Curse (rapper)
Encyclopedia
Michael Kurth better known as Curse, is a former hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 artist from Minden
Minden
Minden is a town of about 83,000 inhabitants in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The town extends along both sides of the river Weser. It is the capital of the Kreis of Minden-Lübbecke, which is part of the region of Detmold. Minden is the historic political centre of the...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

Biography

Curse has had a long musical past. In his youth, he played songs like "Zwei Mal In Den Kopf" ("Twice into the head") in his former band Phat Kicks. In the 1990s, his band had gigs in the area of Stadthagen
Stadthagen
Stadthagen is the capital of the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 20 km east of Minden and 40 km west of Hanover. The city consists of the districts Brandenburg, Enzen-Hobbensen, Hörkamp-Langenbruch, Krebshagen, Obernwöhren, Probsthagen, Reinsen...

.

On his first album Feuerwasser (released in 2000), his lyrics have already been self-reflected and they have handled with things that had happened in his life, but also contained classical hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 tracks such as representing- and battle-tracks. He especially raps about abortive relationships and admits mistakes to himself. For that reason, he is somewhat of an outsider in the hip hop scene.
The beats on Feuerwasser and many other releases are often produced by Sascha Bühren aka Busy.

In 2001, his next album Von Innen Nach Außen (which literally means "From the Inside to the Outside") was released. On this album, Curse continued his style, and the lead single Lass uns doch Freunde sein ("Let us be friends") was distinguishing from current rap clichés, and, thus, gaining attention even outside the hip hop scene. The German hip hop magazine Juice rewarded this album with the title "Best National Album". This album has even been released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. It reached the German Top-Ten Charts.

On his third album Innere Sicherheit ("Inner Security") his style changed in many aspects: While the beats on his previous albums were mainly produced electronically, the beats on this album are produced with a wide range of instruments: From sophisticated instrumentals with classical transverse flutes (Ich Versteh Dich) over the Crossoversong
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...

 Schocktherapie to the very emotional Und Was Ist Jetzt?, a piano ballad, there is a broad musical array, which emphasizes and accompanies with the deep lyrics. Also, an increasing amount of political society-critical texts can be detected, whereas he is not ignoring his 'old' topics.
In this frame also the single Widerstand has originated with the German Reggae-Artist
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 Gentleman
Gentleman (musician)
Tilmann Otto , better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German Reggae musician.- Personal life :...

.
Also, with the cooperation with upcoming talents he acquired renown. So, for instance, he afforded Italo Reno & Germany as soon as Stress und Trauma the opportunity to present themselves to a general public with guest appearances on his releases and not least by his artist platform Alles Real Records. Over the years he made many collaborations with various German and international artists, among others with Kool Savas
Kool Savas
Savas Yurderi also known as Kool Savas , is a German rapper and hip hop artist. Savas is mostly referred to as "King of Rap" or "King of German Rap"."Savaş" is the Turkish word for "war"....

, Xavier Naidoo
Xavier Naidoo
Xavier Kurt Naidoo is a German singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actor. Born and raised in Mannheim, Naidoo worked in several jobs in the gastronomy and the musical industry before relocating to the United States in the early 1990s, where he released his first full-length English...

, Max Herre
Max Herre
Maximilian Herre is a German musician who rose to fame as a member of the group Freundeskreis.-Biography:...

 (Freundeskreis
Freundeskreis
Freundeskreis also known as FK, was a German hip hop group from Stuttgart, whose songs were in German but also in English, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Herre, Don Philippe and DJ Friction....

), Samy Deluxe
Samy Deluxe
Samy Sorge , commonly known as Samy Deluxe, Wickeda MC or Sam Semillia is a German rapper, and hip hop artist from Hamburg. He is one of Germany's most successful solo rap musicians while also releasing albums as a member of two separate crews, Dynamite Deluxe and ASD...

, J-Luv, Braz
Bráz
João Francisco Bráz was a Brazilian basketball player. At his Olympic debut he won the bronze medal with Brazilian basketball team under the guidance of head coach Moacyr Daiuto.-External links:...

 (4Lyn
4Lyn
4Lyn is a rap rock/nu metal band from Hamburg, Germany. 4Lyn began their career as Headtrip in 1995 as high schoolers. They recorded demos and played locally, and in 2000 a gig at the Ohrenschmaus Festival in Hamburg got them attention from label scouts...

), Patrice
Patrice Bart-Williams
Patrice Babatunde Bart-Williams , better known as Patrice, is an Afro-German reggae artist. He also often uses his second name: Babatunde , which his parents gave him since Patrice was born on the same day that his grandfather died. His music is influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley...

, Black Thought
Black Thought
Tariq Trotter , better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots and occasional actor...

 (The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

), Pete Rock
Pete Rock
Peter Phillips , better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth...

 and RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...

.

On December 2, 2005 Curse released his fourth Album Sinnflut. The lead single Gangsta Rap entered the German charts on position 25. On Sinnflut Curse returns to his roots, as if the experimental album Innere Sicherheit had never exist.
With deep and very private songs as Kein Weg zurück ("No way back") or Mein Leben ("My life") , or the representer tracks like Der Fluch ("The Curse") or "Broken Language Reloaded" with the Samy Deluxe
Samy Deluxe
Samy Sorge , commonly known as Samy Deluxe, Wickeda MC or Sam Semillia is a German rapper, and hip hop artist from Hamburg. He is one of Germany's most successful solo rap musicians while also releasing albums as a member of two separate crews, Dynamite Deluxe and ASD...

 Feature, which is a remake of the classic "Broken Language" from Smoothe Da Hustler Feat. Trigger Tha Gambler from 1995, the record has become homogeneous and multifaceted. Curse fulfilled himself a childhood dream with the features with Black Thought
Black Thought
Tariq Trotter , better known as Black Thought, is an American hip-hop artist who is the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group The Roots and occasional actor...

 (of The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...

) and the producer legend Pete Rock
Pete Rock
Peter Phillips , better known by his stage name Pete Rock, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper. He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as one half of the critically acclaimed group Pete Rock & CL Smooth...

. Latter has been persuaded to sing the hooks and shoutouts, which he did for Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

 last. By the way, he names Nas as his big idol to which he is often compared as one of Germany's greatest lyricists.

Curse released his new album called "Freiheit" (Freedom) in 2008, the first single out of this album was a sample of Marius Müller-Westernhagen
Marius Müller-Westernhagen
Marius Müller-Westernhagen is a German actor and musician.Possibly best known for the maudlin hit "Johnny Walker", Marius Müller Westernhagen has been a feature in German rock music since the mid seventies...

's song "Freiheit".

On October 5, 2010 the German rapper announced not to continue his rap career any more.

Albums

  • 2000: Feuerwasser
    Feuerwasser
    - Track listing :# Zehn Rap Gesetze# Was Ist# Wahre Liebe# Leavin' Las Vegas feat. Der Klan# Ladykiller# Entwicklungshilfe# Unter 4 Augen# Séance feat. The Arsonists, Shabazz the Disciple & Stieber Twins# Hassliebe# Kaspaklatsche feat. Der Klan...

     (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2001: Von Innen Nach Außen (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2003: Innere Sicherheit (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2005: Prestige: Taz. Greis. Claud. Curse (ARR Suisse)
  • 2005: Sinnflut (ARR)
  • 2006: Einblick Zurück (Best-Of Mixtape) (ARR)
  • 2006: Sinnflut (Japanese Edition) (Bad News Records/Miclife Recordings)
  • 2008: Freiheit (Alles Real Records)

Singles/EPs

  • 1999: Doppeltes Risiko/Kreislauf (Vinyl
    Gramophone record
    A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...

    ) (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 1999: Sonnenwende/Erfolg (Vinyl) (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 1999: 99 Essenz EP (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2000: Wahre Liebe (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2000: Hassliebe (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2001: Lass Uns Doch Freunde Sein (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2001: Warum Nicht? (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2003: Hand Hoch (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2003: Widerstand (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2003: Und Was Ist Jetzt? (Jive Records
    Jive Records
    Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...

    ) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2005: Gangsta Rap (EP) (Subword) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2006: Struggle (feat. Samir) (ARR)
  • 2006: Rap (recorded in 2003) (ARR)

Miscellaneous

  • 2001: Nichts Wird Mehr So Sein Wie Es War (on the occasion of the September 11, 2001 attacks
    September 11, 2001 attacks
    The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...

    )
  • 2003: Vom Feinsten (Best of) (Bad News Records/Miclife Recordings)
  • 2003: Feuer über Deutschland (Free Download EP) (ZIP/38 MB)
  • 2003: Von Minden nach Aussen (DVD) (Subword) (BMG
    BMG
    Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...

    )
  • 2005: S.I.N.N.F.L.U.T. / Endlich Wieder - MZEE.com Exclusive (Free Download Track) (MP3/3.44 MB)
  • 2005: Wieder da (Free Download Track) (MP3/1.8 MB)

Awards

In 2002, his homepage curse.de was awarded with the VIVA-Comet in the category "best artist homepage".
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK