European Artist Spotlight: Curse

Back to my stomping ground! For this new installment of my European Artist Spotlight, I need to go back…”way back,” in the year 1999. I was eleven years old and went to my first rap show. The band was Die Firma (translation: The Firm). However, it wasn’t the headliners who impressed me, it was the supporting act; a young, talented, and hungry MC by the name of Curse. Of course, you can say I couldn’t really judge a MC at this point in my life, but the way he walked on stage, spoke his rhymes, and engaged with the crowd was unbelievable and impressing for me. I remember playing his free mixtape (a real tape, not a CD) all over again til it busted…

Back to the future..

Curse (birth name: Michael Sebastian Kurth) is now 30 years old and released his fifth studio album called Freiheit (translation: Freedom) on October 10, 2008. It hit the 12th spot on the German Album Charts, and it was the LP of the month in Europe’s biggest Hip Hop magazine, Juice, garnering a 5.5 rating (out of 6).

Curse stands for conscious rap. He’s a poet and some could compare him to American like-minded emcees like Common or Nas. His lyrics are profound, intelligent, and humorous. On Freiheit, his choice of topics varied. From the struggle of life during and after the 2nd World War, to story of a baby murdering young girl, and even discussing freedom to a large extent.

“Stell dir vor du bist nie wieder krank, stell dir vor deine Bank ist so voll wie bei Ladies der Schrank, stell dir vor du hast Leid nie gekannt, stell dir vor dein Land führt keinen Krieg für das Öl das du tankst”

(translation: “imagine you are never sick again, imagine your bank account is full like a Ladies closet, imagine you are never used to suffer, imagine your country isn’t in war for the gas you fuel” )

The production on his last LP came courtesy of DJ Farhot, SashliQ, Monroe, and KevinNottingham.com favorite, Nicolay. Since the Minden based rapper is a well respected veteran, with more than 10 years in the game, he was able to gather some great collaborations with American artists like Pete Rock, Black Thought and RZA.

Check out some audio and video material!

“Lila” (feat. Jaguar Wright) (Produced by Nicolay)

“Entspannt Und Bekannt” (feat. Kool Savas) (Produced by Nicolay)

“Flutlicht” (feat. Black Thought)

“Nimm’s Leicht” (feat. Pete Rock) (Produced by Pete Rock)