Namika

Namika was born on August 23, 1991 in Frankfurt am Main. She is a German singer and rapper with Moroccan roots. Her music is influenced by German hip-hop influenced. Her song “Lieblingsmensch” made her famous in 2015. Her stage name “Namika” comes from the Berber language Tamazight and means “scribe”. As a mixture of alternative pop hip-hop beats and oriental sounds is how Namika describes her music.

Career

Namika, a versatile artist with a fascinating life story, grew up in the multicultural environment of the Goldstein housing estate in Frankfurt’s Schwanheim district. With her roots in the Moroccan coastal city of Nador and a single mother as formative influences, she played handball from an early age and showed academic ambitions when she graduated from high school. However, her passion for music only really awoke when she turned to her own artistic expression and processed her personal history in songs such as “Ahmed (1960-2002)”.

Her musical breakthrough came with her debut album “Nador”, which she presented to the public on July 21, 2015. The first single “Lieblingsmensch” took the charts by storm and put Namika on the map of the German music scene. With further hits such as “Hellwach” and “Kompliziert”, she proved her talent and versatility as a songwriter and performer.

Namika’s successes span various areas of the music industry. She performed at the Bundesvision Song Contest 2015 and was part of the German jury at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. Her second studio album “Que Walou” produced more hits and showed her artistic development.

As a guest musician on Max Raabe’s album “MTV Unplugged” and with the release of her own singles such as “Globus” and “Touche”, Namika continued her musical journey. Despite personal challenges, such as an autoimmune disease, she remains an inspiring figure in the German music landscape and will continue to inspire her audience with her unique voice and moving lyrics.

In February 2023, the joint single Liebe ist … was released with French singer Zaz. On May 6, 2023, Namika performed at the Music Discovery Project with the HR Symphony Orchestra in the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt.

On the album “Bunter Planet” by Marianne Rosenberg Namika is represented with the wonderfully floating track “Freiheit”.

Studio albums

• 2015 Nador
• 2018 Que Walou