Meet Grafi, Germany’s Latest Black Metal Rapper

I don’t know if the fact that Germany seems to be the center of a(n admittedly pretty small) scene of rappers who also love extreme music makes no sense whatsoever, or more sense than anything has ever made before. Regardless, this is the case. In 2015, we all fell in love with Romano, a pigtailed, American-football-loving MC who wrote an ode to bands like Mayhem, Emperor, Darkthrone, and Satyricon; now we’ve got Grafi (not to be confused with Raffi), who describes his music as being a hybrid of black metal and trap. I guess there are no last names allowed in the burgeoning German black metal/hip-hop hybrid scene.

ANYWAY, Grafi does have a leg up on Romano in that his new single, “Stratokumuli,” actually incorporates elements of black metal music, instead of just paying homage lyrically. He does not have a leg up on Romano in that his music is pretty bad. So. Uh. Yup.

If you’re curious, you can check out “Stratokumuli” below. It will appear on Grafi’s new album, Unter Null, which, based on the cover art (above), we can safely assume is about a sad snowboarder trapped in Castlevania. It comes out October 26, and can be pre-ordered here if you’re feeling generous.