Turkish Hip Hop - Influences

Influences

Before Turkish hip hop took root in Germany, it was influenced by American and German hip hop. Whereas German hip hop gained widespread appeal throughout the early 1990s, it wasn't until Advance Chemistry’s single “Fremd im eigenen Land” (“Strangers in Our Own Land”) that plight of the immigrant was addressed. For Turkish youth who didn’t identify with Germany as a homeland, localized German hip hop still did not appeal to them nor function as a medium of self-expression. Looking for representation of their own heritage, Turkish artists and producers used German hip hop as a springboard to create Turkish inspired rap lyrics and beats. In an interview with Andy Bennet one Turkish-German label owner put it: “Well, from a musical point of view we’re trying to combine traditional Turkish melodies and rhythms with rap. The kids have been doing it for a while… you can buy tapes of Turkish music from Turkish stores around the city and they’ve been experimenting with that music, sampling it, mixing it with other stuff and rapping to it… We’re just trying to build on the Turkish rap thing and build an outlet for it… If I’m going to tell you why we’re doing it, well, it’s pride really. The point about a lot of this German rap it’s all about coloured guys saying look at us, we’re like you, we’re German. But I don’t feel like that I never have. I’m not German, I’m a Turk and I’m passionately proud of it”. Thus, the creation of Turkish hip hop in Germany (primarily through such groups as Cartel and Islamic Force) that sought to address Turkish nationalist identities was born. Where hip hop intersects with Turkish youth in Germany is the development of Oriental hip hop and a Turkish Diaspora.