Turkish Hip Hop - Language

Language

The most obvious demarcation of Turkish hip hop in Germany is language. As Bennet writes, “the fact of language itself can also play a crucial role in informing the way in which song lyrics are heard and the forms of significance which are read into them”. First and foremost, Turkish rap distinguishes itself from German and American hip hop by the utilizing the Turkish language rather than German or English. Feridun Zaimoglu, one of Germany’s leading literary figures, describes the Turkish most hip hop artists employ as ‘Kanak Sprak.’ ‘Kanak Sprak’ makes a direct reference to local racism in Germany This creolized Turkish-German spoken by the disenfranchised youth of the hip-hop generation is characterized as sentences without commas, full stops, capital letters, and any kind of punctuation as well as frequent switches between Turkish and German Kanak Sprak alone, without even delving into the lyrics, sets Turkish hip hop apart from pure imitation of American music and makes it more meaningful for its Turkish listeners. For example, when Cartel—the original Turkish-language rap project to get off the ground—released their debut album to address the first generation of Turkish immigrants in Berlin, it sparked an international controversy. Although some refrains were rapped in German, most of the lyrics as well as promotional materials and paraphernalia were in Turkish. Cartel even reclaimed the word ‘Kanak’ from its derogative roots by using it liberally in their album, “Don’t be ashamed, be proud to be a Kanak!” and branding it all over their T-shirts and stickers. This not only marked hip-hop culture as distinctly Turkish, but simultaneously created a separate public sphere for fans of Turkish hip hop because most Germans did not speak Turkish. The very fact that the language of the album was in Turkish shifted the balance of power from privileged Germans to oppressed Turks. In the liner notes of the cd, “the English words ‘What are they sayin?!’ appear in big bubble letters. Underneath, the caption teasingly reads in German: ‘Didn’t pay attention in Turkish class? Then ask for the translations fast with this card’”. Using their position as outsiders, Turkish youth are able to create a subculture only accessible to those on the ‘inside.’ By flaunting cultural ‘otherness’ Cartel is able to evoke a power and visibility normally not associated with the minority status of Turks in Germany. Giving it a particularly ‘local’ meaning, these particular distinctions transform distant German hip hop into a platform for Turks to assert their nationalistic pride.