Rapper Moses Pelham announces his retirement
He became famous 30 years ago with the Rödelheim Hartreim project, but now rapper Moses Pelham has announced his retirement from the stage. "I have the desire to bring this work to a sensible and self-determined conclusion. And I want to do that with all my strength," the 52-year-old told the German Press Agency. His final album "Letzte Worte" is due to be released next fall, and the very last concert is planned for December 21, 2024 in his hometown of Frankfurt.
He is really looking forward to "celebrating once again with the people who have had this in their lives over the last 30 years". "So also in the knowledge that this will probably be the last time we get together like this." Pelham has been thinking about saying goodbye for a long time. He has been working on the album for several years, collecting ideas and writing songs: "If you want to perform a magic trick, i.e. pull a rabbit out of the hat, it's really good to have put one in at some point."
Pelham is considered a pioneer of German rap. He landed in the German charts as a teenager with his first solo single "Twilight Zone". He later founded "Pelham Power Productions", or "3p" for short, which produced Sabrina Setlur, Xavier Naidoo and Pelham's band Glashaus, among others. As part of the Rödelheim Hartreim project founded in 1993, he is considered one of the co-founders of German-language hip-hop. With hits such as "Höha, Schnella, Weita", they made the Frankfurt district of Rödelheim famous throughout Germany.
In 1998, he was named "Producer of the Year" at the Echo Awards. In 2020, he received the German Record Critics' Award. His career is also accompanied by a dispute with the band Kraftwerk that has lasted for around two decades. Pelham had used a two-second rhythm from the electro-pop pioneers from Düsseldorf for a Setlur song without being asked. The case is now to go before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) again.
Pelham is excited to once again celebrate with the people who have supported him throughout his 30-year career, knowing that this might be their last gathering. His upcoming final album, "Letzte Worte", is expected to release next fall, filled with songs he's spent years collecting ideas for and writing.
Source: www.dpa.com
