Jan Delay

Jan Philipp Eißfeldt, professionally known by the stage name Jan Delay, is a German singer and rapper. His musical work encompasses a variety of stylistic influences, predominantly focusing on hip hop, reggae, dub, and funk. Beyond his work as an accomplished solo artist, he gained wider public recognition through his involvement as a member of the German bands Absolute Beginner and La Boom. In 2011, he performed alongside his group Disko No. 1 during the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest held in Düsseldorf.

Jan Delay was born in Hamburg, Germany, on August 25, 1976. For his secondary education, he attended the bilingual Helene-Lange-Gymnasium over a nine-year period spanning from 1986 until 1995.

During the 1990s, Delay established his presence in the music industry as one third of the pioneering German hip hop group Beginner. His chosen stage name was conceived as a direct reference to the 1990s pop music act Young Deenay, while also paying homage to the delay or echo effect, which represents an important audio element within reggae and dancehall music genres.

Throughout his ongoing career, Delay has developed several distinct personal trademarks. Most notably, he is recognized for his unique, somewhat nasal vocal delivery. Furthermore, he frequently changes his stage name depending on his current musical style, overall mood, and specific collaboration partners. In terms of visual presentation, he is bald and regularly wears a hat along with sunglasses.

In 1997, Delay expanded his professional activities by founding his own record label, Eimsbush, together with partners from the Hamburg hip-hop scene. The primary objective of establishing Eimsbush was to support and guide fresh underground talents, helping them pave their way into the broader music business without requiring them to sell out to major record labels.

The creation of the label took place while the German hip hop scene was going through a major boom phase during the mid and late 1990s. According to Delay, this environment resulted in a situation where virtually anyone was permitted to rap if they could hold up a microphone. Consequently, real talent frequently stepped back from pursuing commercial success out of fear of being viewed as sellouts by the underground hip-hop community.

The Eimsbush label ultimately operated for six years before being shut down in 2003. The closure of the company was driven by financial reasons, resulting from the naive concept of simply believing in talent that existed outside of the mainstream music business.