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German hip hop(locally known asDeutschrap,Deutschmeaning German) refers tohip hop musicproduced in Germany. Elements of Americanhip hop culture,such asgraffitiart andbreakdancing,diffused intoWestern Europein the early 1980s.

History

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1980–1990

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Early underground artists includedCora E.andAdvanced Chemistry.It was not until the early 1990s that German hip hop entered the mainstream as groups likeDie Fantastischen Vierand theRödelheim Hartreim Projektgained popularity. German hip hop was heavily influenced by films, leading to a strong emphasis on visual and cultural elements such asgraffitiandbreakdancingbeyond the music itself.[1]

In addition to films, such asWild StyleandBeat Street,American expats and soldiers stationed in Germany facilitated the introduction of hip hop music and culture intoGerman pop culture.

GLS Unitedreleased the first German language hip hop song,Rapper's Deutsch,in 1980.[2]While the group (consisting of three radio DJs including the later comedian and TV hostThomas Gottschalk) was formed explicitly for the one song, and the song was intended primarily as a parody ofRapper's DelightbyThe Sugarhill Gang,it was none-the-less the first German hip hop group and first German-language hip hop track. Also thepunk rockbandDie Toten Hosenreleased one of the first German hip hop songs,Hip Hop Bommi Bop,in 1983, which also was one of the firstrap rock crossoversever. The song, created in collaboration withFab 5 Freddy,is a parody hip hop version of their songEisgekühlter Bommerlunder.[3]Nina Hagenalso raps in her 1983 singleNew York / N.Y.[4]New York New York,the English version ofNew York / N.Y.,was successful in American dance charts, peaking at number nine on theBillboardHot Dance Club Songs.[5]

These hip hop movies -Wild StyleandBeat Street- led the younger audiences in Germany to realize that hip hop was much more than just rap music, but was very much acultural movementin and of itself. Though at the time of the release of the movie, it did not have a great overall impact, onceGerman reunificationbegan in 1990, the hip hop scene began to flourish.[6]As one German remembers on a visit to the US in 1986, things were much different.MTVdid not exist in Europe at the time, and the scene was still very muchunderground.Moreover, there was a lack ofEuropean hip hopclubs.[7]

After this initial wave of popularity, hip hop fans were few and far between.[8]However, the fans that did remain would play a role in theresuscitationof thehip hop culture."The hardcore hip-hop fans that remained after the breakdance craze faded from the media were central to the further development of hip hop in Germany-they supplied much of the personnel for the important rap groups that began to develop in the late 1980s and early '90s."[9]"Graffiti and breakdancing came out big but it only lasted for a short period of time. But hip hop survived in the underground."[10]

American hip hopcontinued to influence the German scene, influencing emergent acts such asRock Da Most.[11]Originally most German rappers relied on English language lyrics, a fact which has led some academics and groups of the German public to interpret the emergence of hip hop inGerman pop cultureascultural imperialism:that is to say, as a movement that emulated the culture of the United States at the expense of their native German cultural traditions.[12]The influence of American hip hop artists remains strong even in today's German language hip hop scene: music videos rely on similar symbols of power and affluence, such as cars and jewelry.[13]

Many German hip hop artists are ofTurkish-GermanorArab-Germandescent, often second- and third-generationGerman citizenswho grew up in comparatively poor or "tough" neighborhoods, which has become an influential hip hop narrative. Identification with their roots in neighborhoods remains an important aspect of the identity of individual rappers and their "crews".

When not rapping in English, many German rappers employ adialectof German developed in thesecommunitiesand which is therefore associated withimmigrantsand the German "ghetto". Using this language in their music, some academics have argued, enables them to levy criticism and protest aspects of society and politics that they perceive as having disadvantaged them and their communities.[14]

Die Fantastischen Vier(the Fantastic Four) are another important German hip hop group, who also began to rap in German around the same time asAdvanced Chemistry.Die Fantastischen Vier saw English rap in Germany as meaningless loyalty to "surface elements" of U.S. rap, and devoid of anyGerman politicalorsocial context.They sought to appropriate hip hop from its foreign framework, and use it to bring a voice to historical and contemporary problems in Germany.[15]The shift of rapping from English into German increased hip hop's appeal to the German people, Gastarbeiter (guest workers) included. Growing self-confidence among Germany's immigrant population coincided with the use of the German language in German hip hop, and provided them with a vocal outlet in line with the plight of poor African Americans, out of which hip hop had originally emerged.[16]

The GroupAdvanced Chemistryoriginated fromHeidelberg,Germany. As they were one of the few early hip hop groups to rap in English, they were extremely influential in promoting the hip hop scene in Germany. More importantly, however,Advanced Chemistrywas a prominent hip hop group, because of the ethnic diversity of the members.Torch,the leader of the group for instance is both of aHaitianand Germanethnic background.[17]Advanced Chemistryexploded onto the German hip hop scene in November 1992 with their first mixed single entitledFremd im eigenen Land(Foreign in Your Own Country). This song was immensely popular because it directly addressed the issue of immigrants in Germany: "In the video of the song, a band member brandishes aGerman passportin a symbolic challenge to traditional assumptions about what it means to be German. If the passport is not enough, the video implies, then what is required?German Blood?".[12]

After thereunification of Germanyin 1990, many Germans saw a growing wave of racism. Because many hip hop artists were children of immigrants,[18]this became a major theme of German hip hop.

During the 1980s Germany first saw a wave ofsecond generation immigrantscoming into the country. Immigration became a big issue in hip hop albums at this point. The German synonym for an immigrant isGastarbeiter,which meansguest worker,and theseguest workerswere rapped about often. Immigrant teenagers commonly use rap and hip hop as a way to defend themselves in their new countries. "Since honour cannot be gained, but only lost, a permanent readiness to fight is required. Thus social approval is acquired by actually defending one's honour or by exhibiting abilities such as the willingness to face physical encounter, talkativeness and humour... According to the rules of the game, the first one to whom nothing clever comes to the mind is the loser. This concept is quite similar to 'dissing' in rap."[19]

1990–1995

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In 1991, the German music labelBombasticreleased the recordKrauts with Attitude: German Hip Hop Vol. 1.The album featured fifteen songs – three in German, eleven in English, and one in French. The album was produced by DJ Michael Reinboth, a popular hip hop DJ at that time. Michael Reinboth moved toMunichin 1982 and was the first DJ to introduceGarage HouseandOld school hip hopmusic to the Munichclub scene.[20]His compilationKrauts with Attitudeis considered one of the first German hip hop albums, as it featuresDie Fantastischen Vier.The title refers toN.W.A(Niggaz with Attitude), one of the most controversial hip hop groups of the time in the United States.[6]Krauts with Attitudewas the first album tonationalizeGerman hip hop, and its album packaging reflected this. "The cover was designed in the colours of the national flag (black, red and yellow), and theliner notesread as follows: 'Now is the time to oppose somehow the self confidence of the English and the American.' "[6]

In the early 1990s, hip hop established itself in themainstream,and many new rappers emerged on the scene. One such band wasDie Fantastischen Vier,four rappers fromStuttgart,whoseoptimisticsound and lighthearted lyrics have brought them fame both in Germany and abroad. Apparently, original crew membersSmudoandThomas D,were inspired to begin rapping in German following a six-month visit to the United States. It became apparent that they had nothing in common with U.S. rappers and their essentially middle-class upbringing was foreign to that of thecultural environmentofU.S. hip hop."The group subsequently decided to concentrate on issues they saw around them, using their own language, rather than aping American styles."[21]

AlthoughDie Fantastischen Vierachieved commercial success and helped to pioneer hip hop music in Germany, they were contested for sounding "too American."[9]The group's lack ofsocially conscioustopics andsimplisticdelivery and material informed the ways in which they were viewed as a trite pop group.[9]

During 1992–93 many acts of protest occurred in the wake of risinganti-immigrationsentiment in Germany.[9]Amongst the angst of this period, the content of German hip hop started to become morepoliticized.Additionally, the language of the music started to reflect a more local voice. The groupAdvanced Chemistryhas been noted as one of the first to incorporate social critiques of growing prejudice andracism in Germany."…the newly emerging hip hop movement took a clear stance for the minorities and against themarginalisationof immigrants who, as the song said, might be German on paper, but not in real life "[22]In 1992 the group released the singleFremd im eigenen Land.The song dealt with the widespread racism thatnon-whiteGerman citizens faced. In the same year, anotherrock-hip-hop collaborationemerged. Thepunk rockbandDie Goldenen Zitronen,together with theUS-Americanrapper Eric IQ Gray and the hip-hop groupEasy Business,released themaxi-single80 000 000 Hooligans,which includes a rap version of their song80 Million Hooligans.[23][24]The song addressed the nationalism and hatred against foreigners that emerged in Germany after thereunification.

During the inception of hip hop into Germany, most popular hip hop artists have come fromWest Germany.[6]This could be because of the large immigrant population there at the time. "By 1994, the number of immigrants living in Germany had reached 6.9 million. 97 per cent of all immigrants were resident in the western part of the country, which meant that in the formerFederal Republic of Germanyand inWest Berlinevery tenth citizen was a foreigner. "[25]Of those 97% of immigrants in the Western part of Germany over 1.5 million of them originated from a European country. For example, the community with the largest number of immigrants (roughly 1.9 million people) was theTurkish community.Within the Turkish community only 5% of its people were of age 60 or older. Such statistics give justification for why hip hop may have flourished in Germany; many of the people were young. Furthermore, German hip hop, much like many other countries, was heavily influenced by the western world. During that time, a rises of anti-immigrant feelings resulted in the acts of arson and murder against the Turkishasylum seekers.In May 1993, 5 Turkish people were killed and many injured when someone attacked the home of a Turkish family with afirebomb.[9]In 1993 German hip hop "globalized"with the emergence ofViva's Freestyle;the equivalent to the AmericanYo! MTV Rapsshow.Viva's freestyleconsisted of hip hop songs from the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany.[7][26]The influx of immigrants into Germany caused an adverse effect on employment and wages. It was found that immigrants and native Germans were imperfect substitutes for each other, while old and new immigrants were interchangeable exposing an inelastic labor market.[27]

In the mid-1990s German hip hop was growing.John Clarkeused the term 'recontextualization' to describe the process of borrowing cultural ideas and integrating them into a new society. German hip hop did just this as it took US hip-hop and gave it a new meaning and identity inGerman culture.Black Americangangsta rap,however, is not the only type of rap that has developed in Germany. Some of the most innovative rap music in Germany is made by Germans or byunderground crewsdedicated to rap for both political and artistic reasons. Rap has been able to succeed in Germany not just due to a different national culture of the U.S., but also because people are responding to other racial andethnic cultures.[28] At this time, in the mid-1990s, the relation of import anddomesticrap was 70% import to 30% domestic, but domestic was increasing rapidly. CD's had practically taken over the market in Germany and cassettes were almost out and were just used forblack copies.German hip hop was yet to have a specific identity as different styles occurred due toethnicand musical background.[7]

1995–2000

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This was also a time that a lot of immigrants were moving to Germany[29]and they all came with their own culture which contrasted with or added to that of Germany.

Karakan also emerged in the German hip hop scene. In 1991, Alper Aga & Kabus Kerim formed the group inNuremberg,Germany. This year, they released the first-ever Turkish language rap track in, named "Bir Yabancının Hayatı" (Life of a Foreigner). Two years later, they released classic tracks like "Cehenneme Hoşgeldin" (Welcome to Hell) and the controversial "Defol Dazlak" (Begone Skinhead), which was released as aMaxi Single."Big Porno Ahmet" joined the group as a producer/beatmaker. Shortly, the success of Karakan spread beyond the borders of Germany and the group started to get well known within the European hip hop scene. During jams, they met Cinai Sebeke (Da Crime Posse) and Erci-E. Together, they established the legendary group CARTEL and released a compilation album in 1995. In 1997, KARAKAN finally released his first official album "Al Sana Karakan" and shot 2 videos, which marked a high point inTurkish hip hop.[30]

The multilingual and multinational group TCA- The Microphone Mafia is an example of 'Oriental Hip Hop in the German Diaspora'. They combine Spanish, Italian, Turkish and German raps with live music and samples of traditional music from all the previously named countries.[6]

2000 to present

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In October 2006, what is thought to be the first US-released commercial compilation of German hip hop (and reggae), "Big Up Berlin," was released in the US. It received 4.5 of 5 stars in All Music Guide (now known as All Music) and featured artists such asBushido,Fler,Kool Savas,Azadand others.[31]

Today, the German hip hop scene is a reflection of the many dimensions that Germany has come to represent in a unified image of Europe. Everything from "migrant hip hop," which is known as hip hop from the large Turkish immigrant population,[6]to the more humour-based groups paint a portrait of a vibrant and diverse hip hop community in Germany.

Despite common notions of the Old School German hip hop's emulation of US hip hop styles and the New School's attempt to rap about crime and violence, some "Old Schoolers[32]"feel that the New School has, in fact, forgotten about its roots. Old School supporters and Scholars disagree on the nature of the recent transformation in German hip hop. Scholars have argued that the Old School German hip hop" scene was musically and vocally oriented to American role models. Rhymes were written in English; funk and soul samples dominated musical structures ".[33]However, Old Schoolers themselves contend that it is the New School German rap artists who have been "Americanized,"[32]and therefore lack the authenticity of the struggle of the ghetto in West Germany. The German old school acknowledged that there were many differences between the situation in the United States and the situation in Germany, and aimed at expressing the concept of "realness," meaning to "be true to oneself".[32]Different from the US hip hop's equating "realness" with a tougher "street credibility,"[32]many raps that came out of the old school German hip hop "address this issue and reject unreflected imitation of US hip hop as clichés and as the betrayal of the concept of realness".[32]Furthermore, the Old School of German hip hop may have been seen as representing "a critique of White America"[32]because of its modeling after US hip hop; however, Old schoolers dispute that hip hop in Germany was about the oppression of people in Germany. One Old School artist, DJ Cutfaster lamented that, "Most people have forgotten that hip hop functions as a mouthpiece against violence and oppression and ultimately against the ghetto, which has become the metaphor for the deplorable state of our world".[32]Contrary to the New School hip hop's attempts to crossover into the mainstream popular culture, the Old School "envisioned and propagated hip hop as an underground community that needed to keep its distance from and to create resistance to mainstream culture in order to avoid co-optation".[32]

Artists

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German rappers with most No. 1 on German album charts

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10 Albums

9 albums

6 albums

5 albums

German rappers who reached No. 1 on German single charts

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22 Singles

12 Singles

9 Singles

8 Singles

  • Bonez MC

6 Singles

5 Singles

Other artists

Other influential and successful artists

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Brown, Timothy S. "‘Keeping it Real’ in a Different ‘Hood: (African-) Americanization and Hip-hop in Germany.” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 139 London;
  2. ^"Thomas Gottschalk war der erste deutsche Rapper—Auch wenn es weh tut".Noisey(in German). 16 August 2016.Retrieved19 January2018.
  3. ^Step into German – Die Toten Hosen (Music Podcast 2014/8 Transcript).Article on the website ofGoethe-Institute San Francisco,Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. ^Kratochwill, Kerstin (10 March 2020)."Die zehn besten Songs von Nina Hagen – Die Top Ten der" Godmother Of Punk "".Artistdirect.Retrieved3 April2020.(in German)
  5. ^Billboard – Music Charts, News, Photos & Video | Billboard:Chart History – Nina Hagen
  6. ^abcdefElflein, Dietmar. "From Krauts with Attitudes to Turks with Attitudes: Some Aspects of Hip-Hop History in Germany." Popular Music, Vol. 17, No. 3. (Oct. 1998), pp. 255–265.
  7. ^abcHip Hop In Germany
  8. ^Elflein, Dietmar (October 1998). "From Krauts with Attitudes to Turks with Attitudes: Some Aspects of Hip-Hop History in Germany".Popular Music.17(3): 257.
  9. ^abcdeBrown, Timothy S. "‘Keeping it Real’ in a Different ‘Hood: (African-)Americanizationand Hip-hop in Germany. "In The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 137-50. London; A
  10. ^Heimberger, Boris. "Hip Hop in Germany." In The bomb Hip Hop Magazine. April 1996
  11. ^Brooks, Ann (2014).Popular Culture: Global Intercultural Perspectives.Macmillan International Higher Education. p. 97.ISBN978-1-137-42672-7.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^abBrown, Timothy S.'Keeping it Real' in a Different 'Hood': (African)Americanization and Hip Hop in Germany. The Vinyl Ain't Final 137-50. London; Athlone, 1997
  13. ^Rollefson, J. Griffith. Flip the Script: European Hip Hop and the Politics of Postcoloniality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology Series, 2017.https://europeanhiphop.org/
  14. ^Loentz, Elizabeth."Yiddish, Kanak Sprak, Klezmer, and HipHop:Ethnolect, Minority Culture, Multiculturalism, and Stereotype in Germany".Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies.25.1 (2006) 33–62
  15. ^Brown, Timothy S. "’Keeping it Real’ in a Different ‘Hood: (African-)Americanization and Hip Hop in Germany.” The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, 137–150, 1997
  16. ^German Rap Keeps it Real | Culture & Lifestyle | Deutsche Welle | 26.02.2006
  17. ^Adelt, Ulrich "Ich bin der Rock'n'Roll-Ubermensch": globalization and localization in German music television Popular Music and Society, July 2005,http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2822/is_3_28/ai_n14793364/pg_11[permanent dead link]
  18. ^Elflein, Dietmar (October 1998). "From Krauts with Attitudes to Turks with Attitudes: Some Aspects of Hip-Hop History in Germany".Popular Music.17(3): 255.doi:10.1017/S0261143000008539.S2CID143592704.
  19. ^Elflein, Dietmar. From Krauts with Attitude to Turks with Attitude. Oct. 1998.
  20. ^Compost Records: Michael ReinbothArchived5 July 2008 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^Pennay, Mark. "Rap in Germany: The Birth of a Genre." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, 121. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
  22. ^German Hip-Hop 1: Advanced Chemistry « Leave Your Nine At Home
  23. ^Die Goldenen Zitronen & Easy Business & IQ – 80.000.000 HooligansatDiscogs
  24. ^Stefan Johannesberg:Das Album zum Buch mit Klassikern aus der Anfangsphase des deutschen Hip Hop. laut.de-Kritik,laut.de,22 February 2002 (German)
  25. ^Elflein
  26. ^https://moodle.brandeis.edu/file.php/3404/pdfs/elflein-krauts-turks-attitude.pdf[permanent dead link]
  27. ^D'Amuri, Francesco; Ottaviano, Gianmarco I. P.; Peri, Giovanni (2010)."The Labor Market Impact of Immigration in Western Germany in the 1990s".European Economic Review(Submitted manuscript).54(4): 550–570.doi:10.1016/j.euroecorev.2009.10.002.hdl:10419/40672.
  28. ^https://moodle.brandeis.edu/file.php/3404/pdfs/brown-hip-hop-germany.pdf[permanent dead link]
  29. ^Elflein, Dietmar (1998). "From Krauts with Attitudes to Turks with Attitudes: Some Aspects of Hip-Hop History in Germany".Popular Music.17(3): 255–65.doi:10.1017/S0261143000008539.ISSN1474-0095.JSTOR852956.S2CID143592704.
  30. ^Karakan, myspace.com
  31. ^"Big Up Berlin: Best of German Hip Hop and Reggae – Various Artists".1 November 2006.Retrieved4 August2020.
  32. ^abcdefghVon Dirke, S. (2000). "Hip Hop Made in Germany: From Old School to the Kanaksta Movement.” German Pop Culture.
  33. ^Elflein, D. (1998). "From Krauts with Attitudes to Turks with Attitudes: Some Aspects of Hip-Hop History in Germany." Popular Music, Vol. 17(3); 257

Further reading

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  • Sascha Verlan,Arbeitstexte für den Unterricht.Stuttgart: Reclam, 2000 (Extended Edition 2003)
  • Sascha Verlan, Hannes Loh:20 Jahre HipHop in Deutschland.

Hannibal Verlag, 2000

  • Hannes Loh, Murat Güngör,Fear of a Kanak Planet,Hannibal Verlag, 2002
  • David Toop,Rap Attack,Hannibal Verlag, 2000
[edit]
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