In the new German rap, things are getting rougher and more vulgar. Sexual violence, glorification of drugs, perverse degradation of women and open racism are meant to provoke. The churlish hardcore lyrics of the Berlin label AggroBerlin with the successful rapper Sido exceed even the lowest limits of what is otherwise usual in hip-hop – and are imitated by schoolchildren in their typical chants. Often parents do not know, whichchkrasse Songs itself their offspring in the music channels mithalbnackten willing Girls, over CDs or in the Internet "reinziehen".
The Federal Review Board for Media Harmful to Young People (BPjM) in Bonnhas meanwhile placed several CDs by Aggro Berlin on the index. After already "AGGRO announcement Nr. 3" was classified as "harmful to minors", this saying now also hit "AGGRO announcement no. 2" with titles like "Pussy" and "Psycho Negro B" as well as the CD "King of Kingz" by Bushido. The CDs – with the ubiquitous keyword "fucking" – are suitable to "socially and ethically disorientate" children and teenagers, the BPjM judged. The fact that rappers themselves had a difficult childhood or grew up in a violent environment does not give them a free pass.
Women and girls would be called pejoratively in many places, for example, "hooker", "beef" or "pussy". They would have to carry out sexual intercourse "in all variants" for the sexual satisfaction of the man: "You want romance? I fuck with my fist! I like it when you cry. Come on, hooker, bounce. Save your flowers, up your skirt!" (from "Pussy" by Bushido).
Macho behavior, hustler and junkie milieu – also the 24-year-old Paul Würdig alias Sido ("I've been through it all") hammers it mightily. Sido stands for "super intelligent drug victim". Music broadcasters – and so far also the Bonn guards – do not see him as a danger to young people. In 2004, the TV channel Viva awarded him the Comet media prize as best newcomer of the year. At the "Bravo" super show in March, readers awarded him the Golden Otto as "super rapper national. With Stefan Raab Sido appeared on TV in front of an audience of millions with a joint.
In what is probably his hardest number, the "Assfuck Song," Sido draws on his own experiences: "It started with thirteen and a tube of lube. The song is available as a maxi CD. He is also on the CD "Aggro Announcement No. 1", but was not classified by the BPjM as harmful to minors. The authorities did not even take action on this (as is usual in such cases) because the Voluntary Self-Regulation Body for the Film Industry (FSK) had already given the title an age rating of "free from 16 years" on DVD.
Since 2004, the German Federal Review Board has so far placed seven rap titles on the index. Several proceedings – including those concerning Sido – are still ongoing. The indexing means that the affected CDs may only be sold under the counter to at least 18-year-olds and may also no longer be advertised publicly. But it has long been common practice among 10- to 13-year-olds to download tracks from the Internet and then pass them on to friends and classmates. Cds can also be easily ordered online.
Of course, indexing cannot guarantee one hundred percent protection, Petra Meier of the BPjM conceded. "However, it can have a signal effect and should also raise awareness of the problem among parents and educators."Above all parents are called to follow their duty of care here.
Defenders of "battle rap," such as cultural sociologist Roland Seim, point out that rappers only reflect their own everyday lives and a ghetto reality in Berlin's Märkisches Viertel, for example (especially clear in Sido's "Mein Block"), as well as their frustrations and lack of future prospects. If they were to use a different choice of words, this would no longer be authentic. In addition, it is more about "attitudes" and phrases that should hardly be taken literally. Rap must be given "room for maneuver in dealing with social border areas". Lyrics by U.S. Rap stars such as Eminem, 50 Cent or Khia were also similarly direct, it said.
The aggressive German ghetto rap has also been targeted by the chairwoman of theBundestag media committee, Monika Griefahn (SPD). She called on private radio and TV music stations such as MTV and Viva to take them off the air. The stations are not allowed to broadcast indexed titles anyway. However, the Bonn review board only acts on concrete indexing requests from other authorities such as youth welfare offices and the police. It must then weigh the constitutional goods "artistic freedom" and "protection of minors" against each other.