Loading details…
Artist
Die Fantastischen Vier
12+ albums
germanHip-Hophip hopdeutschgerman hiphop
about
Die Fantastischen Vier, often abbreviated as Fanta 4, are a German hip-hop group from Stuttgart. The group consists of Michael Bernd Schmidt (Smudo), Thomas Dürr (Thomas D), Michael Beck (Michi Beck, also known as Dee Jot Hausmarke), and producer Andreas Rieke (And.Ypsilon). Their manager since 1989 has been Andreas Läsker. The origins of the group date back to the mid-1980s when Schmidt and Rieke formed the Terminal Team. In 1989, Beck and Dürr joined, and the four made their first public appearance as Die Fantastischen Vier on July 7, 1989, performing on a stage made of pallets in a former kindergarten in Stuttgart-Wangen. In 1991, their track "Jetzt geht’s ab" appeared on the German hip-hop compilation "Krauts with Attitude". The group became the first hip-hop act to gain nationwide attention in Germany with German-language rapping, referred to by the band as "deutscher Sprechgesang". Although Advanced Chemistry is recognized as one of the earliest German-language hip-hop groups, Die Fantastischen Vier achieved their first chart success in 1992 with the single "Die da!?!", which helped popularize the genre across Germany. Members also pursued solo projects and appeared on the weekly TV show "Die Vierte Dimension" on Premiere in 1993–1994. The 1995 album "Lauschgift" included the single "Sie ist weg", which reached number one on the German charts. In 1996, the group founded their own label, Four Music, based in Berlin, after relocating from Stuttgart. Their fifth studio
