Show BERLIN
with Chefket, Diamondog, Sol, Amewu, Das Department feat. B&K, Gris, RockLand Yard, shiranu
CHEFKET
Rapper and singer Chefket has Turkish roots and lives in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg. He grew up in South Germany and has been making music ever since he was thirteen. With his lyrics, which are full of exciting poetry and a self-critical wink of the eye, he wants to stir people and get them thinking. He speaks of himself as ‘Germany’s biggest wagging finger’. He writes intense and authentic songs – sometimes in German, sometimes in Turkish, and sometimes in English.
DIAMONDOG + BAND
The Angolan artist Diamondog has been a rapper and journalist since 1998. He has been in Berlin for two years now. Diamondog has already toured numerous towns and cities in Brazil and Europe and shared the stage with internationally famous artists such as Afrika Bambaataa, Marcelo D2 (Brazil) and Shameema (Godessa, South Africa). In addition to working with the rapper Jazzrell, he is also part of the rap duo ‘Clandestino’, which means: ‘a family held together by fate’. Diamondog is currently working on his solo career. He is very active politically and organises social projects and workshops in schools and immigration centres. He shows that people can express themselves in Hip Hop and that it helps them deal with social tensions in difficult times. These workshops formed part of the PeaceXchange project of the NGO Weltfriedensdienst e.V.
SOL
Odara Sol is an R&B and Hip Hop vocalist from Sao Paulo. It was there that she first took to the stage at the age of twelve. She quickly established contact with Sao Paolo’s huge Hip Hop scene and became involved in various musical projects aimed at improving social conditions in the Favelas. In 2001, as representative of the Brazilian Zulu Nation, she received the Zulu Nation founder Africa Bambaataa in Sao Paulo. At the International Social Forum in Porto Allegre, she also fought for the recognition of women in the Hip Hop scene. She now operates at an international level. Since 2007, she has spent time in Italy, Spain and Senegal. Her latest stopover is Berlin, where she is working with artists such as DJ Illvibe, Culchancandela, Medienwirksam, City Lock, MC Joedas, MC Diamondog, and DJ DeJoe. A solo album is due for release at the end of 2008.
AMEWU
Amewu combines technically sophisticated Rap with positive statements. Over the past few years, he has made a name for himself with a number of live appearances in the Hip Hop, Electro and Grime scene. As a Rapper on the new independent label Edit, he is featured on the recent Team avant-garde album Absolut, as well as on the Keyza Soze album Der Komponist. His debut album will be released this year. He has been doing gigs with the live band Long Lost Relative for about a year now. In addition to live performances and studio recordings, he also holds Rap workshops in various contexts and participates in panel discussions and other discussion forums dealing with Rap and Hip-Hop culture, and other topics.
www.myspace.com/kriegerdeslichts
DAS DEPARTMENT feat B&K
Bruder & Kronstädta have made a name for themselves as the front men of the Berlin Hip-Hop crew Das Department – among other things – which they founded with multi-instrumentalist Hinnack in 1999. Even before Das Department gained its reputation with political texts and a powerful sound, the three Berliners had gathered a wealth of different musical experiences. In 2002 Das Department split up. In 2007, however, its members reunited again. B&K have worked as authors, composers and producers for various artists such as Nina Hagen, DaddyFreddy, H-Blockx, die Erben der Scherben and Gitta Spitta – to name but a few. Their own musical style combines Hip Hop, Urban Electronic Beat and Pop. Good content and political consciousness are very important to them.
GRIS MC
Gris has been part of the Berlin Rap scene since the early 1990s. He arrived at music via graffiti. His influences include the tracks and LPs of Roots, Hieroglyphics, Freestyle Fellowship, Phracyde and the Beatnuts. In 1992, he began to get involved in freestyle music with today’s Kryptonasen and to write his own lyrics. Following countless performances and various recordings (for example, for the Hirnpflox LP, Delta Dreist, Fettflec and Redemption Sound Systems), he has become a convincing performer with a successful combination of Humor Rap, Battlerap and critical sounds. Together with other Berlin Rappers, he has now also realised his dream of establishing his own independent label: edit entertainment.
ROCKLAND YARD
RockLand Yard was founded in Berlin at the end of the 1990s. With their music, the musicians want to encourage people to think. They combine diverse styles and cultures, as the wide variety of languages in their lyrics shows: from English and German to French and Portuguese. Joedas, from Rockland Yard, is supported by El Mumio and singer Sol from Brazil; p-pack’s Danny Bruder represents them in the music business.
SHIRANU
Shiranu is active in West Berlin’s Hip Hop underground. He has been involved in Hip Hop culture for seventeen years now. In 1995, he recorded his first official song and produced his first album shiranu_superstar in 2003. Shiranu raps, produces records and runs the independent Berlin label edit entertainment. He is also actively involved in various social projects such as ‘Schule Ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage’ (schools without racism – schools with courage), and also did the recordings, in conjunction with Matthias Fischer from Weltfriedensdienst e.V., on the first Rap4Peace CD for the peaceXchange project. He also works in the Kinder Jugend Kulturzentrum (child-and-youth centre) at the Kreuzberg District Centre Alte Feuerwache.
