German rap duo Kollegah and Farid Bang are anti-Semitic. So why did they just receive Germany’s prestigious ECHO Award?
In one song, they vow to “show up with a Molotov.” That sounds all well and good, right? Rappers speak about burning things down all the time. That’s nothing new. But, then, rappers Kollegah and Farid Bang say that they plan to “make another Holocaust.”
In another song, they describe their bodies as “more defined than Auschwitz prisoners.”
Anti-Semitism in music isn’t anything new. In fact, here at Digital Music News, we’ve covered white nationalist artists that proudly boast their hate-filled sentiments about other races, including Jewish people. Much to the chagrin of these groups, we’ve exposed these hate songs freely available on Spotify and YouTube.
Yet, we find ourselves asking today: Why has a popular German awards show suddenly decided to present the clearly racist duo with a high-profile award?
Here’s what happened. On April 12th, at the ECHO Music Awards in Berlin, Kollegah and Farid Bang received a coveted ECHO award. The equivalent of earning a Grammy here in the States, the duo earned the award for best hip-hop album. They also received a nomination for best album, but ultimately lost to Ed Sheeran.
Before the ceremony, ECHO organizers brushed off complaints from multiple Jewish organizations in the country. According to them, Kollegah and Farid Bang’s anti-Semitic lyrics merely expressed “artistic freedom.” It didn’t venture into hatefulness.
No, of course not. How could speaking negatively about Auschwitz survivors, and even making another Holocaust, be hateful? Organizers said that the nomination would stand.
The ECHO Music Awards immediately received widespread condemnation after Kollegah and Bang’s win. In fact, during the show, Campino, lead singer of German punk rock band Die Toten Hosen, criticized organizers on stage. After accepting a separate award, he said,
“In principle, I consider provocation is a good thing. But we need to differentiate between art as a stylistic device, or a form of provocation that only serves to destroy and ostracize others.”
Campino immediately received a standing ovation from the audience.
On Twitter, Heiko Mass, Germany’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, lambasted the ECHO Music Awards. Highlighting that the awards ceremony took place on the same day as Holocaust Remembrance Day, he lamented,
“Anti-Semitic provocations do not deserve awards, they are simply disgusting. That such a prize was handed out on Holocaust Remembrance Day is shameful.”
Following widespread criticism, the German Music Industry Association, BVMI, issued an apology.
“We as a board estimated all wrong and wanted to promote the artistic freedom at the wrong place. We will take care that such things will not happen again in the future [and] we deeply apologize for all of that to you and all other people whose sentiments we have hurt.”
Of course, BVMI had previously defended ECHO organizers’ stance of the rap duo’s lyrics as “artistic freedom.”
Very few people have yet to accept BVMI’s ‘sudden change of heart.’ Billboard notes that pop stars Marius Müller Westernhagen and Klaus Voormann, as well as classical pianist Igor Levit and conductor Enoch zu Gutenberg, have returned their ECHO awards. Famed Beatles collaborator Klaus Voorman has also returned his lifetime achievement trophy.
In addition, Monika Grütters, Germany’s Minister for Culture and Media, blasted the trade organization for their failure in allowing the nomination.
“Obviously it is necessary to pause and to reflect about their own artistic entitlement and ethic standards. The freedom of arts is guaranteed in Germany, but it crosses borders where Holocaust victims are being scorned. The term artistic freedom unfortunately is rather stretchy. Here it is not a question of taste, but about the responsibility of the art and the artists for our community.”
Former Sony executive and ECHO founding member Thomas M. Stein said,
“Regarding rap, you cannot put everything on the gold scale. I think that Kollegah and Farid Bang are predestined anti-Semites… They have presented the song and now they have to live with it.”
In response to the controversy, BMG announced that it would donate €100,000 ($123,465) to combat anti-Semitism in German schools. Along with Banger Musik and Alpha Music Empire, the music group distributed the rap duo’s winning album, Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend 3.
In a statement defending the duo, BMG Worldwide CEO Hartwig Masuch said,
“Kollegah and Farid Bang have repeatedly made it clear on the internet and speaking in public that they are not anti-Semitic, and they have apologized for any distress caused by the lyrics in question. BMG stands for values such as artistic freedom, creativity and diversity. We take the current discussion as an opportunity to publicize our clear stance against anti-Semitism and are determined to actively engage on this issue.”
Kollegah and Farid Bang have also taken to social media to defend themselves. They urged music listeners to “judge individuals by their character only.” (Of course, just don’t read their lyrics). In an attempt to calm the situation, Bang issued a public apology to Auschwitz survivor Esther Bejarano. Kollegah promised Jewish fans “lifelong free entry” to the duo’s concerts.
Yet, don’t expect the fallout to come to an end anytime soon. Influential German singer Peter Maffey called for BVMI CEO Florian Drücke’s firing.
Christian Höppner, President of the German Cultural Council, has also left the ECHO advisory council. Lambasting the awards show, he stated,
“The council had to decide between artistic freedom and the non-admission of the freedom of art. This decision was a mistake.”
Featured image by SelfMade Records (CC by 2.0)
To be clear here : These guys are not Nazis or underground white supremacists , where one would “expect” those horrible and shocking lyrics . However , they are one of those quite dumb HipHop acts, signed to BMG ( at least until this afternoon). They made huge money for BMG . By winning the ECHOE prize ( which is based on financial success (streaming ; etc.) ) the lyrics were finally exposed and heard by a wider non-HipHop mainstream audience and therefore identified as the disgusting crap it is. The true scandal here is the fact , that a major label like BMG had no problem to push a hip hop act into the market that uses those disgusting lyrics , making very good money over the last year .
yeah… see this is one example of why the music industry is a complete joke.
Rap is generally sold by jews, and made by ghetto dwellers for other morons, and the smart people who want to slum some and leave their boring lives. It IS the LOWEST form of music ever created, the only competition is comparably stupid modern southern US country. This world needs to STOP promoting idiot culture, because it is making people stupider.
Kollegah and Farid Bang…
Couldn’t stand up to your real immigration issues… so you two Pussies want to insight a Holocaust..
you know.. I hope every race on the planet decides to irradicate you two fucktards.
As for ECHO.. you insight and promote hatred and A race of jealousy seethes and rises … duly noted Germany.
As for BMG
Fuck the Bertelsmann Music Group family name. Your company just gained the position of “Top of the Hits List”….
The countdown is on….who will be number one though at the end of the week. Stay tuned for your favourite DJ’s to announce who is in the running.
You insight hatred / war / holocaust….then enjoy your fruits of your labours.
Pieces of Dog poo….every one of you.
Hartwig Masuch, Dr. Maximilian Dressendörfer, Fred Casimir
Mark my words.
the guy on the left looks black, is he black? what kind of fukkery is this
Israel has done a lot to wreck this planet in this new century. That isn’t up for debate. Islam is also a disaster, though, and any liberals, and I am a liberal, who don’t get that don’t understand the realities of stone age religions. Rap is a really tired musical form as well, and european rap is essentially a joke outside its respective language audiences.
This world is going to the gutter. People need to learn how to instruments again, and we need zionists out of western govts. They set up shop in someone else’s neighborhood and they need to deal with it on their own. Other than that, jews are productive people, clearly, although their power is out of control.
Still, anyone making the comment ‘make another holocaust’ isn’t just a racist, he’s probably racist against all modern Germans, and is a total idiot. Europe will have to fight Islam. they better start understanding that, and I’m NOT a right-winger. These stone age religions don’t screw around, and Islam is NOT reformed for modernity like protestantism is, and that religions is still a stain in its own way. Catholicism is the other major boneheaded violent religion.
they are no germans, they are muslim immigrants
They are Germans