
Farhot
Less rumour than fact: Even those who are unfamiliar with the name Farhot have heard at least a handful of works by the Hamburg-based producer. Over the last twenty years, there is hardly a name in the local pop and rap scene that has not collaborated with the German-Afghan beat wizard and subsequently become the talk of the town. From soul singer Nneka and Die Fantastischen Vier to Haftbefehl and Xatar to Fynn Kliemann and Materia – they all love to draw on Farhad Samadzada’s virtuoso sampling and incredibly eclectic range of ideas. It’s understandable that he hardly has time for his own releases. Nevertheless, with the two volumes of ‘Kabul Fire’ in 2013 and 2021, Farhot has released two outstanding beat collections that combine jazz rap with Pashto folk, boom bap with hardcore hip-hop to create an organic fabric full of style and dedication. They are called instant classics, discussed, dissected, and celebrated from the German underground to the British Guardian. Similar to Dr. Dre and J Dilla, Farhot knows no cultural or stylistic boundaries, which he once again impressively demonstrated last year with ‘Stealing From Cats’ (2024).