Top 10 German Hip Hop Labels

Most notably, this label, founded by rapper-turned-businessman Slick One, had Kollegah from 2005 to 2015. This period covers everything from his debut "Zuhältertape" (2005) through his masterpiece "King" (2014) to "Zuhältertape Vol. 4," as well as many other significant hip hop records in Germany. That alone would justify this spot.

Selfmade Records signs rappers who are both great lyricists and have a very distinctive style and personality. Over the years, they had or still have provocative horrorcore rapper Favorite, genre-bending poet Casper, the "asocial" lazy Karate Andi, fun rap group 257ers, and the creepy yet intelligent duo Genetikk, among others.

In the 2000s, they were underground. They always had acclaim but didn't sell too well. Only Kollegah's sudden mega-hype saved them, and since then, many of their releases by different artists topped the charts. That explains why their earlier records had somewhat cheap beats, but the rappers' talents more than made up for that. Their label sampler series "Chronik" is mind-blowing, especially the second one.

Founded by the biggest and most successful German rapper Bushido after his groundbreaking debut solo album, the label will probably top most lists.

Releases by Ersguterjunge are always highly professional and usually top the charts. While Selfmade's artists focus on outstanding lyricism, atmosphere and musicality come first on Ersguterjunge albums. The artists are like protagonists in their own little universe, and the production, often by Bushido himself, usually perfectly fits the vision.

However, members of the label usually don't stay for long, and apparently, Bushido isn't the fairest label boss. Nonetheless, those who do release there usually make a career. On an artistic level, the albums are perfectly executed. Currently, there are great rappers Shindy and Ali Bumaye. Since 2017, Laas Unltd., AK Ausserkontrolle, and Samra have joined, though I'm not as familiar with them. In the past, the label had big names like Eko Fresh, Kay One, and Fler.

Farid Bang's label stands for pure testosterone - heavy beats, deep butch voices, and hard-hitting aggressive punchlines, all with a certain lyrical talent. Farid Bang is also the best rapper on the label, with excellent technique and presence, and he is rightfully a close friend and frequent collaborator of Kollegah.

The label is also home to KC Rebell, Summer Cem, Majoe, Jasko, and 18 Karat. If you are into some really tough action, this is for you, and at a really high quality, both lyrically and production-wise.

In the 2000s, Aggro Berlin was probably the biggest hip hop label of all, and its logo depicting a buzzsaw became a famous pop cultural sign. It had Sido, who at that time had a cheeky, vulgar Slim Shady-like style that was revolutionary and made him one of the most popular MCs before he took off his mask and became a serious conscious rapper.

The label also had rappers B-Tight, Fler, and Kitty Kat, among others. However, what will ultimately be the label's legacy is that Bushido released his groundbreaking "Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline" on Aggro Berlin in 2003, the most influential and groundbreaking German hip hop album, before founding Ersguterjunge.

The label was closed in 2009.

Founded by the talented, intelligent, and kind-hearted Eko Fresh at a time when he wasn't very successful, the label brought several rappers to the map who would later be successful, such as Kay One, Farid Bang, and Summer Cem. Of course, it has a majority of Eko's own albums, which are old-school hip hop with often very conscious but also fun songs at a very high technical level.

The label was closed down sometime in the 2010s but reopened in 2017 as "German Dream Empire."

Four Music isn't strictly a hip hop label. It also has rock bands such as Jennifer Rostock and indie pop singer Mark Forster, among others. However, it has signed successful rappers. They are on good terms with Selfmade Records and were founded by the first successful German hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier.

Marteria, a.k.a. Marsimoto, is most likely their greatest and best pure rapper. They also had the genre-bending lyrical genius Casper, whose blockbuster records "XOXO" and "Hinterland" were released together with Selfmade. They have also signed some smaller rappers. I personally like the female rap duo SXTN, who have a great bad chick attitude.

In the early 2000s, Kool Savas was the biggest rapper and was considered the King of Rap. Back then, his label would have topped every list. However, time has passed, and with modern techniques like multisyllabic rhyming and double-timing, he and his label mates can't keep up.

Nevertheless, they had a good US-inspired producer with Melbeatz. Rappers Amar, Kaas, and Franky Kubrick are still considered old-school classics. Additionally, Savas' flow and delivery are still awesome, and Die besten Tage sind gezählt is a fine hip-hop album. Furthermore, the label introduced the young Eko Fresh, despite having a feud shortly after.

The label closed down in 2009.

This is still an uprising label by Fler. Fler has been around since the early 2000s, has been on several other labels, and worked with big rappers. However, he himself wasn't hyped until 2016 when he released "Vibe" and made trap a thing. It's a great and creative hip hop album.

Currently, only he and Jalil are signed to it, and they released a good collaboration album in 2017. I am curious about what is still to come.

From Sido to Kool Savas to Eko Fresh, the label had numerous of the biggest and hottest German MCs before they became famous. The indie label was like the first step for many, which is why people know it and why it has to be on the list.

The upcoming Sido & Kool Savas collaboration album is even called "Royal Bunker." The releases from the label were never classics or big.

It was closed down in - you guessed it - 2009.