Sabrina Setlur

Sabrina Setlur (born 10 January 1974), formerly known as Schwester S., is a German singer, rapper, songwriter and occasional actress. Her debut was in 1995 under the guidance of 3p Records executive and mentor Moses Pelham, producer of her breakthrough single "Ja Klar." Following the drop of her pseudonym and a number-one single, "Du Liebst Mich Nicht," in 1997, a series of hit records established her position as Germany's "best known and highest-selling female rap act" to date. Setlur is the only artist to date to have ever won three ECHO Awards for "Best National Female Artist." According to several sources, she has sold more than two million albums and singles domestically. Her most recent album was released in 2007. Setlur is the elder of two sisters born to Krishnan Setlur, a Kannadiga banker, and his wife Theresa, a Malayali nurse, in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse. She and her four-years-younger sister Yvonne were primarily raised in Bad Soden am Taunus, where Setlur became acquainted with future Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt members Thomas Hofmann and Moses Pelham in her high school years. After a spontaneous performance of Dr. Dre's "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" in 1993 Hofmann and Pelham asked her to contribute a verse to the early Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt track "Wenn Es Nicht Hart Ist." As she had never rapped before, Setlur reportedly hesitated; but soon accepted their invitation into the recording studio. Impressed by her talent, Pelham offered her a record contract with Pelham Power Productions, and as a result Setlur quit studying business administration and instead signed a deal with 3p Records. In 1995, Setlur released the Moses Pelham-produced double A single "Hier kommt die Schwester/Pass auf" under the pseudonym Schwester S. Her breakthrough single was "Ja klar" from her debut album S ist soweit (ranking #11), which was released in February 1995. In 1996 she won the ECHO award for "Best Female Artist". In addition, she began her own hip hop broadcast on the radio station hr3.