Xavier Naidoo

Xavier Kurt Naidoo (German: [ˈkseːviɐ naɪˈduː]; born 2 October 1971) is a German soul and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member of German band Söhne Mannheims, and started two record labels, Beats Around the Bush and Naidoo Records. Naidoo also has a successful solo career. His debut album Nicht von dieser Welt (1998) has sold over 1 million records, and all his next six albums Zwischenspiel – Alles für den Herrn (2002), Telegramm für X (2005), Alles kann besser werden (2009), Danke für's Zuhören (2012), Bei meiner Seele (2013) und Nicht von dieser Welt 2 (2016) reached number 1 on the German album charts. Most of his songs are in German, but he has also released a few English songs. He has been the subject of multiple controversies due to the content of his songs, political statements, adherence to conspiracy theories, propagation of far-right talking points as well as his use of homophobic, antisemitic, and racist tropes. Naidoo is also a climate change denier. Career Born and raised in Mannheim, West Germany, to South African parents of South African Indian, Telugu, German and Irish descent, Naidoo worked in several jobs in the food and music industries before relocating to the United States in the early 1990s, where he released his first full-length English-language album Seeing Is Believing under his stage name Kobra in 1994. He currently resides in Heidelberg in his native Germany.