Massive Töne
Encyclopedia
Massive Töne is one of the oldest and most popular German
Hip hop
groups, founded in 1991 in Stuttgart
.
The four founding members, Showi (Jean-Christoph Ritter), Ju (João dos Santos), Wasi (Wasi Ntuanoglu) and DJ 5ter Ton ("DJ Fifth Note", Alexander Scheffel) all originated in Stuttgart's hip hop scene and modeled themselves at first on the American and French hip hop groups like Breakdance Soundtracks, Beastie Boys
, Public Enemy and Ultramagnetics, before they finally found their own style.
In 1993 Massive Töne joined up with other hip-hop musicians, BBoys und Graffiti
artists to form the Stuttgarter Kolchose
. Along with Massive Töne, the best known members were Afrob
, Freundeskreis
, DJ Thomilla and Breite Seite.
From 1994 to 1995 Massive Töne appeared at most of the important Hip-Hop concerts, where they appeared alongside well-known hip-hop groups like Fettes Brot
, Spax, Absolute Beginner, the Stieber Twins
, and MC Rene.
Massive Töne's debut album Kopfnicker appeared in 1996, making them well known to the entire German hip-hop scene. It remains today as their most important album and as an emblem for the group. In 1998 Massive Töne switched to the major label Eastwest and produced the single Unterschied. The video for Unterschied became was an enduring hit in Germany
. The 1999 album Überfall brought together highly refined rhythms with strongly expressive lyrics. With well known performers like Blahzay Blahzay
they collaborated on tracks and produced four singles from Überfall. Another piece, "2Mille", was recorded especially for the French action-comedy film Taxi 2
.
After the extraordinary success of the album Überfall, which ended up being one of the best selling German hip-hops albums ever, the group split in 2000 from their MC/producer, Wasi, and founded their own label, Kopfnicker Records. Kopfnicker Records — das Album was released that same year.
At the turn of the century Massive Töne started to take things slower. It wasn't until 2002 that they released the album MT3, whose single "Cruisen" ("Cruising") reached number 5 in the German charts. The album's 14 tracks are range widely in style, from pure party tracks to socially critical songs like Deutschland, Deutschland.
In 2005 they released their Album Zurück In Die Zukunft ("Back to the Future").
scene when they declared their hit "Cruisen" to be a reaction to the supposed take-over of German hip hop
by the children of the middle classes. This resentment was shared by many other artists and bands on the scene because since the 1980s, all disciplines of hip hop
culture had drawn recruits from Germany
. It had always been a unique and attractive scene in that it held out the promise of being a cultural context where the racism and prejudices of the majority had no role to play; respect and recognition were based solely on achievement and skills, regardless of origin or skin color. This was a big deal because 10% of the population was made up of immigrants, and it was these migrants and their children that most contributed to the new youth culture. For young people from eco-socially disadvantaged and minority backgrounds in Germany
, it was very easy to embrace the role models of the African American ghetto and relate to them, seeing as native Germans weren't welcoming them into mainstream culture. Pretty soon, youths adopted the hip hop
culture as their own, and infused it with international flavors. It was a mostly underground movement, practically unnoticed by the media.
In 1991, all this changed with the release of "Die da" by the band Die Fantastischen Vier, popularly known as 'Fantas'. The band had very little to do with the developing hip hop
scene in Germany
, but overnight they had come to be the face of the new musical genre, solely because they had obtained a record deal with a prominent label. They changed the way rap was received in culture, from a pure import to a purely German genre. Suddenly, lyrics went from being about the politicized struggle of the masses to good-mood lyrics about women, drinking, and cars. Largely cut off from the subculture of youth clubs and the street, German rap turned into a lucrative hit industry which aimed to be culturally distinctive from its American roots.
It wasn't until 2001 that the reconciliation between pop and politics in German hip hop
culture began, with "Adriano", the number one single of Brothers Keepers, which was a tribute to an Afro-German who was murdered by neo-Nazis. It marked a new self-confidence in the hip hop scene where minority stars began making music with subjects ranging from politics to violence to the economic situation. Now the scene struggles to find a middle ground between the roots of German hip hop
, that is, the Afro-American inspired music that focused on the real issues concerning youth and street culture, and the German hip hop
that had been for a decade, influenced by pop and middle class luxuries.
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...
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...
groups, founded in 1991 in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
The four founding members, Showi (Jean-Christoph Ritter), Ju (João dos Santos), Wasi (Wasi Ntuanoglu) and DJ 5ter Ton ("DJ Fifth Note", Alexander Scheffel) all originated in Stuttgart's hip hop scene and modeled themselves at first on the American and French hip hop groups like Breakdance Soundtracks, Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....
, Public Enemy and Ultramagnetics, before they finally found their own style.
In 1993 Massive Töne joined up with other hip-hop musicians, BBoys und Graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
artists to form the Stuttgarter Kolchose
Kolchose
The Kolchose is a group of Hip hop artists in the southern German city of Stuttgart. The group was founded in 1993 and includes the artists Freundeskreis, Massive Töne, Afrob, Breite Seite and Skillz en Masse, to name a few....
. Along with Massive Töne, the best known members were 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 :...
, Freundeskreis
Freundeskreis
Freundeskreis also known as FK, was a German hip hop group from Stuttgart, whose songs were in German but also in English, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Herre, Don Philippe and DJ Friction....
, DJ Thomilla and Breite Seite.
From 1994 to 1995 Massive Töne appeared at most of the important Hip-Hop concerts, where they appeared alongside well-known hip-hop groups like Fettes Brot
Fettes Brot
Fettes 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...
, Spax, Absolute Beginner, the Stieber Twins
Stieber Twins
The Stieber Twins are a duo from Heidelberg, Germany, consisting of the brothers Martin and Christian . They are known as graffiti artists, breakdancers, rappers, hip hop producers and DJs....
, and MC Rene.
Massive Töne's debut album Kopfnicker appeared in 1996, making them well known to the entire German hip-hop scene. It remains today as their most important album and as an emblem for the group. In 1998 Massive Töne switched to the major label Eastwest and produced the single Unterschied. The video for Unterschied became was an enduring hit in Germany
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...
. The 1999 album Überfall brought together highly refined rhythms with strongly expressive lyrics. With well known performers like Blahzay Blahzay
Blahzay Blahzay
Blahzay Blahzay was an East Coast hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, consisting of DJ PF Cuttin and MC Out Loud. The group released only one album, 1996's Blah Blah Blah, along with a 1999 maxi-single of new material. The LP contained the group's most popular track, Danger...
they collaborated on tracks and produced four singles from Überfall. Another piece, "2Mille", was recorded especially for the French action-comedy film Taxi 2
Taxi 2
Taxi 2 is a French film directed by Gérard Krawczyk and released in 2000. It is a sequel to Taxi written by Luc Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès in 1998. It was followed by Taxi 3 in 2003.-Plot:...
.
After the extraordinary success of the album Überfall, which ended up being one of the best selling German hip-hops albums ever, the group split in 2000 from their MC/producer, Wasi, and founded their own label, Kopfnicker Records. Kopfnicker Records — das Album was released that same year.
At the turn of the century Massive Töne started to take things slower. It wasn't until 2002 that they released the album MT3, whose single "Cruisen" ("Cruising") reached number 5 in the German charts. The album's 14 tracks are range widely in style, from pure party tracks to socially critical songs like Deutschland, Deutschland.
In 2005 they released their Album Zurück In Die Zukunft ("Back to the Future").
Controversy
Massive Töne has been considered an authority in the rap scene since it brought out its "Kopfnicker" album in 1996. Controversy arose in the German hip hopGerman 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:...
scene when they declared their hit "Cruisen" to be a reaction to the supposed take-over of German hip hop
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:...
by the children of the middle classes. This resentment was shared by many other artists and bands on the scene because since the 1980s, all disciplines of hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
culture had drawn recruits from Germany
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...
. It had always been a unique and attractive scene in that it held out the promise of being a cultural context where the racism and prejudices of the majority had no role to play; respect and recognition were based solely on achievement and skills, regardless of origin or skin color. This was a big deal because 10% of the population was made up of immigrants, and it was these migrants and their children that most contributed to the new youth culture. For young people from eco-socially disadvantaged and minority backgrounds in Germany
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...
, it was very easy to embrace the role models of the African American ghetto and relate to them, seeing as native Germans weren't welcoming them into mainstream culture. Pretty soon, youths adopted the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
culture as their own, and infused it with international flavors. It was a mostly underground movement, practically unnoticed by the media.
In 1991, all this changed with the release of "Die da" by the band Die Fantastischen Vier, popularly known as 'Fantas'. The band had very little to do with the developing hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
scene in Germany
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...
, but overnight they had come to be the face of the new musical genre, solely because they had obtained a record deal with a prominent label. They changed the way rap was received in culture, from a pure import to a purely German genre. Suddenly, lyrics went from being about the politicized struggle of the masses to good-mood lyrics about women, drinking, and cars. Largely cut off from the subculture of youth clubs and the street, German rap turned into a lucrative hit industry which aimed to be culturally distinctive from its American roots.
It wasn't until 2001 that the reconciliation between pop and politics in German hip hop
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:...
culture began, with "Adriano", the number one single of Brothers Keepers, which was a tribute to an Afro-German who was murdered by neo-Nazis. It marked a new self-confidence in the hip hop scene where minority stars began making music with subjects ranging from politics to violence to the economic situation. Now the scene struggles to find a middle ground between the roots of German hip hop
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:...
, that is, the Afro-American inspired music that focused on the real issues concerning youth and street culture, and the German hip hop
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:...
that had been for a decade, influenced by pop and middle class luxuries.
Albums
- 1995 - ...Dichter In Stuttgart (EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
) - 1996 - Kopfnicker
- 1999 - Überfall
- 2002 - MT3
- 2005 - Zurück in die Zukunft