PASHAnim - German star from the Turkish hood
In recent years, there have been more and more listeners of German rap. Although the language barrier seems to be significant, English expressions and interesting flows can reach people all over the world. Some of the current most popular names in the German scene are Ufo361 or Luciano, who have millions of monthly streams and many international collaborations.
The rising stars of the new generation, however, clearly include Pashanim. His own name Can Bayram, born in 2000, is a mysterious rapper from Berlin. His name and lifestyle are often the topic of various discussions. The main source of information is his work, as to date he has not given a single comprehensive interview.
Pashanim kicked off his career on Soundcloud in 2018. During this period, in addition to rapping, he also worked as a production assistant on music videos. Today, Pasha has approximately three million monthly listeners on Spotify, where he has been active since 2019. In a short period of time, he has built a huge fan base. Since joining Spotify, he has only released 1 major project called Himmel über Berlin (mixtape) in 2022 with 9 tracks. Until then, he mostly focused on releasing singles only, which were very specific and won the listener over after the first listen. Some of the most famous tracks are Sommergewitter, Shababs botten, Hauseingang or Paris freestyle(skrilla rmx). In each of these tracks he showed a different flow and a great choice of beats. Iconic, however, have always been his music videos.
Pashanim reached a wider spectrum of predominantly German listeners in 2019 when he released the track Shababs botten along with a music video. Today, this clip, which Pasha directed himself, has 27 million views on YouTube. He has clearly defined his generation in it. Drugs, reckless life, hard beats, heartbreak, football and an overall retro touch. With his look, music and overall aesthetic, he well described a lifestyle that many young people want to live. As he revealed, he started writing lyrics at the age of 11 and spent his time mostly with older friends who he wanted to emulate. To this day, the older generation is a huge inspiration to him in dressing, movies and slang.
CAREER TIMELINE
Pashanim released his next track Airwaves again with a simple visual. He later told bigFM radio that he missed the chorus to this track, so he took a break during the recording process, during which he pulled Airwaves chewing gum out of his pocket. The result was a great hook and to date the Airwaves track has over 155 million plays on Spotify. In the clip, Pasha only portrays the reality he lives. That's basically the most important thing because there are a lot of people in it.Later this year he still dropped his debut EP "junge ceos 2" which features 3 tracks.
YEAR 2020
The clips feature members of his Playboysmafia crew, which was formed in 2017. This includes Symba, Abuglitsch, RB 030 and Pashanim himself. Their main inspiration is Sportsmafia culture. In other words NikeTN's, weed, street business, fast cars, football jerseys and tracksuits. Very popular nowadays, but at the time it was a modern and timeless thing that defined a whole generation and the European rap sound.
Playboysmafia
ear 2021 - break and singles only
Between 2019 and 2020, his career skyrocketed. However, in the first half of 2021, Pashanim fell silent and various speculations of him being blackmailed began to circulate. Of course these speculations were refuted by Can. "It was a period during which I needed a very long time to create something that I like so much that I absolutely want to release it."
After a hiatus following his first EP, Pashanim is releasing the summer banger Sommergewitter along with a music video. The track has nearly 150 million plays on Spotify and is one of his most successful. In the track, he raps not only about his dreams, but also about his parents' difficult beginnings after moving to Germany.
"I'm not a sad person, but I can draw a lot from sad moments."
His career is not subject to the laws of the music industry. He is still authentic and not afraid to express his emotions. His sound, visuals and persona make up an overall picture that adequately represents today's generation. At the same time, his songs are catchy and complete with atmospheric visuals.
In the fall of 2021, he drops the track Paris freestyle. It's a remix of Kodak's old track Skrilla from 2015. Hard beat, aggressive flow and props to Kodak. The short remix with no clip and a simple cover has millions of plays today.
Pashanim has no problem presenting himself in clips or photos and always serves listeners very versatile tracks. Several of his tracks were produced by Austrian producer Stickle, who is currently most associated with Yung Hurn. The latter even supported Pashanim at his first live concert in Vienna in 2021.
(approx. 20th minute of the video)
During 2021, he makes guest appearances on a number of tracks. The most notable feat, however, is from December, when he releases the track "allein allein" together with Ufo361. It's an old and new school track. Both are from Berlin and both have Turkish roots. A reference directed at German rappers with Turkish roots can also be heard on the track Kleiner Prinz from 2022. Here Pashanim reprises lyrics from German legend Bushido from the 2006 track Sonnenbank Flavour.
Because of the corona, a number of social events were cancelled. This has partly slowed down the hype around Pashanim. It wasn't until 2022 that he found himself on the big festival stages, where a crowd of several thousand awaited him. In addition, he also had his first Tour in 2022.
First Tour
The mixtape Himmel über Berlin starts with the sentences:
Bruder, sie sagen, wir rappen immer das Gleiche "Mehringdamm, 6-1, Packets, schnelle Autos" Aber Bruder, ich versteh nicht, das ist doch unser Leben Wenn wir nicht von das rappen, von was sollen wir sonst rappen?
Translated, Pashanim only raps about what he lives. This includes the Kreuzberg district, Saka Wasser mineral water, Nike, Prada or references to US rappers like Tay-K, Chief Keef and Kodak Black. Although he sometimes repeats himself, this is his reality and he can't rap fiction.
On the mixtape, the tracks range in length between 1:37 to 2:35 minutes. Pashanim explains this by saying that he can't concentrate for long periods of time and the short duration of the tracks has nothing to do with the fast TikTok era.
"The track has to appeal to me and my friends so much that we want to hear it a hundred times, and if we can't hear it ourselves, I'll let it out."
Himmel über Berlin
We can hear many emotions in his work. He does it because he enjoys it and fans don't feel any hint of calculation. He is not very active on social media, his releases are unexpected and his tour consists of a few stops. This is the main reason why he is so successful. Instead of focusing on quantity and releasing songs regularly, Pashanim is keen on quality.
Everything comes across very naturally to the viewer and despite the big numbers, we can sense an "underground" demeanor in him that fans appreciate a lot. Despite his success, he is the same person who hasn't been changed by fame. He mixes street rap and art school in his work, style and demeanor. The tracks are short, they tell the listener everything essential and they can be listened to for days. Pashanim is rarely in contact with his label and also has no agreements on the amount of music he releases. Because of this, he can always "shock" us with a release without long promotions.
Uniqueness and versatility
Summer is coming and with it a lot of festivals. Some festival line-ups such as Heroes Festival or Hip Hop Open feature Pashanim's name. In addition, Pasha is set to embark on his ADS Tour in the fall of 2023. There are 8 stops announced for this tour, 6 of which are in Germany and 1 each in Switzerland and Austria.
In one of his few interviews, Pasha revealed that he doesn't want to rap forever. "Ideally, the end wouldn't be determined by success, but by saying to ourselves that it was a party that's over". He concluded by adding that he wants to make movies after his rap career. However, Pashanim is a phantom of the German scene and no one can say what his future holds.
FUTURE
On Spotify, you can find his current work on the Pashanim channel and his older work on the Pasha Archive channel.