Why Ufo361 is an exciting case for the ENT

It is a well-known fact that in pop it is not only important what someone says, but above all how they say it. This is especially true for rap. Think of Lauryn Hill’s regal, kick-ass-leaning style, Missy Elliott’s or Lil Wayne’s insane ad libs. To Drake, who sounds like he’s sniffed, offended, or both.

An exciting case for the ENT is also Ufo361, who was number 2 in the charts with his new album LOVE MY LIFE when this column was published. The Berlin rapper often sounds like he’s about to sneeze but first wanted to say something quickly. Or rather: slowly. In auto-tune whimsical songs, Ufuk Bayraktar, as his real name is, performs his love for the delayed syrupy sound of southern rap; some even claim that nobody has translated US trap into German as well as he has.

A figure that should bring tears of joy to the eyes of nouveau gallery owners

Three years ago he recorded the song “Big Drip” with his idol Future, and celebrities like Gunna, Offset and 070 Shake are now also on LOVE MY LIFE. Ufo has long been a figure that nouveau riche gallery owners (and their young, rich customers who wear mules, cargo pants or other hip insignia of the precarious) should bring tears of joy to their eyes. A puke like Bonez MC used to be his feature guest, today Anne Imhof drops in. The visual artist also designed the cover of LOVE MY LIFE (choose a horror clown) and posed for him in a Prada turtleneck for a recent GQ cover story. In return, he made the sound for her exhibition “Youth” in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

While Ufo used to be the gangster and rapped gangster things, today he sometimes wears high heels. “If I’m chilling with Kylie Jenner or going into the studio with Offset, then you can and should do a movie like that,” he said in the GQ interview. What Ufo, the mumbo-jumbo, has to say in this “film” is of little interest. What matters is how he does it.

This column first appeared in the Musikexpress issue 05/2023.