Stress

* 25 July 1977, Swiss, Musician

Rapper Stress was born Andres Andrekson in Tallinn, Estonia in 1977 and came to Switzerland at the age of 12 with his mother and sister. He lived in Lausanne and discovered hip hop through the music of Gang Starr, EPMD and IAM.

Although his music teacher at the time advised him against singing, he tried his hand at just that. He was part of the hip-hop formation Double Pact and advanced to one of the most successful Swiss musicians with his solo career. To date, Stress has produced four No. 1 albums and tops the list of Swiss Music Awards winners with nine awards. He just released his eighth album 'Libertad' and is on tour throughout 2022.

You might think that rappers are all tough guys. But Stress is a very sensitive, humble and conscientious guy who processes information deeply and is concerned about achieving excellence in everything he does. I very much appreciated the time I spent with him at his home just outside of Zurich.