Aykut Anhan (born 16 December 1985), known by his stage name Haftbefehl (meaning "

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

" in German), is a German

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...

of Turkish-Kurdish origin. He was signed to his own record label Azzlack, before signing with the label Echte Musik.

Biography

Haftbefehl was born Aykut Anhan in

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

, West Germany, on 16 December 1985. He grew up in a Turkish-speaking household, raised by a Turkish mother (from

Giresun Giresun () is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District.Zaza Zaza may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Zaza (play), ''Zaza'' (play), written by French playwrights Pierre Berton and Charles Simon * Zaza (1915 film), ''Zaza'' (1915 film), a film directed by Edwin S. Porter * Zaza (1923 film), ''Zaza'' (1 ...

–

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

father from East Turkish province

Tunceli Tunceli (, , ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Zaza majority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021. Name During Ottoman times, the settlement was called ''Kalan'' or ''Ma ...

. By Anhan's own account, he dropped out of school after his father's suicide which happened when he was 14. In 2006, he fled to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

because of an impending imprisonment concerning drug trafficking; from there he moved to the Netherlands and lived in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Arnhem Arnhem ( ; ; Central Dutch dialects, Ernems: ''Èrnem'') is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border. It is the capita ...

. Along the way he wrote his first lyrics. After his return to his hometown Offenbach, he began working as a vehicle mechanic. After three weeks he quit and subsequently began running a betting shop. After that he started recording his first songs. When Samson Jones, the owner of the label ''Echte Musik'', heard Haftbefehl's songs, he was assured of his skills and gave him a contract. Haftbefehl was involved with eight contributions at the sampler ''Kapitel 1: Zeit für was Echtes''. He also gained attention by bis contribution on the sampler ''La Connexion'' and on singles from fellow rappers

Kollegah Felix Martin Andreas Matthias Blume (born 3 August 1984), known professionally as Kollegah, is a German rapper. He releases his music via his own label, Alpha Music Empire. Born in Friedberg, Hesse, Friedberg and raised by a single mother in Si ...

and Manuellsen. On 29 October 2010, Haftbefehl released his first album called ''Azzlack Stereotyp'', which reached 59 on MusicLine's Top 100 chart on 15 November 2010. After the closing of the label ''Echte Musik'' he launched his own label called ''Azzlacks.'' In Spring 2012, Haftbefehl released his second album, ''Kanackiş'', which contains songs with other famous German musicians like

Jan Delay Jan Phillip Eißfeldt (born 25 August 1976), known professionally as Jan Delay, is a German rapper and singer whose stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk. An accomplished solo artist, he became known to the public as ...

and Sido. On the 15th anniversary of the death of American rapper

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

, the ''splash! magazine'' released a mixtape named ''The Notorious H.A.F.T.'' With the single ''Chabos wissen wer der Babo ist'', Haftbefehl entered the German single charts for the first time. Haftbefehl married in 2016 and currently has two children. His younger brother is also a rapper, who goes under the moniker Capo. His older brother, Aytac, was sentenced to four years in prison for bank robbery in 2017.

Discography

280px, Haftbefehl (center) at Place2Be Festival, Germany, 2015 Albums * ''Azzlack Stereotyp'' (2010) * ''Kanackiş'' (2012) * ''Blockplatin'' (2013) * ''Russisch Roulette'' (2014) * ''Unzensiert'' (2015) * ''Der Holland Job'' with Xatar (2016) * ''Das weisse Album'' (2020) * ''Das schwarze Album'' (2021) * ''Mainpark Baby'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

Results

References

External links

Video interview, May 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haftbefehl German male rappers Kurdish rappers 1985 births Living people German people of Turkish descent German people of Kurdish descent People from Offenbach am Main