German rap: from hardcore to party pop

Heidelberg may be famous for its picturesque old town, but hardly anyone knows that this modest city in Baden-Württemberg is also where German rap first put down roots. In fact, the city’s hip-hop culture (which also includes graffiti and breakdance) has been recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage. 

The members of the Heidelberg rap group Advanced Chemistry are considered pioneers in the field, thanks to songs such as “A Stranger in Your Own Land”, their 1992 commentary on everyday racism. In the same year, the rap outfit Die Fantastischen Vier celebrated breaking into the German charts with their upbeat hit, “Die Da!?” (“Her over there?”). The “Fanta 4” have been one of the most famous hip-hop acts in Germany for over three decades. Cora E. was one of Germany’s first successful female rappers. In her 1997 hit “Latchkey Kid”, she rapped about her early life which was both independent but also challenging. 

The stereotype of the tough guy from the streets 

With the turn of the millennium, the genre took on a harder edge with Berlin rappers such as Sido and Bushido, who projected the image of a tough guy from the streets. Kool Savas made a name for himself in rap battles with “The Judgement” (2005), and many of his fans still acclaim him as Germany’s “King of Rap”. 

“Haftbefehl” (literally, “Incarceration”) has been rapping since the 2010s, mixing different languages in his accounts of his debauched lifestyle. One of his hits was “Chabos wissen wer der Babo ist”. In Turkish, Babo means “boss”, and “Chabo” comes from Rotwelsch (a secret language used by underground and marginalised groups) to mean “boy”. So the song’s title means “The boys know who is the boss”. This song also illustrated how German rap has influenced language, as “Babo” was voted young people’s word of the year in 2013. 

Capital Bra: more streams than the Beatles 

In recent years, German rap has branched out in many different stylistic directions. Rappers like Cro have more of a pop influence, while RAF Camora and Bonez MC have teamed up to merge rap and dancehall. Their album “Plastic Palms” is one of the most successful German rap albums ever. That said, Capital Bra has racked up more number 1 hits, putting him ahead of the Beatles and ABBA in terms of streams in Germany. Artists like badmómzjay and Shirin David also regularly break into the charts, and right up there with them is Ski Aggu, with his trademark ski goggles.