RAF Camora

RAF Camora expanded the possibilities of German hip-hop in the late 2010s, pioneering an experimental mix of hard-hitting streetwise rap and danceable pop allure. Born in francophone Vevey, Switzerland, 1984—and eventually raised in Austria—Raphael Ragucci first found his footing rhyming in French in Vienna’s modest but style-blurring scene. After landing on Chakuza & Bizzy Montana’s 2006 underground hit Blackout, Camora assumed German as his rap tongue and relocated to the hip-hop hotbed of Berlin. Hawking beats for a low three figures apiece to cover rent, he forged a synth-dense sound that fused hardcore rap to dembow beats. That mix was amplified on 2013’s triumphant Hoch 2, which married sweeping strings and snare rolls to grunge and ragga-driven rhymes, vividly underscoring his radical vision. In 2016, an alchemical partnership with Bonez MC, Palmen aus Plastik, expanded Camora’s sonic blend once again into a tropical alloy of dancehall, Italodance and Afro-trap. Meanwhile, his raw tales from the German capital’s underbelly piped the grit of Berlin streetlife directly into clubland, bringing a realist edge to a scene already grooving to his bashment anthems. That interplay is exemplified on the ecstatic “500 PS”, from the Bonez collab’s 2018 rowdy sequel, but Camora hit a career high in 2019 with his aptly titled solo set ZENIT. Celebratory in tone and sentiment, the album remains a bright beacon to the revitalisation that Deutschrap received under Camora’s trailblazing influence.