Bruno Kawelke

Unlike most rappers in Germany, Bruno Kawelke doesn’t rely on overproduced beats, high-profile guest appearances or a contrived aggressive edge. The Cologne-based lyricist is more engaged with clever storytelling, punctuated by constant unexpected musical twists. At times he speaks seemingly emotionlessly over delicate guitar strums in “Balkon”, at others the tracks become loud and cinematic, as in “Machen Götter aus Männern” (2025) – in between, there’s everything that serves to underpin his introspective critique of the present. Even a complex breakbeat, a hazy trap ballad or a touch of wistful soul. “Dinge die ich nicht mehr ändern kann” (2025), Kawelke’s debut EP, consequently also tells us of things we can no longer change. This is how the game of reflection works: we see ourselves in the other, the other in us. Many have also found themselves in a track like “Orcas” (2024), each in a different line. Thus, Bruno Kawelke moves within a rich tradition of German-speaking singer-songwriters and rappers, a tradition increasingly regarded as endangered and for which the term ‘spoken word’ still means something. “How likely were we?” he asks, quite rightly, on his new single. Hardly at all, one might say. But that is precisely why it is all the more wonderful that he is here to stay.