Die Fantastischen Vier

Die Fantastischen Vier (also known as Fanta4) is a German hip-hop group from Stuttgart. Towards the end of the 1980s, Andreas Rieke, Michael B. Schmidt, Thomas D?rr and Michael Beck formed the group The Terminal Team. In 1989 they changed the band name to Die Fantastischen Vier ("The Fantastic Four"). From then on they produced German hip hop, being one of the very first groups to do so. Their 1992 track Die da (Her There) was arguably the first German hip hop hit and also the breakthrough for the Fanta4.

Towards the end of the 1980s, Andreas Rieke, Michael B. Schmidt, Thomas D?rr and Michael Beck formed the group The Terminal Team. In 1989 they changed the band name to Die Fantastischen Vier ("The Fantastic Four"). From then on they produced German hip hop, being one of the very first groups to do so. Their 1992 track Die da (Her There) was arguably the first German hip hop hit and also the breakthrough for the Fanta4. In the following albums the band matured and produced one hit after the other up to their current success, Unplugged (2001), the CD version of their mtv unplugged performance.

Band members:
Michael Beck aka Dee Jot Hausmarke, King Burger B.
Andreas Rieke aka And.Ypsilon
Thomas D?rr aka Thomas D
Michael B. Schmidt aka Smudo

Discography
* Jetzt Gehts Ab (1991) (Now Starting Off)
* Vier gewinnt (1992) (referring to the German edition of "Connect Four")
* Die 4. Dimension (1993) (The Fourth Dimension)
* Lauschgift (1995) (Pun referring to German verb "lauschen" - "eavesdrop on" and German noun "Rauschgift" - "narcotics")
* Live und Direkt (1996)
* 4:99 (1999)
* Unplugged (2001)
* Viel (2004) (Much)
* Fornika (2007)
* Für Dich Immer Noch Fanta Sie (2010) (For you still Fantastic them - a pun mixing a phrase which means "we are not on a first name basis" and "for you [we still have|offer] Fantasy)