About

PA69 – pronounced “PA” in English and “69” in German – are a rap group from Berlin. Little to nothing is known about the identities of the three pink-masked rappers DJ DOPE, Rabatto, and Turbogianni. What is certain is that they grew up in the affluent suburbs of Berlin and in rural northeast Germany.

Further rumors regarding the identity of the three members (youth basketball coach, combat diver, Michelin-starred chef, wedding DJ, doctor of law, or freestyle king) and the meaning of the abbreviation PA69 cannot be confirmed with certainty.

PA69 released their first tape, “Tape No. Two,” in 2020. Shortly thereafter, ‘Kingmische’ became their first veritable underground hit. Their first concerts at Goa open-air festivals and in Berlin pub basements were followed by their own tour of sold-out clubs after the release of “Biertornado” in 2023. In their hometown of Berlin, PA69 played to a sold-out crowd at SO36 in early 2024, followed by a sold-out show at Astra Kulturhaus at the end of the year; another concert at Columbiahalle has already been announced. Meanwhile, PA69 are attracting an extremely diverse audience far beyond Berlin's city limits and have played several sold-out tours and at festivals such as Splash!, Fusion, Spektrum, Pangea, and Dockville. In other words, slowly but surely, no one can ignore the PA69 phenomenon anymore.

The fact that the people behind PA69 are so elusive gives the three rappers tremendous freedom to slip effortlessly into a wide variety of roles. Lyrically, they work with anti-styles and obscure references—the more bizarre, the better.

So while other players in the music scene are all about coolness, toughness, and wealth, these rappers make a point of being uncool. PA69 flirts with the very things that others look down on: life in the provinces, fingerboards, fake luxury watches, and supermarket loyalty points. In short, PA69 are masters of “ironic Dadaist distortion” (Alex Barbian).

In their euphoric, slogan-like rap, PA69 also convey an intoxicated, hedonistic attitude to life, which places them in the cosmos of Berlin's “Atzen rap.” The influences of certain rap greats, especially those from Berlin, are unmistakable – one is repeatedly reminded of the K.IZ. promo album, DJ Reckless, Corus86, or the Atzen, Frauenarzt, and Manny Marc. Lyrically, however, PA69 never stoops to low blows. Unlike what is still common in German rap, their punchlines are directed neither at women nor at minorities.

PA69 deliver a special, energetic show live. Always part of the act: an animator in a sun costume, who is both a cheerleader and lead dancer, carefully arranged intros made up of pop culture set pieces, and the now indispensable “beer tornado” circle pit. The quality media have also come to understand that PA69 is something special: For the Berliner Zeitung, the band's “guaranteed never-before-heard, creative rap lines” are “incredibly fun,” even though it is “by no means a pure fun project.” For the Tagesspiegel, the “mood phenomenon PA69” is already one of the most exciting newcomers of 2024.