PA69 - the "PA" is pronounced in English and the "69" in German - are a rap formation from Berlin. Little or nothing is known about the identity of the three pink-masked rappers DJ DOPE, Rabatto and Turbogianni. It is certain that they grew up in the Berlin suburbs and in the north-east German province. Further rumors regarding the identity of the three members (basketball youth coach, combat diver, guide-Michelin chef, wedding DJ, doctor of law or freestyle king) and the meaning of the abbreviation PA69 cannot be confirmed beyond doubt.
beyond doubt. PA69 released their first tape, "Tape Nr. Zwei", back in 2020. Shortly afterwards, "Kingmische" became their first veritable underground hit. The
first concerts at Goa open airs and in Berlin pubs were followed by their own tour in sold-out clubs after the release of "Biertornado" in 2023.
PA69 now also attract an extremely diverse audience far beyond Berlin's city limits, playing sold-out shows in Rostock, Dortmund and Hanover and at festivals such as Spektrum, Pangea and various techno festivals. In other words, the PA69 phenomenon is slowly becoming a household name.
The fact that the people behind PA69 are so difficult to pin down gives the three rappers the tremendous freedom to slip effortlessly into the most diverse roles. Lyrically, they work with anti-styles and offbeat reference worlds, the more bizarre the better. So while other players in the music scene are all about coolness, toughness and wealth, the rappers are decidedly uncool. PA69 flirt with the very things that others look down on: life in the provinces, fingerboards, fake luxury watches or supermarket loyalty points. In short: PA69 are masters of "ironic-dadaistic twisting" (Alex Barbian). In their euphoric, sloganeering rap, PA69 also convey an intoxicated, hedonistic attitude to life and can therefore be assigned to the cosmos of Berlin "Atzen rap", which is currently being shaped by artists as diverse as Teuterekordz, BHZ, Ikkimel and $ONO$ CLIQ. The influences of certain rap greats, especially from Berlin, cannot be ignored - one is reminded of the K.IZ. Promo album, DJ Reckless, Corus86 or the Atzen or Frauenarzt and Manny Marc. Lyrically, however, PA69 never tread water. Punchlines are not directed against women or minorities - unlike what is still common in German rap. Live, PA69 deliver a special, energetic show. Always involved: an entertainer in a sun costume, a warm-up act and lead dancer in one person, carefully arranged intros from pop culture set pieces, a treadmill and the biggest firecracker available on the open market. The quality media have now also understood that the PA69 formation is something special: For the Berliner Zeitung, the band's "guaranteed never-before-heard, creative rap lines" are "unbelievable fun" although it is "by no means a pure fun project". For the Tagesspiegel, the "mood phenomenon PA69" is already one of the most exciting newcomers of 2024.