Silla

German rapper Silla (who used the name Godsilla until 2010) was born Matthias Schulze on May 5, 1984. While still in high school, he met King Orgasmus One, who later went on to found the label I Luv Money Records, and made his first guest appearance on 2003′s Rap Braucht Kein Abitur, the debut album of I Luv Money’s co-founder Bass Sultan Hengzt. In 2004, Silla released his debut album, Übertalentiert, followed by a collaboration album with King Orgasmus One titled Schmutzige Euros. After he guested on Bushido’s Staatsfeind Nr. 1 in 2005 (Bushido was another co-founder of I Luv Money but left the label in 2002), Bushido tried to sign Silla to his new label, Ersguterjunge, but Silla refused to leave I Luv Money. Silla’s second album, Massenhysterie, was issued in 2006, and a sequel to the King Orgasmus One collaboration album followed in 2007. The same year, Silla released his third solo album, City of God. A collaboration album with Fler (appearing as Frank White), 2008′s Südberlin Maskulin, managed to reach number 22 on the charts. After Silla left I Luv Money in 2009, he announced his fourth solo album, Silla Instinkt, but due to his problems with alcoholism, the record had to be postponed (in June 2009, Silla was brought to a hospital with a blood alcohol level of 0.49 percent). In April 2010, Silla was forced to drop the name Godsilla by T_h_, the Japanese company which owned the rights to the Godzilla monster, and he changed his stage name to Silla. Silla Instinkt was finally released on I Luv Money in March 2011, entering the charts at number 30, but six months later, Silla signed with Fler’s label Maskulin. In March 2012, Fler and Silla issued a follow-up to their collaboration album titled Südberlin Maskulin II. ~ Christian Genzel