Austrian artists who want to make it internationally frequently have to find their own way to global fame. In the case of the Salzburg based rapper DAME that meant combining the worlds of gaming and hip hop. The result was a YouTube success that eventually led to millions of views as well as chart topping albums.
In the meantime, he has become a real musical export hit. DAME, the rapper from Salzburg, has achieved things that most other acts can only dream of. Chart placements in Germany and Austria, millions of clicks on YouTube and concerts throughout Germany and Austria. And as if that wasn’t enough, he has found time between his many activities to release eight highly acclaimed albums.
29 million views on a YouTube video is nothing to sneeze at. But DAME quickly evolved from his unique niche into a marketable style that eventually found its way to more mainstream musical outlets.
“German rap has lost its splendour, so we will just have to start all over again,” says one line of “Tapetenwechsel”, a track from “Rap ist sein Hobby”, his first album that managed to reach the top 5 of the Austrian charts. It is also a good description of just what he has managed to achieve as a musician ever since.
Because his reboot of German rap has turned it from his hobby into his career. He has become legend.
Dame doesn’t just want your views. He wants to open the listeners eyes. And he wants to do it do it with level, style and above all depth. The ex-cook from Salzburg has something to say, a message he wants to send to the audience, and he doesn’t necessarily need the sledgehammer for that. His approach is more subtle, his lyrics and rhymes more demanding, his appearance more credible in general.
And it has worked. On his own terms. His independent label’s YouTube channel has racked up over nearly 200,000,000 views and almost 600,000 subscribers. Without the help of a major label or any noticeable airplay he has managed to place 4 albums in the top 5 German charts and hit number 1 in Austria.
Rap might have been his hobby, but now he has become German Rap’s master.
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