He looks like a rocker: lots of dark brown leather, long hair braided into a perfect braid. He describes himself as a rapper and gangster who shakes his dancing leg every now and then. But anyone who listens to him realizes that there is much more to this than singing. We are talking about Apache 207, the chart phenomenon known to all of Germany since he collaborated with Udo Lindenberg. The joint song “Komet” helped Lindenberg achieve great success – not the other way around. After 53 years in the music industry, the hometown of Hamburg scored its first victory.
In the case of Apache 207 it was one of many and still a special one, as he explains at the Openair Frauenfeld. The two-metre man was on stage there on Thursday as one of the first pioneers of the three-day festival.
“You already made me sweat,” the midnight rapper says. Ten minutes earlier, the curtain fell, revealing a neon scene consisting of a gas station with a kiosk and a car wash. Beads of sweat are not surprising after a day with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and a show that looks like sports. The 26-year-old says he has been neglecting himself lately, before throwing huge balls into the crowd. Apache 207 jumps itself from one end of the stage to the other, fireworks pop constantly and fire fountains provide extra heat.
More than two billion streams
The fans are singing from the first lines of “Unterwegs”, they are sure of the lyrics and have heard the songs many times. According to the rapper’s own information, he has over two billion streams. This makes it clear: his music does not follow the spirit of the moment, but creates and changes it. In fact, it is difficult to fit in ready-made drawers.
Of course there is filming when Apache 207 appears. He has 1.7 million followers on Instagram. | Image: Raphael Arndt
Apache remains the same, he promised that in one of his first songs “Roller” in 2019. It is one of the most successful German songs of all time, leaving the charts recently after more than 216 weeks and even overtaking on the Christmas evergreen “Last Christmas” by Wham.
But who is Apache 207 really? In Frauenfeld it was modest: It was a great honor to be able to stand on this stage at this time. He wanted to use his 70 minutes in Switzerland to chat a little and play a lot. After all, he now has three albums under his belt.
He doesn’t like to talk anyway. It took years until the musician Apache 207 became someone who allowed to look behind the face of the sunglasses. In the beginning of his career he released one top title after another, but it wasn’t until three years later that he gave interviews in 2022 that went beyond self-stage clips on Instagram.
It was a pivotal year that made it clear: Apache 207 is here to stay. After being postponed three times due to the corona pandemic, he was finally able to play the sold-out tour. Since then, he has taken steps in his second home; in Frauenfeld he reports on 24 shows in the last 35 days.
The name is a mystery
To this day, interviews with Apache 207 are rare and there are several rumors circulating about his intentions, his content, and his private life. It starts with the name: It is now clear that it is a nickname that goes back to his mother, as he explained in an interview – without any reference to the Native Americans. His real name is Volkan Yaman.
Apache 207 at the Openair Frauenfeld: The two-meter man is modest despite the greatest success ever. | Image: Raphael Arndt
And what does 207 stand for? The media assumed it was the constituency number of his hometown, but in fact 207 referred to Ludwigshafen/Frankenthal in Rhineland-Palatinate as of 2017. But Apache at least provided some clarity: “It’s just a number that means nothing but my brother and I know it.”
Some needed to add to the Apache name, otherwise you’ll just find helicopters on the Internet. The artist is probably better known in this country now than the twin-engine attack helicopter, which is primarily used by the US Army.
Single mother, poorer circumstances
Apache 207 looks flashy, even in Frauenfeld he stands on stage with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. But it provides a great canvas for the stories that have shaped hip-hop since its inception. His songs are about growing up in poor conditions in the Gartenstadt area of Ludwigshafen (rats and plaster from the walls in “What do you know”), the absence of a father (“After 22 years, I realized / My father just needed a quick get a fag” in “Laochra”) and over and over again his mother, who was a single parent and shouldn’t have worried.
The two-meter man in Frauenfeld says that he comes from the ghetto when he announces the song “Komet”: “With this number, many people who come from the ghetto have become very rich, including me.” celebrate hip-hop with it, even if it doesn’t fit thematically.
He gives himself a tough look with a sparkly guitar accompaniment and leather clothes. Apache 207 during his presence at the Openair Frauenfeld. | Image: Raphael Arndt
A self-proclaimed gangster also talks about fear
But what is right when it comes to Apache? It sounds too poppy for a classic rapper. The driving melodies have influences from R’n’B, Eurodance and the nineties. And sometimes the lyrics are too vulnerable for a self-proclaimed gangster: Apache 207 doesn’t want to be alone (“Break your heart”) and talks openly about fear (“Angst”).
He also mentions this in his most famous song “Roller”: “Mark it hard, brother / When you get to the bottom of it / You realize that’s not the case.” he says in his latest work, “Loser,” but it’s already been done: “Of all the losers, nobody will hear you today / The crowd is screaming loudly, everything is sold out.”
This is not entirely about the Openair Frauenfeld, because tickets were still available for the first time since 2015. But that was probably not because of Apache 207, but because other highlights were missing from the program. In any case, the man leaves two meters as he came: meteorically, with great applause and fireworks.