Matthias "Matze" Knop was born on November 11, 1974 in Lippstadt, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began his career as a radio editor at Radio Bielefeld and studied journalism at the University of Dortmund. He became famous in the late 1990s with the comedy character Richie, later Supa Richie, who gained great popularity with parodies of footballers and celebrities such as Franz Beckenbauer and Jürgen Klopp. Matthias Knop released several albums under the name Richie, including Sonst hol isch meinä Brüda! (1997), Für Dir! (1998) and Bin billisch! (2003). Well-known singles from this phase are "Lach isch, oda was?" (1997), "Supa Richie" (1998) and "A.L.D.I." (2003). From 2009, he performs under his real name and releases songs such as "(Luca sei per me) Numero uno" (2009), "Pokal Again" (2010) and "I wanna be like Jürgen Klopp" (2011). The single "Musiala" was released in 2023 , followed by "Wir sagen Danke schön (Stadionversion)" together with Olaf the pinball machine in 2024. Matthias Knop is a multiple award winner: in 2005 he received the Kind Award, in 2008 the Sportbild Award in the category "TV Darlings of the Year". In 2013 he won the Magic Comedy Festival in Switzerland, and in 2023 he was awarded the Narrenotto of the Lindener Narren. In 1998, he was nominated for the German Phono Award ECHO in the "Comedy" category, followed by a nomination for the German Comedy Award for Best Comedian in 2010.
