Blumentopf
Encyclopedia
Blumentopf is a German hip hop
band from Freising
, near Munich
.
In the early days of the band, the members met irregularly and did not have ambitions to become professional musicians. Each week a new name was chosen . The band was invited to perform at a festival for their first live show. The name at the time was Blumentopf and once it appeared on promotional posters for the festival, it stuck.
They released their first album in 1997 on Four Music
. Since then, they have released five more albums as a group, along with songs released on compilations, and various side projects. They are currently signed to record label EMI
.
The band consists of five members: rappers Cajus Heinzmann (Cajus, Heinemann, Master P), Bernhard Wunderlich (Holunder, Holundermann, Wunder), Florian Schuster (Flo, Kung Schu, Schu), Roger Manglus (Roger, Specht); and Sebastian Weiss (DJ Sepalot)
Other songs can be placed in the conscious hip hop genre, commenting on current issues. The song Danke Bush! ("Thank you, Bush") presents a critical view of the politics of George W. Bush
. Several songs also suggest that drugs and hip hop are not directly connected. One such song is Nur dass ihr wisst ("Just so you know"). In the lead-up to the 2009 German federal election, the group appeared in a Wahlwerbespot ("election advertisement") in which they encouraged Germans to vote. They expressed the importance of learning about the candidates and using their right to vote, emphasizing how little effort it really would take.
Blumentopf's first three albums have a very old school hip hop
feel. The fourt album Gern geschehen saw powerful synth beats unusual ideas as seen in Jeder zweite linkt dich, which uses samples from the song Santa Baby
for the entire beat. This was continued in the fifth album Musikmaschine ("Music machine"), which has a song using skateboard noises for the majority of the beat. Recently, band members have learned instruments so they can play their songs themselves. They hope to develop these opportunities further.
For the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, Blumentopf worked with the German television channel Das Erste
in producing game commentary set to music. The Raportagen were broadcast with video clips of the band, game and press conference footage, and other related video during Das Erste football coverage. This concept was continued during UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
.
in both 2001 and 2002.
Blumentopf represented Bavaria
in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2010, coming in fourth place.
, Bethlehem
, Beirut
, and Amman
. For the tour, the group collaborated with local artists from Egypt
, Jordan
, Israel
, Syria
, and Lebanon
.
Singles
DVD
Collaborations
Other collaborations
German hip hop
German Hip Hop refers to hip hop music produced in Germany. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early 1980s.-1980–1990:...
band from Freising
Freising
Freising is a town in Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district Freising. Total population 48,500.The city is located north of Munich at the Isar river, near the Munich International Airport...
, near Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
In the early days of the band, the members met irregularly and did not have ambitions to become professional musicians. Each week a new name was chosen . The band was invited to perform at a festival for their first live show. The name at the time was Blumentopf and once it appeared on promotional posters for the festival, it stuck.
They released their first album in 1997 on Four Music
Four Music
Four Music is a German record label founded by Die Fantastischen Vier in 1996.It was originally located in Stuttgart, but has moved to Kreuzberg, Berlin.The most popular musicians and groups signed on Four Music are...
. Since then, they have released five more albums as a group, along with songs released on compilations, and various side projects. They are currently signed to record label EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
The band consists of five members: rappers Cajus Heinzmann (Cajus, Heinemann, Master P), Bernhard Wunderlich (Holunder, Holundermann, Wunder), Florian Schuster (Flo, Kung Schu, Schu), Roger Manglus (Roger, Specht); and Sebastian Weiss (DJ Sepalot)
Music
Blumentopf is known for using a Storytelling style. They use humor, irony, and a lot of wordplay to tell stories about everyday life, relationship, parties, both true and fictitious.Other songs can be placed in the conscious hip hop genre, commenting on current issues. The song Danke Bush! ("Thank you, Bush") presents a critical view of the politics of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. Several songs also suggest that drugs and hip hop are not directly connected. One such song is Nur dass ihr wisst ("Just so you know"). In the lead-up to the 2009 German federal election, the group appeared in a Wahlwerbespot ("election advertisement") in which they encouraged Germans to vote. They expressed the importance of learning about the candidates and using their right to vote, emphasizing how little effort it really would take.
Blumentopf's first three albums have a very old school hip hop
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
feel. The fourt album Gern geschehen saw powerful synth beats unusual ideas as seen in Jeder zweite linkt dich, which uses samples from the song Santa Baby
Santa Baby
"Santa Baby" is a 1953 Christmas song written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer. Although Tony Springer is listed as co-writer, he was a legal fiction created for purposes of membership in the performing rights organization BMI.The song is a tongue-in-cheek look at a Christmas list sung by a...
for the entire beat. This was continued in the fifth album Musikmaschine ("Music machine"), which has a song using skateboard noises for the majority of the beat. Recently, band members have learned instruments so they can play their songs themselves. They hope to develop these opportunities further.
Raportage
The term 'raportage' comes from the music style, rap, and the German word Reportage ("report"). This concept is consistent with Blumentopf's Storytelling style.For the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, Blumentopf worked with the German television channel Das Erste
Das Erste
Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen , marketed as Das Erste , is the principal publicly owned television channel in Germany...
in producing game commentary set to music. The Raportagen were broadcast with video clips of the band, game and press conference footage, and other related video during Das Erste football coverage. This concept was continued during UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
Side Projects
DJ Sepalot released a solo project entitled Red Handed in 2007. Roger and Cajus released their solo albums Alles Roger ("Everything roger/ok") and Planet Cajun. Since the beginning of May 2008, Blumentopf broadcasts a radio show with on3radio.Awards
Blumentopf was voted Best Live Band by readers of the German hip hop magazine JuiceJuice (magazine)
Juice is a well known German hip hop magazine and the biggest of its kind in Europe. In every issue readers find interviews with rappers and record reviews...
in both 2001 and 2002.
Blumentopf represented Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2010, coming in fourth place.
Goethe Institute Middle East Tour
The band was invited to participate in the 2005 Goethe Institute Nah-Ost Tour during the month of November. The band performed in Tel AvivTel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...
, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, and Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
. For the tour, the group collaborated with local artists from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, and Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
.
Discography
Albums- 1995 Demo-CD with Ich bin sexy, An meine Homies etc.
- 1997 Kein Zufall (Debut-LP)
- 1999 Großes Kino
- 2001 Eins A
- 2003 Gern geschehen
- 2006 Musikmaschine
- 2010 WIR
Singles
- 1996 Abhängen
- 1997 6 Meter 90
- 1997 Man kann nicht alles haben
- 1999 Fensterplatz
- 1999 Was der Handel
- 2000 Safari
- 2001 Liebe und Hass (Love and Hate)
- 2001 R'n'B
- 2002 Flirtaholics
- 2003 Better Life GmbH feat. SmudoSmudoMichael Bernd Schmidt , better known as Smudo, is a writer and rapper in the German hip hop group Die Fantastischen Vier.-Life:...
- 2004 Macht Platz
- 2004 Alt feat. Texta
- 2006 Horst
- 2006 Du und ich (You and I)
- 2007 Die City schläft (The city is sleeping)
- 2010 WIR
- 2010 Solala
DVD
- 2004: Gern Gesehen – The DVD contains Tour reports, interviews, freestyles and Live records of the Gern Geschehen-Tour.
Collaborations
- 1996: Wildwechsel with Fettes BrotFettes BrotFettes Brot is a German hip hop group founded in 1992.Fettes Brot is German for fat bread. "Fett" is a German slang term for "excellent" and brot is slang for "hash". The band took the name from a fan who called them "Fettes Brot" after an early gig, which was probably meant as a compliment, but...
- 1998: Alpenpanorama & Zukunftsmusik with Total Chaos
- 2000: 2:2
- 2000: Session drei & Session vier with Main Concept
- 2000: Süßlicher Weihrauch with Brotlose Kunst
- 2001: 3 mal täglich with Droopy the Hitmachine
- 2002: Bermuda Dreieck with Total Chaos
- 2002: Die unendliche Geschichte (The neverending story)
- 2002: Kaleidoskop
- 2002: Liebe und Hass Teil II with I.L.L. Will
- 2002: Niemand with Roey Marquis II.
- 2002: Viel Spaß with FlowinImmO & Esther
- 2003: Kaliweed with Les BabacoolsLes BabacoolsLes Babacools are a band from Munich, Germany. Their brand of music, named Raggafunkin' , is a blend of reggae, mestizo, hip hop and urban music.- External links :*...
- 2003: Saftig & Sei da
- 2004: Egal wo! with CluesoCluesoClueso is a German singer, rapper, songwriter and producer.Clueso, named after Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther, started making music in 1995. In 1998 he got to know his future manager Andreas Welskop and gave up his hairdressing apprenticeship. His first vinyl Clüsolo was released on BMG...
- 2004: Alt with Texta
- 2005: Ich wär so gern… with Nico Suave
- 2005: Adam und Ivo with Main Concept
- 2005: Weißt du wer? with Toni L and Black Tiger
- 2006: Wer spielt mit uns? with Vier zu Eins
- 2007: Benghanny Rap with Y Crew (Egypt)
Other collaborations
- 2006: Kann man nich lern (Clueso feat. Blumentopf - Juice Exclusive [CD #63])
- 2006: Ja Klar! (Juice Exclusive CD #68)
- 2006: Gute Musik (Juice Exclusive CD #66 [Juice Edit])
- 2006: WM-Raportagen (Das ErsteARDArd, ARD, Ards or ARDS may refer to:Ard:*Ard or scratch-plough, a type of plough consisting of a simple spike dragged through the soil*Ard, alternate name of Arad, Iran, a city in Fars Province...
) - 2008: EM-Raportagen (Das ErsteARDArd, ARD, Ards or ARDS may refer to:Ard:*Ard or scratch-plough, a type of plough consisting of a simple spike dragged through the soil*Ard, alternate name of Arad, Iran, a city in Fars Province...
) - 2010: WM-Raportagen (Das ErsteARDArd, ARD, Ards or ARDS may refer to:Ard:*Ard or scratch-plough, a type of plough consisting of a simple spike dragged through the soil*Ard, alternate name of Arad, Iran, a city in Fars Province...
)