I want to share some niche german rap artists with you guys. German version is a bit longer. Here I'll focus on the sound bites.
Tra
Tra channels the raw, direct tone of classic Berlin rap but pairs it with clearly modern production — old-school attitude, not an old-school sound. He's stayed criminally under-the-radar: no playlist pushes, just word-of-mouth.
His album alles schicki alles jutt was produced by Torky Tork, a Berlin beatmaker who's quietly shaped the German underground for years (credits include Audio88 & Yassin, Döll, Dendemann), known for digging obscure samples out of old East German TV shows and Schlager records. Having him behind the boards is a real stamp of quality — most people outside the scene just don't know it yet.
Scorecard:
Flow & Wordplay 08/10
Sound Identity 10/10
Niche Factor 09/10
Overall 09/10
Soundbites:
Rohrzange - new album, sound more developed but not too serious. Feature guest is kinda "special" but I like the vibe.
Sprudelwasser - Sparkling water, once your hear the piano in the sample, you'll get it
ASAJ Afterlhde - cuts deep, heavy reflection about his life. One of my favorites!
Zivile Ermittler - "Undercover cops" is 80s synth wave style. Love it but a bit of an outlier.