Brothers Keepers
Encyclopedia
Brothers Keepers is a German
-based transnational
anti-racism
project, bringing together hip hop
, reggae
and soul
musicians, headed primarily by Afro-Germans.
origin, named Alberto Adriano, was brutally killed by neo-Nazis
in Dessau
(East Germany) in 2000, a group of musicians decided to organize and fight back. Brothers Keepers has local groups active in information campaigns, presenting teach-ins at schools etc. However the project primarily gained prominence in Germany through the collaborative album, Lightkultur. The title is a pun on conservative
politician Günther Beckstein
’s term "deutsche Leitkultur" ("German leading culture"), demanding that foreigners subject themselves to the supposed standards of German culture. The album features German musicians such as Torch
, Samy Deluxe
, Afrob
, Denyo
from the Beginner
and D-Flame
. The proceeds of this album went to charity
.
rhetoric and are militant
ly anti-Nazi
, proposing solutions to racism ranging from education
to violence. The militancy is especially well illustrated in the German TOP 10 hit "Adriano", a seven minute tour de force produced by DJ Desue, featuring the crème of German rap. Its video
shows a procession of rappers, marching as a united front and the chorus, sung by India
n-descended R&B star Xavier Naidoo
, goes thus:
Original:
English:
or
The project is not limited to Germany. It focuses on manifestations of the African diaspora
throughout the world and is supported by international artists such as Jamaica
n reggae musician Ziggy Marley
and Senegal
ese mbalax
musician Youssou N'Dour
. There is also a UK
Brothers Keepers, which, while lacking the organizational superstructure of its German counterpart, contributed a track to Lightkultur.
There is also a female version of this Movement/Band called the Sisters Keepers.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-based transnational
Transnationalism
Transnationalism is a social movement and scholarly research agenda grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and social significance of boundaries among nation states....
anti-racism
Anti-racism
Anti-racism includes beliefs, actions, movements, and policies adopted or developed to oppose racism. In general, anti-racism is intended to promote an egalitarian society in which people do not face discrimination on the basis of their race, however defined...
project, bringing together hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
musicians, headed primarily by Afro-Germans.
History
The idea for the project took root in the 1990s, and when a German of MozambiquanMozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
origin, named Alberto Adriano, was brutally killed by neo-Nazis
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
in Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
(East Germany) in 2000, a group of musicians decided to organize and fight back. Brothers Keepers has local groups active in information campaigns, presenting teach-ins at schools etc. However the project primarily gained prominence in Germany through the collaborative album, Lightkultur. The title is a pun on conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
politician Günther Beckstein
Günther Beckstein
Günther Beckstein is a Bavarian CSU politician and was Minister-President of Bavaria from 9 October 2007 to 27 October 2008...
’s term "deutsche Leitkultur" ("German leading culture"), demanding that foreigners subject themselves to the supposed standards of German culture. The album features German musicians such as Torch
Torch (rapper)
Frederik Hahn , better known by his stage name Torch, is a German rapper with Haitian roots. He was among the first German rappers who began rapping in German in the mid-1980s in Heidelberg, laying the foundation for the success of German hip hop music...
, Samy Deluxe
Samy Deluxe
Samy Sorge , commonly known as Samy Deluxe, Wickeda MC or Sam Semillia is a German rapper, and hip hop artist from Hamburg. He is one of Germany's most successful solo rap musicians while also releasing albums as a member of two separate crews, Dynamite Deluxe and ASD...
, Afrob
Afrob
Afrob is an Afro-German rapper of Eritrean descent. He is easily recognizable due to his trademark afro, from which his pseudonym is derived.- Biography :...
, Denyo
Denyo
Denyo , is a German hip hop artist, member of the group Beginner and the anti-racism project Brothers Keepers....
from the Beginner
Beginner
Beginner Beginner Beginner (formerly Absolute Beginner is a German rap group from Hamburg, consisting of Eizi Eiz [alias Jan Delay/Eißfeldt], Denyo and DJ Mad.- Band history :...
and D-Flame
D-Flame
Daniel Kretschmer, better known by his stage-name D-Flame, is a German hip hop and reggae musician. He was also previously part of the hip hop formation Asiatic Warriors.-Albums:* 2000 - Basstard...
. The proceeds of this album went to charity
Charitable trust
A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...
.
Song lyrics
The lyrics on the album are influenced by Black PowerBlack Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
rhetoric and are militant
Militant
The word militant, which is both an adjective and a noun, usually is used to mean vigorously active, combative and aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in 'militant reformers'. It comes from the 15th century Latin "militare" meaning "to serve as a soldier"...
ly anti-Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
, proposing solutions to racism ranging from education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
to violence. The militancy is especially well illustrated in the German TOP 10 hit "Adriano", a seven minute tour de force produced by DJ Desue, featuring the crème of German rap. Its video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
shows a procession of rappers, marching as a united front and the chorus, sung by India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n-descended R&B star Xavier Naidoo
Xavier Naidoo
Xavier Kurt Naidoo is a German singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actor. Born and raised in Mannheim, Naidoo worked in several jobs in the gastronomy and the musical industry before relocating to the United States in the early 1990s, where he released his first full-length English...
, goes thus:
Original:
English:
or
The project is not limited to Germany. It focuses on manifestations of the African diaspora
African diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
throughout the world and is supported by international artists such as Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n reggae musician Ziggy Marley
Ziggy Marley
David "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...
and Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
ese mbalax
Mbalax
Mbalax is the national popular dance music of Senegal and The Gambia. Mbalax is a fusion of popular Western music and dance such as jazz, soul, Latin, and rock blended with sabar, the traditional drumming and dance music of Senegal...
musician Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
. There is also a UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Brothers Keepers, which, while lacking the organizational superstructure of its German counterpart, contributed a track to Lightkultur.
There is also a female version of this Movement/Band called the Sisters Keepers.
Albums
Year | Title | Chart Positions | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
SWI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
||
2001 2001 in music See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band.... |
Lightkultur (with the Sisters Keepers) | |||
2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
Am I My Brother's Keeper? |
Singles
Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
SWI Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
|||
2001 2001 in music See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band.... |
"Adriano - Letzte Warnung" | ||||
2005 2005 in music -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:... |
"Bereit" | "Afrobob" | |||
"Will We Ever know?" |
Performers
- Adé BantuAdé BantuAdegoke Odukoya, better known as Adé Bantu is a Nigerian-German musician, producer and activist. He is best known as the founder of the Afro-German musical collective and NGO Brothers Keepers and as the front man of Bantu & Afrobeat Academy Band...
- AfrobAfrobAfrob is an Afro-German rapper of Eritrean descent. He is easily recognizable due to his trademark afro, from which his pseudonym is derived.- Biography :...
- Chima
- Denyo 77
- D-FlameD-FlameDaniel Kretschmer, better known by his stage-name D-Flame, is a German hip hop and reggae musician. He was also previously part of the hip hop formation Asiatic Warriors.-Albums:* 2000 - Basstard...
- Don Abi
- Ebony Prince, Germ
- Eased of SeeedSeeedSeeed is a German reggae/dancehall band from Berlin. Founded in 1998, they have become notable in Germany and its neighboring countries. Seeed and Cologne's singjay Gentleman are among Germany's most popular reggae musicians....
- GentlemanGentleman (musician)Tilmann Otto , better known by his stage name Gentleman, is a German Reggae musician.- Personal life :...
- Harry Belafonte
- Joachim Deutschland
- Jah Meek
- Nosliw
- Ono Ngcala
- Patrice Bart-WilliamsPatrice Bart-WilliamsPatrice Babatunde Bart-Williams , better known as Patrice, is an Afro-German reggae artist. He also often uses his second name: Babatunde , which his parents gave him since Patrice was born on the same day that his grandfather died. His music is influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley...
- Such A Surge
- Sékou
- Samy DeluxeSamy DeluxeSamy Sorge , commonly known as Samy Deluxe, Wickeda MC or Sam Semillia is a German rapper, and hip hop artist from Hamburg. He is one of Germany's most successful solo rap musicians while also releasing albums as a member of two separate crews, Dynamite Deluxe and ASD...
- Toni LToni LToni L is one of the three artists comprising the famous German rap group Advanced Chemistry formed in 1987. Born as Toni Landomini, yet often referred to as “der pate” or “the Godfather,” Toni holds German citizenship but has an Italian background...
- TorchTorch (rapper)Frederik Hahn , better known by his stage name Torch, is a German rapper with Haitian roots. He was among the first German rappers who began rapping in German in the mid-1980s in Heidelberg, laying the foundation for the success of German hip hop music...
- Tyron Ricketts
- UB40UB40UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...
- Xavier NaidooXavier NaidooXavier Kurt Naidoo is a German singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actor. Born and raised in Mannheim, Naidoo worked in several jobs in the gastronomy and the musical industry before relocating to the United States in the early 1990s, where he released his first full-length English...
- Youssou N’Dour
- Ziggy Marley