Already in May 2022, Elvir Omerbegovic announced the end of the Selfmade Records label. On September 27th an interview was published in which he talks in more detail about the closure of the influential record label.
In an interview with Aria Nejati, the head of hip-hop at Apple Music, Omerbegovic talks about founding Selfmade Records, his motivation, the development of the label and how it changed rap in Germany. At the same time, he is grateful for everything the artists have achieved and says about the end of the label: “Of course, from a sports perspective, we probably should have closed in 2016 or 2017. But that wasn’t the point. I just did what I promised.”
That’s why there will be another Karate Andi album in 2022 under the direction of Selfmade Records and then it’s over.
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Elvir Omerbegovic and Philipp Dammann founded the Selfmade Records label in 2005. Elvir managed it until 2014 together with his business partner Thomas Burkholz. This was followed by Markus Huber from Universal Music. Omerbegovic says the advantages are short distances, fewer mistakes and much more focus on the product plus a significantly larger skillset.
“I am very proud that Selfmade Records has been so successful for so long and I am pleased that we are working in a similar way with Division.”
Many important German rap artists started their careers at Selfmade Records. Whether Kollegah, Casper, Genetikk, the 257ers, Farid Bang or Karate Andi – all of them are currently still a relevant part of the music scene.
Over 40 albums have been released on Selfmade Records. Twelve of them reached number one on the charts and two-thirds of all artists were certified gold or platinum.
Elvir Omerbegovic is the sole owner of the record label and is also the founder of DIVISION, which features RIN, Schmyt and Kynda Gray.