For my term paper, I would like to document German gangster rap in Berlin. I will explain the history of rap in Germany, specifically in Berlin, and how it has evolved to where it is today. Gangster rap in Germany came to be in a manner similar to America, however significantly later, and the racial divide was not between black and white, but mainstream Germans and lower class citizens with a recent history of foreign born parents or grandparents. After the Second World War, Germany campaigned for guest workers from the surrounding nations (particularly Turkey) to help rebuild their nation. The attitude of native Germans was that these people would come, rebuild, and then leave. However they began to raise families and the subsequent generations were caught between two cultures, appearing to be an outsider in both. First, the German culture they lived in excluded them completely. The second was essentially a foreign country they had never visited. Even to the modern day, Turkish families are treated as a burden on society, much as Hispanic populations in America are sometimes treated as a nuisance. In poor districts, Germans with a recent history of migration began spitting raps and playing with words. They began to invent a new language, sometimes called “Kanak-Sprak,” that was exclusive to individuals who bridged the cultural gap, raps contained slang from Turkish and German, and invented new phrases to communicate. Today, rap is not exclusive to this subgroup of society. In my paper, I will examine how the integration, or lack thereof, of minorities led to the birth of rap in the poor quarters of Berlin, as well as how rap became such a strong force in the German music industry and how rap is approached today in contrast to its origins. I will also compare the evolution of American and German rap a little bit.
Kelsey Kerton
ReplyDeleteIS501
Dr. Horowitz
27 April 2011
Draft Proposal
For my term paper, I would like to document German gangster rap in Berlin. I will explain the history of rap in Germany, specifically in Berlin, and how it has evolved to where it is today. Gangster rap in Germany came to be in a manner similar to America, however significantly later, and the racial divide was not between black and white, but mainstream Germans and lower class citizens with a recent history of foreign born parents or grandparents.
After the Second World War, Germany campaigned for guest workers from the surrounding nations (particularly Turkey) to help rebuild their nation. The attitude of native Germans was that these people would come, rebuild, and then leave. However they began to raise families and the subsequent generations were caught between two cultures, appearing to be an outsider in both. First, the German culture they lived in excluded them completely. The second was essentially a foreign country they had never visited. Even to the modern day, Turkish families are treated as a burden on society, much as Hispanic populations in America are sometimes treated as a nuisance.
In poor districts, Germans with a recent history of migration began spitting raps and playing with words. They began to invent a new language, sometimes called “Kanak-Sprak,” that was exclusive to individuals who bridged the cultural gap, raps contained slang from Turkish and German, and invented new phrases to communicate.
Today, rap is not exclusive to this subgroup of society. In my paper, I will examine how the integration, or lack thereof, of minorities led to the birth of rap in the poor quarters of Berlin, as well as how rap became such a strong force in the German music industry and how rap is approached today in contrast to its origins. I will also compare the evolution of American and German rap a little bit.