by the late, great Eugene McDaniels from the 1970 album "Outlaw"

by Cocobeurre

2011

http://cocobeurre.com/

by Bonga, from "Angola 1974"

By Blind Willie Johnson

"Das Prinzip ist Hoffnung" is among the more recent tracks from Freundeskreiz, a nationally popular hip-hop group from Stuttgart's outstanding rap scene. The group's lyrics reflect a strong social conscience and polylingual approach, with raps in English and French as well as German. Their album, "Esperanto" was inspired by the belief that hip hop should be the Esperanto of the youth. 

Hamburg rap group "Deoppelkopf's 1997 Vom Mond EP channeled the work of underground rap artists from America such as the Arsonists or Sir Menelik. I first heard the group when a guy with a ghettoblaster (the German slang word for boombox) played "Was du nicht siehst" while waiting for the U3 in the Sternschanze station. The group delivers its rhymes and lyrics deftly and without sacrificing any of the language's complexity and poly-syllabic phrases. Their name, Doppelkopf (itself a double meaning) is litterally s a card trick game for four players, an apt name for a group known for its playful, quick-witted lyrics and challenging themes. They also claim a spiritual affinity to the Tapir, a type of wild pig that dwells in the Alster River.

Samy Deluxe is one of Germany's most successful rappers. Though some of my German friends prefer the rhymes of groups like Beginner or Fantastischen Vier, I think Samy's beats are especially well received by American ears, and his beats, relentless flow and autobiographical accounts remind me of a German Jay-Z. "Blick Zuruck" pays tribute to Samy's multinational origins ("Papa kommt aus Afrika / Mama kommt aus Deutschland"). A more recent song, Dis Wo Ich Herkomm, from the 2009 album, pays tribute Germany's diversity and conflicted history, with a black-and-white music video featuring snapshots of different people in the U-bahns, businesses and city streets of Hamburg.

Literally translated to "Beach Emotions," this lazy summer ballad by Hamburg new wave duo Saal 2 captures the rise and fall of a brief, unrequited summer love affair. The song, included on the 1981 ZickZack-Sampler "Lieber Zuviel Als Zuwenig," is essentially a German-language version of the Velvet Underground's "Femme Fatale," with an introduction marked by softly crashing waves and organ. The kicker is the sudden racing pace of the chorus, which almost triples in tempo, mimicking the suddenly racing heartbeat of seeing his heroine walk on by (I tried to place this with my brother's band after only practicing once, and this part killed us). With a sense of summer melancholy reminiscent of Dylan Thomas's "Portrait of the Artist of A Young Dog," the song is full of amusing, opaque symbols (eind handtuch mit blauen flecken / ein kantbuch mit tausend ecken) and the bittersweet romance of lost summer love. 

I met Roland as a student at the university of Bonn, and saw him perform at the Klangstation club in Bad Godesberg and later in Hamburg at Gruene Jaeger. This is an earlier version of a song he would later release with his group (?) on (album). I've always been impressed with Roland's passionate delivery, clear tone, acrobatic vocals (like a German Jeff Buckley) and eerie resemblance to Jared Leto

"Jenseits von Eden," which shares the name of the translated title of Steinbeck's "East of Eden," is a cover by german indie group die Sterne of the rhythmically unrelenting and lyrically acrobatic composition by Rio Reiser. With repitition of the word "heiss, heiss," the song begins at a boil and doesn't cool off from there. The lyrics are worth studying.