Aykut Anhan (born 16 December 1985), known by his stage name Haftbefehl (meaning "arrest warrant" in German), is a German rapper of Turkish-Kurdish origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest German hip-hop artists. Haftbefehl was signed to his own record label Azzlack, before signing with the label Echte Musik.
Biography Haftbefehl was born Aykut Anhan in Offenbach am Main, West Germany, on 16 December 1985 into a Turkish-speaking non-practicing Alevi Twelver Shi'a household, raised by a Turkish mother from Giresun and a Zaza Kurd father from Tunceli.
By Anhan's own account, he dropped out of school after his father's suicide which happened when he was 14.The Provocation in Art and Culture . Special broadcast of the TV culture magazine Hauptsache Kultur with a report on rap musicians Haftbefehl and Stadtrundgang of Offenbach am Main, December 2nd, 2021, 30 min. Presented by: Cécile Schortmann . A production of Hr-fernsehen In 2006, he fled to Istanbul because of an impending imprisonment/arrest warrant (in German: "Haftbefehl", that's why his name) concerning drug trafficking; from there he moved to the Netherlands and lived in Amsterdam and Arnhem. Along the way he wrote his first lyrics. After his return to his hometown Offenbach, he began working as a vehicle mechanic. After three weeks he quit and subsequently began running a betting shop.
After that he started recording his first songs. When Samson Jones (better known as Jonesmann), the owner of the label Echte Musik, heard Haftbefehl's songs, he was assured of his skills and gave him a contract. Haftbefehl was involved with eight contributions at the sampler Kapitel 1: Zeit für was Echtes. He also gained attention by his contribution on the sampler La Connexion and on singles from fellow rappers Kollegah and Manuellsen.
On 29 October 2010, Haftbefehl released his first album called Azzlack Stereotyp, which reached 59 on MusicLine's Top 100 chart on 15 November 2010. After the closing of the label Echte Musik he launched his own label called Azzlacks.
In Spring 2012, Haftbefehl released his second album, Kanackiş, which contains songs with other famous German musicians like Jan Delay and Sido. On the 15th anniversary of the death of American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., the splash! magazine released a mixtape named The Notorious H.A.F.T.
With the single Chabos wissen wer der Babo ist, Haftbefehl entered the German single charts for the first time.
Haftbefehl married in 2016 and currently has two children. His younger brother is also a rapper, who goes under the moniker Capo. His older brother, Aytac, was sentenced to four years in prison for bank robbery in 2017. In October 2025, a Netflix documentary called "Babo: The Haftbefehl Story" was released.https://www.netflix.com/title/81687374
Discography
Albums Azzlack Stereotyp (2010) Kanackiş (2012) Blockplatin (2013) Russisch Roulette (2014) Unzensiert (2015) Der Holland Job with Xatar (2016) Das weisse Album (2020) Das schwarze Album (2021) Mainpark Baby (2022)
Awards and nominations
Results +YearAwardNominationWorkResult2010HipHop.de AwardsBest Newcomer NationalHimself Best Single National"Gestern Gallus, heute Charts" Best Album National"Azzlack Stereotyp" 2011Best CollaborationHimself (with Kollegah, Farid Bang) 2012Best Free Release National"The Notorious H.A.F.T." Best Video National"Chabos wissen wer der Babo ist" Best Beat National Best Punchline"Muck bloss nicht uff hier, du Rudi" 2014Best Release National"Russisch Roulette" Best Song National"Ich Rolle Mit Meim Besten" (with Marteria) Best Video National"Ihr H*rensöhne/Saudi Arabi Money Rich" Best Rap-Solo-Act NationalHimself 2016Best Release National"Unzensiert" 2020Lyricist of the YearHimself Best Rap-Solo-Act National Best Album National"Das weisse Album" 2021"Das schwarze Album" Best Rap-Solo-Act NationalHimself Best Song National"Wieder am Block" (with Soufian) Best Video National"Offen/Geschlossen" Beat of the Year"Lebe Leben"
References
External links
Video interview, May 2010. .