Kool Savas

Born Savaş Yurderi in Aachen on 10 February 1975, Kool Savas spent his first years in Turkey before his family settled in Berlin, and the city has anchored his career ever since. The son of a German mother and a Turkish father from Çorum, he is widely regarded as one of Germany's most successful rappers, a reputation built across a long run of releases and partnerships.

Together with Taktlo$$ he formed the highly influential duo Westberlin Maskulin, active from 1997 to 2000, and in 1996 he had helped found the crew Masters of Rap. His 2011 album Aura included a single of the same name and LMS 2012, a track featuring Xavier Naidoo, the German soul and R&B singer-songwriter and actor. The two had already worked together on several releases before Xavas, their collaborative album Gespaltene Persönlichkeit, was scheduled for release on 21 September 2012, with its fifteen-track listing announced that August. His fourth studio album, Märtyrer, followed on 14 November 2014.