” and recorded “Kein Happy End” together with Casper. Now she’s going on tour with her new album “Kleine Feuer”, which will be released on March 8th – and is already filling larger halls, like the Zenith on April 17th, with her melancholic songs.
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Baby Joy, the sister of the rapper Pablo, is now making her own way through the music scene. He is part of the Berlin hip-hop group BHZ. There is no sign of shyness in her music videos. Her lyrics are also clear when she sings in “Berlin is not Venice”: “Berlin is not forever, yes / I like you even with a little”. The artist is coming to Milla on April 12th with her tour of the same name.
Ritter Lean, January 23rd, 8 p.m., celebration work, eventim.de
Chris James, January 26th, 7 p.m., Milla Club, milla-club.de/chris-james-2/
Paula Hartmann, April 17th, 8 p.m., Zenith, eventim.de
Baby Joy, April 12th, 7 p.m., Milla Club, milla-club.de/babyjoy/