Puppetmastaz is a German

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group founded in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with members from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, like Max Turner,

Chilly Gonzales Jason Charles Beck (born 20 March 1972), professionally known as Chilly Gonzales or just Gonzales, is a Canadian musician, songwriter, and producer. Currently based in Cologne, Germany, he previously lived for several years in Paris and Berlin. G ...

, Paul PM (aka Mister Maloke),

Mocky Dominic Salole (born October 7, 1974), known professionally as Mocky, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. Biography Mocky was born in Saskatchewan, Canada. He later moved to Ottawa and Toront ...

and Alex Tiller, who left the band in 2003. Formed in 1996, the group perform their shows with hand puppets and meet music styles of

rap 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 backin ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

. The producers on at least 3 albums were ''N1tro'', Patric Catani (aka Candie Hank, Ec8or) and ''Bomb 20''. Bandleader Paul Affeld, along with Artist Max Turner, is the only member to have contributed to all 5 albums to date. Former members are also musician and songwriter Adam Traynor and Blake Worrell. Other recent Members: Pilo (Adrian Ilea), Zhi MC (Zhi Yang Trieu) and Luis Nassowitz.

Development

Their first transregional known songs were "Pet Sound" (2003, New Noise Label) and "The Bigger the Better" (2005, Louisville Records). The band members of the Puppetmastaz Crew are always seen as puppets on stage. Whilst music is played by their DJ, the band members rap live by their puppets. The band's frontman is ''Mr. Maloke'', a mole rapper whose characteristic sign is wearing a glitter topper, played by Paul PM aka Paul Affeld, who is also the heartbeat of that puppet-universe. According "to the legend" he founded the Puppetmastaz in the late 1990s. Step by step the band became bigger by puppets from all over the world. The puppets which later worked with the actual Puppetmastaz acted as first ones on shows in 1996 at Berlin's dance club ''Ex-Kreuz-Club''. The first shows as a hip hop act were organized in 1999, where also their first music video was made and titled with "Wick-a-Woo". On TV the puppet band were first seen in 2000. Their first maxi EP ''Humans Get All The Credits'' was released in 2002 and let grown the band's profile nationwide. In 2003 were produced the maxi EP ''Pet Sound'' and ''Zoology'' as the album ''Creature Funk''. It followed a remix vinyl which was published as ''Prosettis Disco Balls'' but only as a limited vinyl edition. In October 2005 were released the EP ''Bigger the Better'' and the album ''Creature Shock Radio''. The Puppetmastaz's shows were regional as also trans regional known as "first toy group". Especially in France, where their live shows got 5000 visitors they became well known and got a big and constantly growing fan community. In 2007 the Puppetmastaz published a cover of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's "Give Peace a Chance" in support of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

what had warmed even Yoko Ono's heart how the Puppetmastaz said in an interview. Their latest album ''The Takeover'' (CD and double vinyl) was released in 2008. They also started in June 2009 their own satire magazine with its title ''Puppetry Fair - The Glossy Gossip Gazette''. In 2009, the Puppetmastaz were touring in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

on their own shows as on festivals like

Pukkelpop Pukkelpop is an annual music festival that takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid- to late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—adjacent to a dual carriageway called ''Kempische Steenweg''—in the v ...

in Belgium and Sonnenrot Festival in Eching, Munich. They toured China in October 2010, the first hip hop puppet crew to do so since the Chinese opening and reform.

All current band members

* Mr. Maloke: band leader, mole puppet * Spuggles: rapper, producer, rabbit puppet * Dogga: rapper, producer, dog puppet * Gana Ghost: rapper, producer, elephant puppet * Wizard The Lizard: rapper, dj, lizard puppet * Tango Troublemaker: producer, rapper, blue bird puppet * Panic, the Pig: rapper, pig puppet * Snuggles the Bunny: rapper, rabbit puppet * Ducci Prosetti: rapper/Producer, dragon puppet * HipHopNotist: rapper, gecko puppet * Frogga: rapper, frog puppet * Ricardo Prosetti: rapper/Producer, frog puppet * Flix: rapper, bat puppet * Turbid the Toad: frog puppet * Ryno: rapper, rhino puppet * Croucholina: toad puppet, dancer * Croucho: toad puppet and brother of Croucholina * Pit: Rapper, frog puppet * Dino Prosetti: producer, fish puppet * E-Wizz: Rapper, humanly puppet * Midi Mighty Moe: DJ, fly puppet * Big Eye: alien puppet * Rita: reggae puppet * Keil Pittler: demagogue puppet * Bloke: clown puppet * Lisa * Buddha * Richelieux * Hammerhead Rapper, Shark puppet * Dogga Dacoda * Harold * BumbleBee * Squidrick A.K.A. Squidone: Rapper, octopus with hat * Yobo: rapper and entertainer, twin brother of

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

Yoda Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'', in which he is voiced and puppeteered by F ...

* Peppino * Orango-Thang

Discography

*Welcome To The Zoo! - 2023 (CD / Vinyl) *Sweet Sugar Rush! - 2019 (CD / Vinyl) *Keep Yo Animal! - 2016/2017 (CD / Verycords) *Revolve and Step Up! - 2012 (CD / Discograph) *The Break Up - 2009 *The Takeover - 2008 (CD / double Vinyl - Discograph) *Clones - Live in Berlin - 2007 (CD / DVD (Vicious Circle / Louisville Records) *Creature Shock Radio - 2006 (CD Vicious Circle / Louisville Records) *Creature Funk - 2003 (CD [Labels / EMI) *Zoology - 2003 (EP (Labels / EMI) *Pet Sound - 2002 (EP [Labels / EMI)

References

External links

The Official Puppetmastaz Website

Puppetmastaz on Myspace

Puppetry Fair - The Glossy Gossip Gazette

Puppetry Fair - The Glossy Gossip Gazette on myspace

video interview
{{Authority control German hip-hop groups Puppets