National Socialism with Fler? German Hip Hop from the Right Michael T

This article was downloaded by: [Wesleyan University] On: 17 May 2012, At: 03:50 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Popular Music and Society Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpms20 National Socialism with Fler? German Hip Hop from the Right Michael T. Putnam & John T. Littlejohn Available online: 12 May 2008 To cite this article: Michael T. Putnam & John T. Littlejohn (2007): National Socialism with Fler? German Hip Hop from the Right, Popular Music and Society, 30:4, 453-468 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03007760701546323 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and- conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Popular Music and Society Vol. 30, No. 4, October 2007, pp. 453–468 National Socialism with Fler? German Hip Hop from the Right Michael T. Putnam and John T. Littlejohn This article examines the recent rise of right-wing terminology in mainstream German hip-hop lyrics and the reaction of the German media to these songs. We argue that the inclusion of these controversial lyrics was a deliberate effort on the part of the individual artists to titillate their audiences and ultimately produce revenue. The media soon ‘‘took the bait’’ and became unwilling collaborators in this effort. Here we expose potential reasons for the sudden increase in usage of nationalist references in German hip hop; although true ‘‘right-wing’’ hip hop does indeed exist there, these references to National Socialism seem to function as an articulation of a new German identity constructed through a complex engagement with American popular culture and its own past. Introduction In discussions and analyses of hate music, seldom does hip hop immediately come to mind as a potential participant. After all, given its multi-ethnic roots in the impoverished Bronx in the early 1970s, it would seem almost contradictory to consider hip hop a viable medium for hate messages and the promotion of right-wing ideology. Although it is undeniable that, since the advent of gangsta rap in the late Downloaded by [Wesleyan University] at 03:50 17 May 2012 1980s, the lyrical content of rap songs often employs military and violent metaphors, few rap artists, if any, have blatantly embraced and promoted the agenda of hate groups in their music. Nonetheless, in recent mainstream German hip-hop songs—especially those recorded by present and former artists of the controversial Aggro Berlin label—artists such as Fler and Bushido have openly included nationalistic references in their music, CD covers, and music videos. For example, in the title track from his 2004 Electro Ghetto release, Bushido offers the following refrain: I make the sound for the prison courtyard I am the reason why you’ll never make millions. I have the sound, the sound for the dealers in the park. ‘Cause without me German rap won’t be hard again. ISSN 0300-7766 (print)/ISSN 1740-1712 (online) # 2007 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/03007760701546323 454 M. T. Putnam and J. T. Littlejohn Already another day, And I can’t stand your songs. Salute, stand at attention, I’m the leader like A.1 The offensive line is the potential analogy with Adolf Hitler, the ‘‘leader like A.’’ Though Bushido claims the reference is to rapper Azad, who indeed does rap a similar line in an earlier song, there is very little doubt that Bushido is at least partially referring to Hitler. The release of Fler’s album Neue Deutsche Welle (New German Wave) in May 2005 precipitated a wave of articles in German newspapers and magazines highly critical of the nationalistic phrases and imagery present in Fler’s music. A constantly recurring theme in discussion of Fler and Aggro Berlin in these periodicals is a notion of fear and bewilderment. Is it possible that a new age/sub- genre of hip-hop music is emerging, one that would also include some form of ‘‘hate’’ rap? Second, how could this happen in Germany of all places—in light of the country’s horrific National Socialist past—and particularly within German hip hop, which ‘‘[f]or years…had been about as edgy as Neil Diamond’’ (Boser)? Since the release of rapper Fler’s Neue Deutsche Welle album in May 2005 there have been more than 20 newspaper and journal articles focused either on the possible right-wing tendencies of the artist Fler or on the intentions of others affiliated with Aggro Berlin. It is clear that such sporadic references to nationalism and figures such as Hitler in the music of Bushido and Fler (among others) are likely to do more than simply raise the eyebrows of individual Germans and the German media. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature and validity of some of the more aggressive claims and charges put forward by the German media in the last year against Fler, Bushido and Aggro Berlin. First and foremost, we do not seek to defend any nationalist phrases and allusions in these songs, but rather to provide an alternative interpretation, similar to that of Wipplinger, namely, that the references to National Socialism in mainstream contemporary German hip-hop lyrics function as an articulation of a new German identity constructed through a complex engagement with the German past and American popular culture (i.e. gangsta rap). In this paper we will focus primarily on the German media’s reaction to Bushido’s 2004 Electro Ghetto and especially Fler’s 2005 Neue Deutsche Welle, although mention of other rappers and their work that may have a possible connection to National Downloaded by [Wesleyan University] at 03:50 17 May 2012 Socialist references in their lyrics will be made when pertinent. Battle Rap Culture 101 Since hip-hop music’s humble beginnings, battle rap has always been, and continues today to be, a core component of this genre. Competition—in the form of either b- boys showing off their best dance moves or MCs claiming their supremacy—brings something unique to hip-hop culture. Hip-hop culture has always been defined as a means of survival and this is merely an extension of that mentality. Rappers in the 1970s picked up microphones because they sought respect and power in the streets, or, as Saxon puts it, they sought ‘‘ghetto superstardom.’’ Rap was viewed as a Popular Music and Society 455 medium through which to rise above the impoverished ghetto and have one’s voice and opinions heard in a world that otherwise forgot that you existed. From b-boys to graffiti artists to DJs to rappers, hip hop has always been based on being the absolute best. Some of the earlier epic battles for microphone supremacy involved rappers such as Harlem’s Kool Moe Dee and the Bronx’s Busy Bee Star Ski. On 30 December 1981, Kool Moe Dee set a precedent for the unwritten rules of hip-hop battle rap by writing rhymes specifically for the event dissing Busy Bee and putting him in his place. Throughout its development over the past three decades, the battle rap culture has evolved as well. With the growing popularity of gangsta rap beginning as early as the mid-1980s and reaching its peak around the middle of the following decade, many of these once lyrical feuds have become more serious and violent. Many times, in the case, for example, of the tragic murders of the Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur, these lyrical tirades have escalated into violent behavior outside the recording studio. As technology has changed and hip hop has grown outside the boundaries of the Bronx and Harlem, many of these lyrical battles that once took place live on stage are now fought through albums, music videos, media interviews and even the Internet, e.g. through chatrooms and blogs. The development of hip hop in Germany also openly embraced the battle culture associated with the early stages of this genre. Sascha Verlan (Verlan and Loh 55) points out that this was an effective way of sorting the wheat from the tares: unless MCs had something fresh to offer those in attendance at jams, they were quickly defeated and forgotten. Through this process of quasi-natural selection, both global and local hip-hop cultures were able to refine themselves collectively as well as individually. Much like its American counterpart, German rap—as noted by the respected scholar Hannes Loh—has also embraced more violent tendencies. Loh remarks that he has noticed a growing trend in mainstream German rap to include military and warfare references in the dissing of other contemporaries: ‘‘I’ll burn you like the inquisition’’ ‘‘I control the radio, like the fuckin’ Nazis’’ ‘‘I am the disco-dictator, Godfather of parties, and govern the microphone through styles, like the regimes in Cuba and Chile’’ Downloaded by [Wesleyan University] at 03:50 17 May 2012 ‘‘I’ll bomb you like Vietnam’’ ‘‘The power is in me, and that’s my defense’’ ‘‘Verbal foreign legionnaire, conquering you like the military’’ (Verlan and Loh 246)2 For a rapper who grew up in the old school philosophy, Loh views this trend to incorporate violent metaphors depicting the annihilation of others as an element completely foreign to ‘‘real’’ hip hop.

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