German hip-hop

The tradition & historical record

German hip-hop (locally known as Deutschrap) refers to hip-hop in the German language. Elements of American hip-hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early 1980s. ¹

Early underground artists included Cora E. and Advanced Chemistry. It was not until the early 1990s that German hip-hop entered the mainstream as groups like Die Fantastischen Vier and the Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt gained popularity. German hip-hop was heavily influenced by films, leading to a strong emphasis on visual and cultural elements such as graffiti and breakdancing beyond the music itself. In addition to films such as Wild Style and Beat Street, American expats and soldiers stationed in West Germany facilitated the introduction of hip-hop music and culture into German pop culture. GLS United released the first German-language hip-hop song, "Rapper's Deutsch" ("Rapper’s German"), in 1980. While the group (consisting of three radio DJs including the later comedian and TV host Thomas Gottschalk) was formed explicitly for the one song, and the song was intended primarily as a parody of "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang, it was nonetheless the first German hip-hop group and first German-language hip-hop track. Also, the punk rock band Die Toten Hosen released one of the first German hip-hop songs, "Hip Hop Bommi Bop ", in 1983, which was also one of the first rap rock crossovers ever. The song, created in collaboration with Fab 5 Freddy, is a parody hip-hop version of their song "Eisgekühlter Bommerlunder". Nina Hagen also raps in her 1983 single "New York / N.Y." New York New York, the English version of New York / N.Y., was successful in American dance charts, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. These hip-hop movies -Wild Style and Beat Street- led the younger audiences in Germany to realize that hip-hop was much more than just rap music, but was very much a cultural movement in and of itself. ¹

In 1991, the German music label Bombastic released the record Krauts 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 to Munich in 1982 and was the first DJ to introduce Garage House and Old school hip-hop music to the Munich club scene. His compilation Krauts with Attitude is considered one of the first German hip-hop albums, as it features Die Fantastischen Vier. The title refers to N.W.A (Niggaz with Attitude), one of the most controversial hip-hop groups of the time in the United States. Krauts with Attitude was the first album to nationalize German hip-hop, and its album packaging reflected this. "The cover was designed in the colours of the national flag (black, red and yellow), and the liner notes read as follows: 'Now is the time to oppose somehow the self-confidence of the English and the American.'" In the early 1990s, hip-hop established itself in the mainstream, and many new rappers emerged on the scene. One such band was Die Fantastischen Vier, four rappers from Stuttgart, whose optimistic sound and lighthearted lyrics have brought them fame both in Germany and abroad. Apparently, original crew members Smudo and Thomas 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 the cultural environment of U.S. hip-hop. ¹

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 as Bushido, Fler, Kool Savas, Azad and others. 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, 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" 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". However, Old Schoolers themselves contend that it is the New School German rap artists who have been "Americanized," 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". ¹

(as of June 2026) 12 albums ¹

Kollegah 10 albums ¹

Bushido 9 albums ¹

Kontra K RAF Camora 7 albums ¹

Bonez MC Farid Bang Casper 6 albums ¹

Cro Fler Gzuz Kool Savas ¹

22 Singles ¹

Capital Bra 12 Singles ¹

Samra 11 Singles ¹

Apache 207 9 Singles ¹

Bonez MC 8 Singles ¹

Luciano 6 Singles ¹

Loredana Mero RAF Camora Shirin David Other artists Azad Marteria Sido Kay One Kollegah Farid Bang Bausa Olexesh Ufo361 Bushido RAF Camora Gzuz Eno Luciano Trettmann Gringo Shindy KC Rebell Summer Cem Kalazh44 Nimo Zuna AK Ausserkontrolle Jamule Kasimir1441 Namika Juju Hava Céline Elif Katja Krasavice Badmómzjay Kitty Kat ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “German hip-hop”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

German hip-hop is music genre or scene, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 6 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²