257ers

257ers are a humorous German rap group that formed during the late ‘90s in the members’ native Kupferdreh, a district of Essen. Their first releases were mixtapes, and included Mit Essen Spielt Man Nicht (2005) and Scheiss auf Rappen (2008). Their first official album, Hokus Pokus, was released in 2009, and was followed by 2010′s ZWEN and 2012′s HRNSHN, the last of which entered Germany’s album chart at number six. Boomshakkalakka, released in 2014, included features for Alligatoah and Zwieback; it became the group’s most popular album yet, debuting at the top of the German charts. The fifth studio album from 257ers, Mikrokosmos, appeared in 2016. It also reached number one in Germany, paced by a pair of Top 20 singles, “Holland” and “Wood.” ~ Andy Kellman