MEGALOH

"There is a style among the Shaolin that is now a thing of the past and which is now mastered by one man throughout our country" – with this film clip from an anachronistic kung fu movie, Megaloh introduces his new album "Schwarzer Lotus" (Black Lotus), which will be released in October 2025. Although Megaloh's martial art is not a physical one, his punches have been flying like machine guns for over two decades. The Moabit native with Nigerian-German-Dutch roots is a verbal assassin with a flawless reputation – a true MC. Megaloh has regularly elevated the German scene to the next level and, in the same breath, ruthlessly humiliated it. He has always communicated his disagreements with the snake pit that is the music business transparently – because he is strong-minded, because he is constantly searching for meaning, because he is too honest to be a suitable pop star, and because he has understood rap for years as a martial art, a challenge, a culture and – incidentally – his life. Megaloh is "flow – change, but don't break a word." It's an inimitable stage presence despite a modest attitude; it's tearing down the splash! main stage with two broken arms. Megaloh is a schizophrenic pendulum swing between light-footed champion level and mind-boggling thoughtfulness. It's a high degree of self-reflection—and in depressive phases, destroying yourself instead of your songs. Megaloh is an eventful biography between the red carpet and warehouse jobs; it's "Herb & Mango" and "Spätes Erwachen"; it's a packed list of features that includes names from Schmyt to Celo&Abdi, Joy Denalane to Gringo, Samy Deluxe to Majan, and Luvre47 to Trettmann or Gentleman. Megaloh is also an artist who has never stopped growing, improving, reinventing himself—not least in his role as a producer—breaking free and emancipating himself further and further from the industry. The best proof? His latest work, "Schwarzer Lotus" (Black Lotus) – a remarkably stubborn, consistently challenging concept album that deliberately disregards the current trends of the music market. To understand it, you have to take your time – and see "Schwarzer Lotus" as a self-contained work of art that doesn't pander to the singles charts or pop rap playlists. For context: "Schwarzer Lotus" is Megaloh's fifth studio album – and the first in his career to be released on his own label, Chinonso Records, with most of the productions based on a certain Oga Beats. It means the world to him – because it is a monument to his independence and, at the same time, the result of a tough, grueling period of self-discovery. "Schwarzer Lotus" would not be what it is if Megaloh had not been mostly alone with himself at the beginning of 2024. And: "Schwarzer Lotus" would not sound the way it does if his search for inspiration on the production side had not driven him deeper and deeper into the Golden Era. Experiments with soul samples and warm drum sounds were followed by a vision typical of Megaloh: to produce and rap an album himself that consists largely of drumless beats. The most important source of inspiration? Megaloh's childhood heroes RZA and Ghostface Killah from the Wu-Tang Clan, who were already rapping over drumless beats in the mid-1990s. Anyone who listens closely to "Schwarzer Lotus" senses that it is, not least, a promise that has become an album. A promise to remain true to oneself regardless of success. A promise never to give up again. A promise that the dance will not end—and that every failure will be followed by perseverance and improvement. Megaloh has repeatedly fulfilled this promise throughout his career. It has taken him from being an underground talent in Moabit to an established "live MC," from an established "live MC" to the favorite rapper of your favorite rappers, to a scene heavyweight, to a family provider, to a self-sufficient all-round artist.