![]() "The crass celebration of material wealth, misogyny and violence in gangsta rap is in some ways just the latest manifestation of generational rebellion against middle class values, mainstream society and political correctness." "The performative stance of the gangsta rapper is that of an outsider and a rebel, someone who deliberately violates rules of social decorum and is celebrated for it," Bower told DW. Today, a big part of the appeal of gangsta rap and battle rap is simply rebellion, says Kathrin Bower, Professor of German Studies at the University of Richmond and author of an article on "Minority Identity as German Identity in Conscious Rap and Gangsta Rap." ![]() As reported in The Independent, Fler also later accused his producer of being a "money-grabbing Jewish pig." "Those who accuse me of being a neo-Nazi don't have a clue about rap," was Fler's answer to critics Image: Universal Music Indeed, Berlin rapper Fler was accused of promoting neo-Nazism and nationalism with his 2005 album, "Neue Deutsche Welle" (New German Wave), which celebrated patriotic East Berliner youth, and was promoted with an amended quote from Adolf Hitler. ![]() In 2005, UK newspaper The Independent published an article, "Rap music and the far right: Germany goes gangsta," that described a new racist and heavily misogynistic music genre that was fueled by Germany's then-struggling economy and high unemployment. In Germany, the rap subgenre has been on the rise since the mid 2000s when it was modeled on American rappers like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent who routinely derided women as "bitches." But the Teutonic variant soon developed a distinctly political flavor. Purveyors of provocative, politically incorrect and macho gangsta and battle rap music built around violent, misogynistic, homophobic and even racist rhymes are topping the album charts around the world. When controversial rappers Kollegah and Farid Bang won the award for best rap album at the German Echo music awards - despite the record including a song containing anti-Semitic lyrics that compared the singers' ripped bodies to Auschwitz survivors - it was, in ways, no great surprise. ![]()
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