Apache 207

Apache 207 seemed to come from out of nowhere when he burst to the forefront of Germany’s hip-hop scene in August 2019 with his single “Roller”. Backed by a sleek beat that owes equal debts to reggaetón and Eurodance, the Ludwigshafen-born rapper paid tribute to his beloved Vespa scooter with a mix of razor-sharp rhymes and smoky hooks—exuding a tough but seductive confidence that has few precedents in Deutschrap. Born Volkan Yaman in October 1997, Apache was just 20 years old when he first grabbed attention with his provocative 2018 debut track “Kleine Hure” (“Little Whore”), flipping a breezy, guitar-strumming beat on its head with acid-tongued lyrics. He seemed ready to dominate from the get-go, following that up with seven more singles in the span of six months before signing to German rapper Bausa’s TwoSides label. A street rapper with couture tastes, Apache 207 doesn’t take himself too seriously as he layers his lyrics and videos with ironic details (such as the gold roller skates he rocks in the video for “Kein Problem”). But he has formidable chops on the mic, able to shift instantly between brash boasts, double-time raps, big hooks and heartfelt entreaties.