Max Herre

Maximilian Herre, born on 22 April 1973, is a German rapper, singer-songwriter, and music producer who gained prominence as a member of the group Freundeskreis. Alongside his performing career, Herre works as a producer and serves as an A&R representative for the record label Nesola.

Born in Stuttgart, Herre decided to create hip-hop in German after listening to the group Advanced Chemistry. He formed his first band, Seedless Jam, at age 15. Four years later, he launched the hip-hop project Agit Jazz with producer Philippe A. Kayser (Don Philippe). In 1993, they added DJ Friction (Martin Welzer) to form Maximilian und sein Freundeskreis for live performances. That same year, Herre co-founded the Stuttgart hip-hop collective Kolchose.

In 1997, Freundeskreis signed with the label Four Music. They achieved a commercial breakthrough with the single A-N-N-A, which sold over 250,000 copies. The group's debut album, Die Quadratur des Kreises, sold over 170,000 copies, while their 1999 follow-up album, Esperanto, sold over 300,000 copies. That year, they also recorded the live double-album En Directo der FK Allstars. After pausing performances in 2000, the group re-emerged in 2007 at festivals such as the MTV Hip-Hop Open in Stuttgart to mark their tenth anniversary.

Herre also formed the FK-Allstars, a 15-artist collaboration featuring musicians such as Gentleman, Afrob, Sékou, Joy Denalane, and Brooke Russell. They performed at major festivals in 2000, including Rock am Ring, Rock im Park, and Splash!, before Herre left the project. In 2001, following the birth of his first son, Herre focused on producing his wife Joy Denalane's debut album, Mami. The album reached the top 10 in Germany and received three Echo Award nominations. He later produced her 2006 album, Born and Raised.

In September 2004, Herre released his commercially successful self-titled debut solo album, Max Herre, blending hip-hop with soul, reggae, and rock. In April 2006, he co-founded the record label Nesola with Denalane, Götz Gottschalk, and Sophie Raml. He released his second solo album, Ein Geschenkter Tag, in 2009, followed by his third album, Hallo Welt!, in 2012, which was dedicated to his daughter.

In 2013, Herre recorded MTV Unplugged Kahedi Radio Show, becoming the third German hip-hop artist included in the German MTV Unplugged series. The album reached gold status within two weeks and subsequently achieved platinum status, earning Herre the 2014 Echo Award for hip-hop performer of the year. In November 2019, after a six-year break, he released his fifth solo album, Athen.

Herre is married to Joy Denalane, with whom he has two sons; he also has a daughter. The couple separated in October 2007 but reunited in March 2011.