Kontra K

Kontra K (born July 3, 1987 in Berlin) is a singer and rapper from Germany. His real name is Maximilian Diehn. Kontra K is currently under contract with the BMG record label. Kontra K discovered his love of rap music in his youth. His musical role models include the US rappers Nas, 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G. and Naughty By Nature. Kontra K's debut album, Dobermann, was released in 2010. Kontra K achieved his first commercial success with his third album 12 Runden, which reached number 8 in the German charts in 2013. The follow-up albums Aus Dem Schatten Ins Licht (2015) and Labyrinth (2016) made it to top positions in the German-language charts, with the 2016 album Kontra K even reaching number 1 in the German album charts. Kontra K also reached the top position in the German charts with the longplayers Gute Nacht (2017), Erde & Knochen (2018), Sie Wollten Wasser Doch Kriegen Benzin (2019), Vollmond (2020) and Aus Dem Licht In Den Schatten Zurück (2021). Kontra K hit another number 1 in 2022 with the album Für den Himmel Durch die Hölle. Kontra K celebrates greater success with the singles "Ikarus" (2016), "Diamanten" (2017), "Soldaten 2.0" (2017), "Fame" (2018), "Puste Sie Weg" (2020), "Tiefschwarz" (2020) and "Follow" (2022, together with Leony & Sido). Kontra K is voted Best Hip-Hop Act several times for his music by listeners of the radio station 1LIVE and awarded the 1LIVE Krone by the station's editorial team. In 2023, the rapper achieved his first number 1 placement in Germany together with Lana Del Ray and the single "Summertime". Together with Mark Forster, Kontra K scores another hit with "Wenn du mich vergisst". The rapper's 12th studio album Die Hoffnung klaut mir Niemand follows in fall 2023. In 2025, Kontra K releases the singles "Geboren um zu leben" (together with Unheilig and Ness) and "Bring mich nach Haus" (together with Santos), among others, and reaches the top 10 of the German charts. The number 1 album Augen träumen Herzen sehen followed at the beginning of October 2025. In Austria and Switzerland, the rapper reaches number 2 in the charts.