Projecting double-barreled bars straight into the heart of Deutschrap, Gzuz’s infamous rhymes (and repeated crimes) have made him an enemy of the state and a street rap icon in his native Germany. Born Kristoffer Klauß in Hamburg in 1988, Gzuz came of age evading police on the streets of the city’s criminal side. After being invited to join the notorious Hamburg gangsta rap group 187 Strassenbande by its cofounder Bonez MC, Gzuz emerged as an MC on the collective’s debut self-titled album in 2009. A three-year spell in prison for predatory theft halted Gzuz’s ascension, but he rallied in 2014 by teaming up with Bonez MC on the collaborative album High & Hungrig. Gzuz released his debut solo album, the roaring synth spectacle Ebbe & Flut, in 2015, led by the minatory anthem “CL500.” The next year, Gzuz teamed up with Bonez MC again for High & Hungrig 2, which channeled Hamburg street life into a collection of bellicose bangers featuring “Optimal,” a thumping trap standard Gzuz handled solo. Gzuz confirmed his status as German rap’s preeminent gangsta rapper with his second album, Wolke 7, in 2017, epitomized by “¿ Warum ?,” a booming repudiation of his critics. In early 2020 he added to his infamy with an eponymous album, a raucous assemblage of street trap embodied by the 808 hostility of “Donuts,” but his momentum was once again stalled by another prison term, which will no doubt feed his next album.
