Nicki Daniels

Once upon a time, long ago, in 1978, a little boy named Nenad Maticki, the son of Croatian parents, was born in Stuttgart. Back then, however, no one could have guessed that many years later he would come to be known as Nicki Daniels. Just as his parents had no idea at the time that they would stay in Germany and not return to Croatia as planned.

Years later, after a relatively uneventful childhood, something truly pivotal happened when he was 16 years old. Nenad, who until then had listened only to rock and heavy metal, heard the song “Luniz – I Got 5 On It” on the radio, and that song would change his life. He began to idolize rap. From then on, he used his own poems as the basis for his first attempts at rapping. Back then, he had to make do with a mixing console he’d bought for 50 DM and a simple cassette deck to record his raps. From then on, he worked obsessively on his own rap lyrics. Even friends who had laughed at him at first noticed how obsessed he was with rapping and encouraged him to keep going. He teamed up with the singer Baris, and together they formed the group “Face II Face”; they made music exclusively as a duo and became close friends in the process. One thing was clear to both of them: Neither would ever record a song without the other!

When, through an acquaintance, they made contact with a producer in 1997, a dream—their first studio session—quickly came true. Just the thought of a real studio recording brought both of them to tears of joy. After the recordings were made in the studio, the producer at the time decided he wanted to continue working only with Nenad. But the rapper—loyal then as he is now—decided not to break his word to his friend Baris. For Nenad, one thing was certain: without his friend Baris, there would be no more recordings. And so—despite the studio owner’s attempts to persuade him—the collaboration with that producer inevitably came to an end.

Now both were fired up and wanted to prove themselves together. They needed a new producer! After a long search, they made contact with producer Bob Darwin in 1999, and shortly thereafter, “Face II Face” became the group “Free Team.” After just a few weeks, the song “Keep Me” was written, which would indeed be released soon after. So Nenad needed a stage name. Since all his friends called him “Nicki” anyway, it made sense for Nenad to become “Nicki.” And over a glass of wine to toast the upcoming release, Nicki thought to himself: Why not “Nicki Daniels”?! And so the name Nicki Daniels was born.

After various releases and stage, TV, and radio appearances, the group Free Team eventually disbanded. Had it not been for his girlfriend at the time—and now his wife—Tanja, who—then as now—always supported him and gave him stability during difficult times, the end of Nicki Daniels’ musical career would likely have been sealed back then.

Shortly thereafter—in 2003—Nicki Daniels became the father of an adorable daughter and took a one-year “paternity leave.”

Now the time had come for Nicki Daniels to pursue a solo career. He still visited his former producer Bob Darwin—who had become a friend over the years—in his studio from time to time. During one such visit, he met Stuttgart-based Apollo producer Tanassi Koulidis there. After a pleasant conversation, they agreed to meet to discuss the possibility of collaborating. Tanassi Koulidis, his production partner Theo Chalkias, and Nicki Daniels hit it off so well right away that a future collaboration was quickly decided upon—a partnership that would go on to prove extremely successful: Nicki Daniels now has over 30 releases to his credit and also writes lyrics for artists such as MC G. Gabriel and Lil’Missy.

Nicki Daniels now feels right at home with the producer duo Tanassi Koulidis and Theo Chalkias / APOLLO, because over the years they’ve grown into a close-knit family, and Nicki Daniels is also friends with both producers in his personal life and owes them a great deal.

In his personal life, Nicki Daniels’ family is what matters most to him, and just as in the past, he remains obsessed with rapping—true to the motto: Fight for what you love. Nicki Daniels is also aware that without his fans, he would never be where he is today, and he thanks them from the bottom of his heart.