Ikkimel (DE)

About

Also known as: Ikki Mel, Melina Gaby Strauß

Berlin rapper Ikkimel has built her sound on a provocative mix of hyperpop, Jersey Club beats, trance and house samples, wrapped around lyrics that tackle sex, drugs, partying and a sharp mockery of macho culture. She describes her style as "Fotzenstyle" and pulls musical inspiration from Blümchen, Peter Fox and Frauenarzt, a combination that tells you exactly how weird and fun her corner of German rap gets. Her debut EP Aszendent Bitch landed in 2023, the same year she signed to Four Music (Sony Music) and cracked the German charts with Keta und Krawall. Her debut album Fotze, released in February 2025, sharpened the conversation around her work, with critics highlighting how her radical female perspective flips sexist language on its head. The track Bezahlen had already stirred things up a year earlier when Hessischer Rundfunk tried to block it from a Die PARTEI election ad, lost the court case, and ended up broadcasting it anyway. Recent uploads suggest she has stayed busy, dropping Who's That in mid 2025 alongside a string of collaborations with artists including Money Boy and 01099.