Krauts With Attitude - History

History

The album was controversial for its language and disrespect towards authority. The title of the album refers to Niggaz with Attitude (N.W.A.), a hip-hop group from California, and the word "kraut," which is derogatory slang for German people. N.W.A. is widely considered a seminal gangsta rap group. Their lyrics are controversial, and Krauts with Attitude provided a German counterpart to the American rap scene. The Krauts record was influential to future German artists who wanted to make it in German hip-hop.

The comparisons between the Krauts and other artists in the U.S. had many parallels. "Although the title "Krauts with Attitude" is a clear allusion to an American West Coast role-model, Niggaz with Attitude, the liner notes express German rappers' desire to distance themselves from the implied tyranny of African-American musical forefathers (or a faceless music industry that demands racial authenticity). If Niggaz with Attitude was the revolt of a repressed minority against a white establishment, then Krauts with Attitude positions the "Krauts" (a derogatory term that typically refers to German soldiers, in particular) as the repressed but newly defiant victim. The notion that German hip hop is occupied and controlled by a Black hip hop establishment recalls the occupation of Germany by black American soldiers after the second world war."

The album cover was designed in the colors of the nation’s flag (black, red, and gold), a move that was mimicked by the Turkish hip hop group Cartel. The group supported this underlying nationalism with the linernotes reading “Now is the time to oppose somehow the self confidence of the English and the American.”