Pierre Baigorry is a German reggae and hip hop musician that goes under the stage name Peter Fox. Fox has known success throughout Europe as both a solo hip hop artist and as part of the dancehall band ‘Seeed’. Fox’s trademark is that the right side of his face has slight paralysis as a result of misdiagnosed facial nerve paralysis.
Fox’s music is a blend of pumping bass, maniacal lyrics and hints of smooth reggae influeces. He released his debut solo album in 2007 Stadtaffe to an unforeseeable success in both Germany and continental Europe. The album is entirely in German but like a true artist there is no language barrier at all on the album. The lead single Alles Neu uses a haunting string section, army march drum beat and Fox’s rapping / singing creates an alternative hip hop beat that quickly gets stuck in your head. The most successful single of the album is the track Haus Am See is the most heavily influenced by reggae music. It’s a real relaxing beat that became the 82nd best-selling single 0f 2008. The highlight of the album is the album only track Der Letzte Tag, a jungle beat that heavily uses the horn and the didgeridoo and the lyrics continually shift flawlessly between English and German.
What seperates Peter Fox from his international hip hop counterparts is his history of being in the successful dancehall group Seeed. Where a lot of producers and artists would use machines and programmes to create their music Fox uses actual instruments to create the beats for his album. Fox has stated that due to the stress from the success of his album he currently has no plans to release a sophomore album instead he plans to go back and work with his band Seeed.
