Prinz Pi

One of the leading artists on the German rap scene, Prinz Pi is the stage name for Friedrich Kautz. Born on October 23, 1979 in Berlin-Charlottenberg, Kautz studied at Steglitz and was proficient in language skills, especially Greek and Latin, before turning his attention to hip-hop. Kautz began rhyming about contemporary social and political issues, conspiracy theories, and the economic divide between the wealthy and the poor. Adopting the alias Prinz Porno (he’s also recorded as Doc Murdock, Doc Mabuse, and Slick Spingo), he made his debut on the 1998 compilation Berlin Nr. 1 Vol. 1. The same year, he recorded a handful of tracks he distributed to friends under the title Porno Privat, which later made their way online. Prince Porno’s first official album, Radiumreaktion, was released in 2001, and he began to gain a potent cult following with albums like Teenage Mutant Horror Show (2005) and Zeit Ist Geld (2005). Tired of having his material mistaken for pornography, Kautz changed his stage name to Prinz Pi, and his first album under the new handle, 2006′s Donnerwetter!, became his commercial breakthrough, giving him his first entry into the German album charts. Prinz Pi enjoyed another chart success with 2008′s Neopunk, and as his success grew, 2011′s Rebell Ohne Grund gave him his first Top Ten entry, topping out at number nine. 2013′s Kompass Ohne Norden became the first of three consecutive number one albums for Prinz Pi, followed by 2015′s PP=MC2 and 2016′s Im Western nix Neues. ~ Mark Deming