Jan Delay

Jan Delay

Genres: german, funk, reggae, Hip-Hop, hip hop

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About Jan Delay

Jan Delay (born 20 February 1976 in Hamburg, Germany, as Jan Philipp Eißfeldt) is a German musician known for his work in hip-hop, reggae, soul, and funk, as well as occasional voice acting. He is a member of the group Beginner and also performs as a solo artist. Jan Delay is the son of artist and professor Dörte Eißfeldt and filmmaker and musician Theo Janßen. He grew up in the Hamburg-Eppendorf residential project on Haynstraße. From 1986 to 1995, he attended Helene-Lange-Gymnasium in Hamburg, where he completed his Abitur and met his future bandmates from Beginner. He also played basketball at BC Johanneum with Stefan Fabinger, the cousin of rapper Torch and later manager of Absolute Beginner. His early musical influences included Prince, the Blues Brothers, Nina Hagen, Spliff, Madonna, Rio Reiser, and Udo Lindenberg. He was also influenced by Public Enemy’s album "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" and recognized that rap and hip-hop could work with German lyrics through the music of Advanced Chemistry from Heidelberg. As a member of Beginner, formerly Absolute Beginner, he is often credited as Eizi Eiz or Eißfeldt, while he uses the pseudonym Jan Delay for his solo work, particularly in reggae and funk. Together with Tropf, he forms the duo La Boom. The name Jan Delay references the rapper Young Deenay and the delay effect commonly used in reggae and dancehall music. He has also used the pseudonym Boba Ffett on underground releases, inspired by the Star Wars character Boba Fett. In 1997, he co-founded the label Eimsbush, which declared bankruptcy in 2003. His debut solo album "Searching for the Jan Soul Rebels," recorded with the Sam Ragga Band and released in 2001, was critically acclaimed for blending various musical styles. The album title references the debut album "Searching for the Young Soul Rebels" by Dexys Midnight Runners. It was produced in collaboration with Matthias Arfmann, who had also worked on Beginner’s early albums and Patrice’s debut album. In the same year, he contributed to the single "Vorsprechtermin" with the Hamburg City Allstars, which spent nine weeks on the German singles chart, peaking at number 44. In August 2006, Jan Delay released his second solo album "Mercedes-Dance," produced with his band Disko No. 1, Matthias Arfmann, and Tropf. The album, featuring jazz tones and strong funk elements, reached number one on the German charts in its first week. The lyrics were less socially and politically critical than his earlier work. A live album and DVD of "Mercedes-Dance" were also released. The single "Klar" preceded the album. For live performances, he collaborates with Disko No. 1. He represented Hamburg at the 3rd Bundesvision Song Contest in 2007 with the song "Feuer," finishing in second place. He also performed at Live Earth in Hamburg on 7 July 2007. He provided the German voice for Japeth in the film "Die Rotkäppchen-Verschwörung" and Vector in "Ich – Einfach unverbesserlich." In 2009, he performed a concert for students and teachers in collaboration with the radio station 1 Live. After working with Udo Lindenberg on the album "Stark wie Zwei," he released his third solo album, "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Soul," in August 2009, again emphasizing funk and soul. The album reached number one on the German album charts. He influenced changes in the Hamburg film "Soul Kitchen" by Fatih Akin to improve the film’s pacing before allowing one of his songs to be used. In June 2010, he released the live album "Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Soul Live." On 14 May 2011, he performed with Disko No. 1 at the Eurovision Song Contest final in Düsseldorf. In 2011, he appeared on the German version of Sesame Street in the Ernie & Bert segments. On 11 April 2014, he released the album "Hammer & Michel" with a rock style. During the 2014 Echo Awards, he performed the song "St. Pauli" from the album, which reached number ten on the German singles chart the following day. Another single, "Liebe," reached number 59. In 2016, Beginner released "Advanced Chemistry," which reached number one on the album charts. On 24 August 2018, Jan Delay released the stadium ballad "Grün-weiße Liebe" for Werder Bremen, included on the 2019 double album "Lauter Werder," with a music video featuring Thomas Schaaf. In 2021, he performed at a Fridays for Future demonstration in Hamburg alongside Zoe Wees and AnnenMayKantereit, attended by around 80,000 people. The same year, he participated in the game show "Joko & Klaas gegen ProSieben" and released his fifth studio album "Earth, Wind and Feiern," marking a return to hip-hop and reggae. In May 2025, SWR released the three-part documentary series "Forever Jan: 25 Jahre Jan Delay," documenting his career and featuring interviews with his parents and collaborators including Udo Lindenberg, Fatih Akin, Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, and Olli Dittrich. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Delay Studio albums Searching for the Jan Soul Rebels (2001) Mercedes Dance (2006) Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Soul ("We Children of Train Station Soul", 2009) Hammer & Michel (2014) Earth, Wind & Feiern ("Earth, Wind & Parties", 2021)

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