Ufuk Bayraktar (born 28 May 1988), better known by his stage name Ufo361, is a German rapper of Turkish descent from

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Early life

Bayraktar was born to Turkish parents in

west Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

and grew up in nearby

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...

. He came in contact with hip hop at a young age and started as a

sprayer A sprayer is a device used to spray a liquid, where sprayers are commonly used for projection of water, weed killers, crop performance materials, pest maintenance chemicals, as well as manufacturing and production line ingredients. In agricult ...

in the THC-Crew. His stage name is derived from his first name, Ufuk, and his hometown Kreuzberg's postal code, 36/61.

Career

In 2010, Bayraktar was signed to Hoodrich, a label founded by his friend Said. On 7 October 2011, their first sampler was released. Together with Said and producer KD-Supier, they formed the trio Bellini Boyz. In 2012, he released his first EP ''Bald ist dein Geld meins''. His first studio album, ''Ihr seid nicht allein'', was released in August 2014. Ufo's first hit was the single "Ich bin ein Berliner", released in September 2015 in support for his first mixtape of the same name. Referring to

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's famous speech

Ich bin ein Berliner "" (; "I am a Berliner") is a speech by United States President John F. Kennedy given on June 26, 1963, in West Berlin. It is one of the best-known speeches of the Cold War and among the most famous anti-communist speeches. Twenty-two months ...

, the single became a viral hit in Germany and was shared by famous rappers, including the 187 Strassenbande,

Haftbefehl Aykut Anhan (born 16 December 1985), known by his stage name Haftbefehl (meaning "arrest warrant" in German), is a German rapper. He was signed to his own record label Azzlack, before signing with the label Echte Musik. Biography Haftbefehl wa ...

and

Fler Patrick Losenský (born 3 April 1982), known professionally as Fler, is a German rapper and the CEO of Maskulin Music Group. Career 2000–2006: Beginnings Fler was first recognized in the rap scene through collaborations with Bushido. ...

. "Ich bin ein Berliner" was released on 25 March 2016 and peaked at number 57 on the German album-charts. Less than eight months later, Ufo361 released ''Ich bin 2 Berliner'' which peaked on 13 on the German albums chart. His first major success was his third mixtape ''Ich bin 3 Berliner'', released in April 2017, which spawned several singles including "Mister T", "Für die Gang", "Der Pate" and "James Dean". In April 2017, he founded his own record label, Stay High. In mid-December 2017, he announced his second studio album ''808'', which was released in April 2018. The album debuted at number one of the German and Austrian albums charts. His third studio album, ''VVS'', was announced in June 2018 and was released on 17 August 2018. In 2019, Ufo361 signed 15-year-old newcomer Data Luv and released his fourth studio album ''Wave'' on 9 August.

Discography

* ''Ihr seid nicht allein'' (2014) * ''Ich bin ein Berliner'' (2016) * ''Ich bin 2 Berliner'' (2016) * ''Ich bin 3 Berliner'' (2017) * ''808'' (2018) * ''VVS'' (2018) * ''Wave'' (2019) * '' Lights Out'' (2019) * ''

Rich Rich ''Rich Rich'' is the sixth studio album by Turkish-German rapper Ufo361 and was released through Stay High on 24 April 2020. The album contains 13 songs. It was produced by Coop The Truth, The Cratez, Gezin of 808 Mafia, Jimmy Torrio, OZ, Sonus0 ...

'' (2020) * '' Nur für dich'' (2020) * ''Stay High'' (2021) * ''Destroy All Copies'' (2021)

References

{{Authority control 1988 births Living people German rappers German lyricists Musicians from Berlin German people of Turkish descent German songwriters