Mach One

German rapper and producer Mach One (Christoph Bodenhammer) was born on April 5, 1979 in East Berlin. The son of poet Uwe Kolbe, he learned his craft in the Kreuzberg district of Berlin and soon found himself immersed in the local graffiti scene. He met fellow rapper Act One amidst the scene and they started to freestyle and produce beats. They would call their collaboration the Lätzten. After honing his style, Mach One came to the attention of producer Gynecologist, who included him on a mixtape. In 1998 he started his own label, Bassboxxx, which saw the release of material by acts such as Frauenarzt, Manny Marc, and MC Basstard, among others. A successful few years followed, but Bodenhammer was arrested for organized theft and illegally sprayed graffiti and was jailed for five weeks in 2002. The following year also saw the dissolution of his label due to internal differences. Despite this tough period, he bounced back in 2004 when he won a business start-up competition, meaning he could start a new label and buy new music equipment (his original setup was confiscated when he was arrested). Along with rappers Isar and Darn and producer B-Lash, he formed the Adrenaline Music label in 2005 and released his first album, Das Meisterstück, Vol. 1: Guter Rap Gedeiht im Dreck. Tragedy struck as he was critically injured from a stabbing in 2006 at Berlin U-Barn Station. After a swift recovery, he began work on his second album, Lil Mach Änze Nordzeitboys, which was a collaboration with rappers Darn and Vork and was released a few months after the attack. He continued to release mixtapes and in 2012 saw his first commercial hit album with Meisterstück, Vol. 2: Rock 'n' Roll, which reached number 24 in the German charts. In 2013, he readied the album Puzzle Pieces.