Frame and Preparation
WER DU BIST
Conceptual Frames and Background
- Music
- Rap & Hiphop
- Race & Racism
- Identity
- Contemporary Politics
- Immigration
Introduction
In this song, Iranian-German rappers Kianush and PA Sports address racism in Germany, emphasizing the role of internet anonymity in spreading hatred. They specifically address contemporary German politics (i.e. the rise of the AfD) and religious discrimination.
Kianush (Kianush Rashedi) was born in 1987 in Teheran, Iran. He emigrated from Iran to Germany as a child and grew up in Muenster, where he also spent three years in prison for robbery. He began rapping in the early 2000s, but did not achieve widespread success until he partnered with PA Sports in 2014 for his first studio album, /Desperadoz/.
PA Sports (Parham Vakili) was born in 1990 in Essen to an Iranian academic family who had immigrated to Germany. Both his parents are trained engineers. He began rapping in 2002 and quickly garnered the attention of big names on the scene like Eko Fresh and Snaga, who would feature him on their mix tapes and albums. His first solo album, /Streben nach Glück/, came out in 2011, though he did not start topping German-language music charts until 2014.
Preparation
Students will need an overview of the debates surrounding migration and German identity and the political climate of the 2010s to contextualize some contemporary politics.
The full song lyrics refer to the K-word, so it might be necessary to contextualize the history and debates surrounding that word as both a slur and a site of reclamation/resistance for some.
Text and Discussion
Activity:
Listen to the song a few times together as a class, then discuss an opening general question: Who is the “ich” in the song? Who is the “du”? Who is the song addressing and who is being addressed? What message does this convey?
Afterwards, distribute the lyrics and play the song again to prepare for a more focused discussion on specific lyrics and imagery in the song:
- What are some of the images that the song uses to characterize in and out groups in German society? How does it present these images? Does it challenge them, endorse them, undermine them? How?
- How does the song address contemporary politics and political parties? What are the ways this song might be understood as political?
- How does the song present the relationships between religious identification, race or ethnicity, and national identities?
- What role does the internet play? Are there references to other types of media or ways people encounter the world?
- Examine the underlined passages. Discuss what they might mean and how you would interpret them.
“WER DU BIST”
Was denkst du, wer du bist?
Heute nennen wir das Kind beim Namen
Du bist ein Rassist
Ich hätte nur eine einzige Frage:
Sag mal, schämst du dich nicht?
Warum verbreitest du Hass auf der Straße?
Ist doch alles nur ein Klick
Und so versteckst du dich hinter den Kommentaren
Schwarz-Weiß, Arm-Reich
Wir bewegen uns hier auf Glatteis, whouh
Angst bleibt, Hass steig
Komm, wir reißen zusammen diese Wand ein
Die AfD sagt, wir alle wären Dreck
Kann nicht mehr hören, wie die Schlampe uns verletzt
Schert uns über einen Kamm, aber das ist nicht korrekt
Es geht nicht um Religion, sondern nur um den Respekt
Ist mir doch egal, was ihr alle von mir denkt
Auf dem Ball auf den wir leben, wurde immer nur gekämpft
Leben auf dem selben Boden, haben uns selber abgegränzt
Überall zu Hause, wem gehört schon diese Welt?
Sag, was ändert das, wenn der Pass einen Deutschen Stempel hat?
In meinem Inneren wär ich immer der selbe Mann
Immer zur Stelle, wenn ich irgendwie helfen kann, halt die Welt jetzt an […]
Find the complete lyrics below and the music here.
Developed by Emily Gauld and Laura Okkema.