MARNELE

Smoky vocals, poetic lyrics, innovative sampling, broken beats: Marnele is a film noir turned human that takes place in the darkest corners of the German rap universe. Between self-empowerment and powerlessness, reflection and revolt, this DIY artist sees the big picture from the biographical to the social. From Bochum, she channels the street-lantern dreams of sleepless souls through her own sound aesthetic, which is inspired just as much by pared-down East Coast hip-hop or trap as it is by minimalist techno or her own poems in soul format. She sometimes appears as a disillusioned Steppenwolf and perceptive observer of the status quo, as on the “Macht gegen Seele” EP. Other times she’s a club poet with a knack for intense urban lyricism and physical bass. The flow always changes, is always sharply articulated and the production always comes with a plethora of atmospheric features. The new EP “Rausch” (2025) illuminates another of Marnele’s musical masks, concave or convex, depending on your perspective. Going beyond all the hype, her stylistic language has earned her a place as one of the country’s most important rappers and she has no ambitions to fit in commercially. Instead, she delivers rap art in its purest form, breathing the zeitgeist like the blue smoke of an intoxicating ciggie.