Nima Najafi-Hashemi, born on May 22, 1982 in Tehran, is one of the defining figures of German horrorcore rap under the stage name MC Basstard. Also known as Battle Basstard, MC Basstard One or "Der kleine Mann", the rapper came to Berlin as a refugee from Iran and developed into a co-founder of the German horrorcore rap scene. Najafi-Hashemi got his start in the hip-hop scene through the Sunday freestyle sessions at the Royal Bunker Café and the weekly sessions at the ufaFabrik. His first own tracks were promoted by the rapper Frauenarzt, including the first tape Rap Dämon 2000 on Bassboxxx. MC Basstard is a member of Berlin Crime and the Bass Crew. In 2004, MC Basstard founded a label called Horrorkore Entertainment. His music is characterized by mystical content, often based on occult and horror themes. Together with Taktlo$$, he released the album Dogma (Gegen die Zeit) in 2005 and toured Germany with King Orgasmus One, Godsilla, Taktloss, DJ Manny Marc and Massiv. MC Basstard achieved his first chart success in 2015 with the album Meister der Zeremonie, which reached number 24 in the German album charts. From 2017 to 2019, he was a member of the rap group Zombiez together with Tamas, G-Ko, MaXXi.P and KSV, whose debut album Gott ist tot was released on June 1, 2018 and reached number 35 in the German charts. Since 2022, he has been part of the horrorcore group Zombiez again as Purple Z. MC Basstard's discography includes the albums Rap Dämon (2000), Obscuritas Eterna (2002), Fegefeuer (2003), the Zwiespalt trilogy with Zwiespalt (Grau) (2008), Zwiespalt (Schwarz) (2009) and Zwiespalt (Weiß) (2011) as well as Meister der Zeremonie (2015). In May 2025, the rapper returns with Nima. The album reaches number 36 in the German charts.
