From Humble Origins, German Rap Is Now a Dominant Commercial Force
13/12/2019
In Germany, the summer of 2019 will go down in history as the tipping point for hip-hop. The genre (called Deutschrap at home) has been going strong since the early '90s, but the past two years have seen it rise sharply to become a chart-dominating force, laying claim to no fewer than half of this past summer's top 10 hits.
That newfound cultural currency isn't limited to the charts: Spotify's dedicated German hip-hop playlist Modus Mio has more than 1 million followers. A two-city live version of Modus Mio last year showcased the enthusiasm and camaraderie of today's rising German rappers, with Nura (who released her colorful, confident debut solo album this year) memorably stage diving during pop-savvy headliner RIN's set. She then collaborated onstage with both Jamaica-influenced MC Trettmann and rapper, singer, and multi-instrumentalist Bausa, whose slinky 2017 single Was du Liebe nennst stayed atop the German singles charts for eight straight weeks.
A second Modus Mio Live will come to Dortmund on December 14, assembling six of the top artists from the playlist: cloud-rap breakout Ufo361 (who has nearly 4 million monthly listeners), quicksilver female MC Juju, unflappable Deutschrap veteran Summer Cem, new-school gangsta rapper Azet, polished chart mainstay Apache 207, and the hard-bitten yet charismatic Kalim. The variety captured in that cross-section alone shows the healthy range of German hip-hop today.
The playlist's success has also spawned a podcast, Vor der Mio, in which journalist and broadcaster Salwa Houmsi interviews some of Modus Mio's most popular artists in the places where they grew up. Houmsi, a half-German, half-Syrian activist who also DJs, has interviewed Juju in Berlin-Neuk lln, Summer Cem in M nchengladbach, and the street rapper Olexesh in Kiev (among others) since launching the podcast in July.
The podcast's premise is no accident: the different cities and specific neighborhoods where rappers came up are every bit as important to them as the wider cultural heritage of their families. Each urban district or regional town has its own vivid identity within German culture, and the bonds of friendship formed in those early days often stay strong across a lifetime.
Case in point: R sselsheim, in the country's southwest, is a six-hour drive from Berlin yet provides a continuing source of inspiration to proud native MERO, who broke through with short social media videos before topping the German and Austrian charts with his 2018 debut single Baller los. It's always affected me a lot, he says of his home city and, specifically, its Digger Busch district. All [the] people I am on tour with today are from there. We grew up together as a family.
For Kalim, who raps often about daily life in his native patch of Hamburg, the creative impact of one's longtime surroundings can't be overstated. My city influences my music very much, he says, citing his home district as a great source of inspiration for his lyrics. If I had grown up just one district [away], my music would not be the same today.
When RIN, who headlined the first Modus Mio Live last year, was asked about the rap scene in his home city of Stuttgart in a 2017 interview, he said that the town's lack of an existing scene left him and his collaborators to build their own from scratch. So even the would-be musical absences of a given place can have an empowering effect on a young or future rapper coming of age there.
That strong bond between rappers and where they come from also resonates with Germany's large crop of artists of international origins. Turkish by heritage, MERO scored a hit this year with Olabilir, a track with Turkish and German lyrics. Likewise, Summer Cem's 2018 track Tamam Tamam brandishes a few Turkish words in the hook.
Other artists with migrant backgrounds include German rapper Capital Bra, who pays homage to his Russian roots during the hook of the 2018 track Berlin lebt. There's also Eno, a rapper of Kurdish descent, who calls back to his heritage musically on 2018's Cane Cane, while Farid Bang musically embraces his Moroccan and Spanish heritage on this year's Maghreb Gang.
The German hip-hop sound that evolved over the last two years is a unique movement led by artists with [a migrant] background-similar to movements in Italy, the Netherlands, [and] France, says Head of Music for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, Maik Pallasch. It's great to see the rise of all these artists, and particularly the spotlight put on the cultural variety in our society.
Despite being from all over the world, most of today's young German rappers perform primarily in German. All the most-streamed hip-hop artists in Germany are rapping/singing in German, says Maik. It's easier to explain yourself in your own language and transport what you mean and feel in your lyrics. From there, they usually mix in their local dialect with choice slang terms to create songs that are bouncy melting pots for the ears.
The desire for these artists to both honor their roots and find inspiration in their current whereabouts makes sense. After all, from its birth in New York City's Bronx four decades ago to its current mainstream clout in Germany, hip-hop has always hinged on rappers communicating who they are and where they're from. Kalim underscores that idea by likening his work to long-lasting images, emphasizing that his creative evolution-like tha
LINK: | https://newsroom.spotify.com/2019-12-12/from-humble-origins-german-rap... |
See more stories from spotify |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with URSA Broadcast G2
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
25/04/2024
Inside the Archives: Highlighting the Importance of Preservation for the Festival's 40th Edition
Sundance Institute Founder Robert Redford during a press conference at the 1996 ...
25/04/2024
SNS Dealer Of The Year Awards: See The Full List Of Winners
alt= class=wp-image-12361 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-booth-2024-960x540-1.jpg/> Set against a vibrant backdrop of innovation and collaboratio...
25/04/2024
Trends And Takeaways From NAB Show 2024
alt= class=wp-image-12356 data-lazy-src=/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/NAB-mod-win-960x540-1.jpg/>NAB's Eric Trabb (right) awards SNS with two NAB Show Product...
25/04/2024
Peacock Subs Jump 55% YoY to 34M in Q1 2024
PHILADELPHIA Comcast beat earnings estimates in its Q1 2024 financial report, as streaming losses continued to decline and Peacock's paid subscribers spiked...
25/04/2024
Seattle Kraken Inks Deals with Tegna and Prime Video
SEATTLE The Seattle Kraken have inked new multi-year agreements with Tegna and Prime Video that will expand access to their games over broadcast stations and st...
25/04/2024
Opinion: charting a cloud driven future
M2A Medias Matt Hughes asks, is it time for news broadcasting to shift to the cloud? By Contributor Published: April 25, 2024 M2A Media's Matt Hughes ...
25/04/2024
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+ Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glory
Cintel Scanner G3 HDR Restores Egypt's Cinema Treasures to Their Former Glo...
25/04/2024
Sinclair Names Kevin Coskren Chief Meteorologist at KTUL Tulsa
Sinclair Broadcast Group said it named Kevin Coskren chief meteorologist at KTUL, its ABC affiliate in Tulsa, Oklahoma....
25/04/2024
Attend The Business of TV News Event in D.C. on May 2
The Business of TV News, a new one-day event featuring Martha Raddatz, Shannon Bream, Glenn Kirschner and other major figures in television news, happens at Hot...
25/04/2024
Problematic FCC Conditions On Station Sale Could Create Detroit Drama
Conditions put on the proposed sale of WADL Detroit, to Mission Broadcasting have created a potential drama in the Motor City....
25/04/2024
TelevisaUnivision 1Q Loss Widens But DTC Business Expected To Turn Profit in Second Half
TelevisaUnivision reported a $52 million loss in the first quarter, up from $3 m...
25/04/2024
Comcast Earnings Flat As Video, Broadband Sub Losses Continue
Comcast reported flat first-quarter earnings as it reduced the red ink at Peacock but continued to lose video and broadband customers....
25/04/2024
Vevo Brings Music Videos To Telly's Dual Screen TVs
Music-video network Vevo said it launched its app on Telly, the company offering consumers free dual-screen TVs in return for data about what they're watchi...
25/04/2024
Future Today Redesigns Streaming App Interfaces
Future Today said it has introduced a redesigned user interface for about half of its 300 streaming apps, including Fawesome, HappyKids and iFood.TV....
25/04/2024
Czech mates
The writer and director of a hit Czech series tell Robert Shepherd about their approach to portraying real-life Pakistani kidnappings on the small screen, while...
25/04/2024
Molinaire Creative Group opens new Liverpool facility
Notorious DIT will work with the Liverpool Film Office to increase opportunities for regional talent By Matthew Corrigan Published: April 25, 2024 Notorio...
25/04/2024
Deutsche Telekom Powers New MagentaTV Service With Broadp...
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
25/04/2024
Lightware Enhances Microsoft Teams Rooms with Powerful BY...
Lightware Visual Engineering, a leading manufacturer of connectivity solutions for the professional integrated systems market and a pioneer in signal management...
25/04/2024
Net Insight secures collaboration with DMC Production to...
Net Insight has entered into a collaboration with DMC Production that positions Net Insight at the forefront of sports broadcasting in the Nordics. Net Insight ...
25/04/2024
GlobalM and scoopa announce strategic partnership to faci...
GlobalM has announced a strategic partnership with scoopa, the specialists in broadcast-quality content distribution, offering a complementary service for live ...
25/04/2024
DDish TV LLC Chooses PlayBox Neo Channel-in-a-Box for Bro...
PlayBox Neo announces the completion of a new multichannel playout system for the DDish direct-to-home satellite television network in Mongolia. Based in the na...
25/04/2024
Legendary Producer Garth Richardson Chooses PMC Monitors...
Canadian music producer and engineer Garth Richardson also known as Gggarth due to his stutter - has embraced immersive audio by installing a PMC monitoring s...
25/04/2024
Televisa transforms its broadcast ecosystem with proven t...
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Televisa, the Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company, has chosen Synamedia as its pa...
25/04/2024
OTTera partners with ThinkAnalytics to enhance personaliz...
OTTera, a leading provider of end-to-end OTT and FAST channel solutions, proudly announces its strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, a global leader in adv...
25/04/2024
Perfect Weather Forecast for American Tobacco Events Tonight and Saturday
The American Tobacco Campus will be hopping with activity tonight and this weekend with two fun events! Durham Night Market At last! The Durham Night Market i...
25/04/2024
Qurate Launches The Big Dish on The Roku Channel
WEST CHESTER, Pa. Video commerce provider Qurate Retail Group has launched The Big Dish, a new culinary-themed FAST channel on The Roku Channel....
25/04/2024
HPA Opens Submissions for 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards
LOS ANGELES The Hollywood Professional Association has announced that submissions for the 2024 HPA Engineering Excellence Awards are now being accepted. This re...
25/04/2024
DV Earns MRC Accreditation for CTV Viewability
NEW YORK The digital media measurement and analytics firm DoubleVerify has announced that it has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for Video Vie...
25/04/2024
DAZN FAST Channels to Launch on Tubi
SAN FRANCISCO Fox Corp.'s ad-supported streaming service Tubi has announced a licensing agreement with the sports platform DAZN that will see DAZN Ringside ...
25/04/2024
IAB Makes Three Appointments to Its Leadership Team
NEW YORK In the runup to the 2024 IAB NewFronts, the IAB has announced three key appointments to its leadership team....
25/04/2024
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam for Android, and more
Epic Games releases Unreal Engine 5.4 with new Motion Design Mode, Unreal VCam f...
25/04/2024
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux
Content Creation, Production, Distribution Is In a State of Flux Andy Marken April 24, 2024 0 Comments My empathy is creeping towards what I would de...
25/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting Company to Air Carolina Panthers Games on Triangle's Strongest Broadcast Signal
The Carolina Panthers and Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) announced they have...
25/04/2024
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist
Berklee Student Riko Sasaski Named 2024 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The accomplished saxophonist secured a spot among the elite winners of this year's ...
25/04/2024
Local News Close-Up: St. Louis Born and Bred
Stations everywhere take pride in having a main anchor who comes from the market they represent. That applies in St. Louis, too, but it also pertains to general...
25/04/2024
Edward Moody Joins WBTW Myrtle Beach Anchor Team
Edward Moody is joining the WBTW Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, anchor crew, and will anchor the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts alongside Trish Williford. He comes f...
25/04/2024
MTV Moving VMAs To New UBS Arena in New York
MTV said the 2024 Video Music Awards will return to New York and take place at the new UBS Arena....
25/04/2024
Offbeat Comedy The Outlaws' Returns to Prime Video Next Month
Season three of comedy The Outlaws premieres on Prime Video May 31. Stephen Merchant co-created the show, and stars. There are five episodes....
25/04/2024
Bidders Interested in Buying Bounce, Says Scripps CEO Adam Symson
The E.W. Scripps Co. is evaluating offers for Bounce, its multicast channel for African-American viewers, according to a report from CNBC....
25/04/2024
Paramount Plus Renews Dora'
Paramount Plus has ordered a second season for Dora, the animated preschool show based on Dora the Explorer. The show, featuring Dora on a rainforest adventure ...
25/04/2024
Tribeca Festival 2024 Announces Audio Storytelling and Games Lineup
April 25th, 2024 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA FESTIVAL 2024 ANNOUNCES AUDIO STORYTELLING AND GAMES LINEUP Audio Storytelling Program Features 10th ...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand
NFL Draft 2024: Verizon Expands Broadband Capacity To Handle the Spike in Demand Mobile cells will help accommodate first responders, social media, sports betti...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Production of Post-First-Round Draft Show on NFL+
NFL Draft 2024: NFL Media Teams With The Fantasy Footballers on Hybrid, REMI Pro...
25/04/2024
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presentations
NFL Draft 2024: ESPN Motors Into Detroit With Trio of Simultaneous Live Presenta...
25/04/2024
Unlock the potential of automated node-based and no-code media workflows at MPTS 2024
Published On: April 25th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/upl...
25/04/2024
Explore the Future of VR 180 Storytelling with Dolce Mia and Mistika VR
Published On: April 25th, 2024 data-orig-src=https://www.sgo.es/wp-content/uploads/Dolce-Mia-Header-image.png width=1040 height=533 class=lazyload wp-image-0 ...