Born in Berlin to Turkish parents, Hakan personifies German gangsta rap’s cultural pluralism but also its bleak subject matter, having found rap as an escape from gang violence. “Hardcore Rap” delivers on its title, with abrasive scratching and warbly synths surrounding Hakan’s husky bark of a flow, and on the posse cut “Gheddo”, an elegiac piano foregrounds the melancholic gang warfare memories of Hakan and his crew. “Bomba Plak”, his cut with Turkish MC Ceza, references their shared heritage, with the unsettlingly plucked baglama complementing jittery percussion for a foreboding atmosphere.