If Milane Baybah weren’t a real person, he could be the lead character in a socially critical biopic. Growing up in socially deprived circumstances, the rapper and singer taught himself the saxophone and piano at the age of just six and dug through soul, jazz, and R’n’B classics in his free time. At eleven, he discovered French hip-hop, started rapping under his nickname “Milano”, and released his first tracks. Then, things started to take off: Collaborations with Sinan-G and Rooz preceded a signing with Vertigo Records, and the EP “Für Dich” (2022) was a resounding success. Moreover, with the Eddin feature “Au revoir”, he has also managed to rake in over 40 million streams on Spotify to date. But the fact that Milano’s highly emotional signature sound – which lies somewhere between pop, rap, and R&B – strikes a chord with anyone who is newly in love or newly separated is only the half of it: The DIY artist’s lyrics also walk a well-thought-out line between sensitive everyday lyricism and catchy hooks with plenty of earworm qualities. The ease with which he was able to drop two first-class hit singles this year alone with “So wie du” and “On/Off” is not just an impressive career statement: The musical proliferation of this man – who has built up his status from nothing – also shows him to be an artist with real ambitions.