German rapper Marteria, who also records as Marsimoto, was born Marten Laciny on December 4, 1982, in Rostock, East Germany. He played soccer as a kid and teenager, and became a member of the FC Hansa Rostock's youth team. After his older brother introduced him to hip-hop acts such as Public Enemy and Run-D.M.C., Laciny began to rap in 1995, forming his first group Warn Direct and then, in 1997, adopting the Marteria pseudonym. In 1999, he moved to New York where he was discovered by a model scout, and for a year, he modeled for brands such as Diesel, Hugo Boss, and Valentino before returning to Rostock. At the age of 18, he signed with Punchline/SPV and recorded a debut album, but due to the label's bankruptcy, the effort was never released. In 2001, he became a member of the Underdog Cru, performing several live concerts with them and touring Europe together with England's Mark B & Blade, the Delinquent Habits, and Germany's Flowmarkt in 2002. In 2003, Laciny moved to Berlin, where he studied acting. In 2006, he released his first proper solo album, Halloziehnation, which he recorded as his pothead alter ego Marsimoto: a fun project that started when Laciny experimented with an effect device and created a high-pitched voice similar to American rapper Quasimoto's. The album was produced by Dead Rabbit and released by Magnum12, who also released Laciny's next (and Marteria's first official) effort, 2007's Base Ventura. The same year, Marteria toured as a support act for Jan Delay. In 2008, he signed with Four Music and released a second Marsimoto album, Zu Zweit Allein (his first chart entry in Germany at number 84). A new Marteria album followed in 2010: Zum Glück in die Zukunft, which featured guest appearances by Peter Fox, Jan Delay, and Miss Platnum. The album was produced by die Krauts (who had previously overseen Peter Fox's best-selling album Stadtaffe) and reached number seven in the German album charts. ~ Christian Genzel, Rovi
