Fard is the stage name of German rapper Farhad Nazarinejad (born on June 16, 1984), who rose to prominence in the early aughts as a competitive freestyle rapper. Known for his ruthless flow and vivid storytelling skills, Nazarinejad became obsessed with hip-hop culture in his teenage years and soon began honing his craft in freestyle battles around his hometown of Gladbeck, in the Ruhr area. After the release of his first mixtape, Blut, Schweiß, Tränen und Triumphe (2006), and a legendary victory against MC Bendt in the event Feuer über Deutschland 2, he released Omerta (2008), his first studio album. The LP quickly gained cult status in the German underground hip-hop scene and paved the way for Alter Ego (2010), Invictus (2011), and Bellum et Pax (2013), which peaked at Number 2 on the German charts and featured guest appearances by American rappers Bobby V, Redman, and Ryan Leslie. Recorded in his home studio in Gelsenkirchen, the ambitious Ego (2015) included collaborations with legendary New York rappers Mobb Deep and managed to reach Number 2 on the Swiss charts and Number 4 in Germany. Following the trap-laden blockbuster Bei Fame hört Freundschaft (2016), Nazarinejad went back to basics with Alter Ego 2 (2018), a collection of hard-hitting tracks heavily informed by 90s boom-bap. In 2020, he teamed up with Kollegah and Asche for “Sinaloa,” which accumulated millions of plays across streaming platforms and was ranked 38th on the German singles chart.
