Kollegah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kollegah
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Kollegah in 2015
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Felix Martin Andreas Matthias Blume |
| Born | 3 August 1984 Friedberg, West Germany |
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| Years active | 2003–present |
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Felix Martin Andreas Matthias Blume (born August 3, 1984), known as Kollegah, is a German rapper. He shares his music through his own company, Alpha Music Empire.
Kollegah grew up in Simmern with his mother. He started rapping in online rap battles in 2004. He wanted to be a solo rapper, so he released his first mixtape, ZHT, in July 2005. Later that year, he joined Selfmade Records. He explored different music styles on albums like Alphagene (2007), Kollegah (2008), and Bossaura (2011). His album King, released in 2014, became his most successful album. He also released ZHT Vol. 4 in 2015, Imperator in 2016, and Monument in 2018.
Kollegah also created four albums with German rapper Farid Bang. These albums, known as the JBG series, were released between 2009 and 2018.
Contents
Kollegah's Early Life and Music Career
Growing Up and Starting to Rap
Felix Blume was born on August 3, 1984, in Friedberg, Hesse. His parents separated when he was young. He then moved with his mother to Simmern in Rhineland-Palatinate. He finished high school in 2005. He became interested in Islam through his stepfather. From December 2004 to May 2005, Kollegah took part in online rap battles called Reimliga Battle Arena (RBA). He won many of these battles.
First Mixtapes and Albums
Blume released his first mixtape, ZHT, for free on July 20, 2005. It had 14 songs and was downloaded over 5,000 times in one month. In December 2005, Selfmade Records officially released the mixtape. In July 2006, Blume released his second mixtape, Boss der Bosse (ZHT 2).
His first studio album, Alphagene, was released on November 30, 2007. It was Kollegah's first project to appear on the German music charts. The album reached number 51 and sold over 20,000 copies.
Albums and Collaborations (2008-2010)
On August 28, 2008, Blume released his second studio album, Kollegah. This album reached number 17 in Germany and sold over 20,000 copies.
On April 17, 2009, Chronik 2 was released. This album featured artists from Selfmade Records, including Kollegah, Favorite, Casper, and Shiml.
Three months after Chronik 2, Blume released his first album with Farid Bang. It was called Jung, brutal, gutaussehend. In December, Blume released the third part of his ZHT series. A year later, Selfmade Records released a special box set. It included all three ZHT mixtapes and Hoodtape Volume 1. Hoodtape Volume 1 was re-released on December 18, 2010, as the X-Mas Edition with extra songs.
Continued Success with Albums (2011-2015)
In 2011, Kollegah released his album Bossaura. It reached number 5 on the German album charts. His collaboration album with Farid Bang, Jung, brutal, gutaussehend 2, came out in 2013. It became number 1 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It sold over 80,000 copies in its first week.
Kollegah's album King in 2014 sold over 160,000 copies in its first week. It was his second album to reach number one. ZHT 4 was released in December 2015. It also reached number 1 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
New Label and More Albums (2016-2017)
In March 2016, Blume started his own music company called Alpha Music Empire. The first rapper he signed was Seyed. Seyed's first album reached number three on the German charts. On September 2, 2016, Kollegah announced his sixth studio album, Imperator. This was his first album released under his own label. Imperator came out on December 9, 2016. It reached number one in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It was also his third solo album to earn a gold award.
On March 10, 2017, Kollegah announced his first "best-of" album, Legacy. This album included a collection of all his albums released under Selfmade Records between 2005 and 2015. Legacy was released on July 14, 2017. It reached the top 15 in German-speaking countries.
Recent Projects (2017-Present)
Kollegah and Farid Bang often hinted at a new album, Jung Brutal Gutaussehend 3 (JBG 3), between 2016 and 2017. The album was officially announced on September 8, 2017. The first song from the album, "Sturmmaske auf (Intro)", was released a week later. This song became a big hit, reaching the top spot on the German single charts. Two more songs, "Gamechanger" and "Ave Maria", also charted high.
When the album was released in December 2017, it broke several records in Germany. It became the fastest rap album to be certified gold, selling 100,000 copies in eight days through pre-orders. It was also the most streamed project by a German artist on Spotify in one week.
Kollegah and Farid Bang later released a new version of Jung Brutal Gutaussehend 3 called Platin war gestern. This version included two EPs. Platin war gestern became their third album together to reach number one in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Blume released his seventh studio album, Monument, in December 2018. The album Alphagene II followed in December 2019. Alphagene II was his eighth album to reach number 1. In January 2021, he released Natural Born Killers (NBK), an album with Asche, another rapper from Kollegah's label.
On April 9, 2021, Kollegah started promoting his new album, Zuhältertape Vol. 5. The album was released on October 8, 2021. On April 15, 2022, Kollegah announced his album Free Spirit, which was released on August 5, 2022. His eleventh studio album, La Deutsche Vita, was released on July 7, 2023.
Other Activities
In February 2014, Blume started his own fitness program called Bosstransformation. Two years later, he released an updated version, Bosstransformation 2. In November 2015, Blume launched his own clothing line called Deus Maximus. He works with Def Shop, a large German online store, for this brand.
Personal Life
Blume studied law at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz for a few years. He became interested in Islam at age 15 through his stepfather.
Discography
- Alphagene (2007)
- Kollegah (2008)
- Bossaura (2011)
- King (2014)
- ZHT Vol. 4 (2015)
- Imperator (2016)
- Monument (2018)
- Alphagene II (2019)
- Golden Era Tourtape (2020)
- Natural Born Killers (2021)
- ZHT Vol. 5 (2021)
- Free Spirit (2022)
- La Deutsche Vita (2023)
- Cross Border Armageddon (2023)
- Still King (2024)
Tours
- Alphagene Tour (2008)
- Mittelfinger Hoch Tour (2009)
- Teens for Cash Tour (2010)
- Je mehr Testo besser Tour (2010)
- Live 2011 Tour (2011)
- JBG 2 Tour (2013)
- King Tour (2014)
- Red Light Tour (2016)
- Imperator Tour (2017)
- JBG 3 Tour (2018)
- Monument Tour (2019)
Achievements
Five of Kollegah's projects have earned at least a gold award in Germany. Six of his albums have reached the top spot on the German album charts.
