From The Underground Up
GERMANY | RAP/HIP-HOP
“In a rap battle, women are traditionally degraded by men. They are remembered when men feel that women behave like them.” – Juju
Attitude – CHECK. Catchy – CHECK. Crass – CHECK. Clever – CHECK. Attractive – CHECK.
Women involved in the rap music world are hit or miss. You’ve got your Lady Sovs, Queen Latifah’s, Nicki Minaj’s sure, but which one of them can actually stand up to the big boys of rap? Anybody? ANYBODY??? Well, I think these ladies do a hell of a job holding their own. But, I’m not solely going to focus on the fact that they are women, because that just defeats their purpose and mine. Music isn’t just about labels, gender or even politics; it’s about skills. Who has them and who doesn’t. But more on that later!
2014 birthed the rap duo known as SXTN in a poor part of Berlin, where the ladies met when Juju, the younger of the two members, was about 17 years old. Both ladies are of mixed heritages, Juju being Moroccan and German and Nura being Saudi and Eritreer, and have worked awfully hard to get to where they are today, from the underground up- with over 100K followers on Instagram (with about the same # of followers on their personal accounts) and sold out shows all over Germany. And it’s no surprise really, when one listens to their stuff – it’s catchy as hell, well-produced and fluidly rapped.
They released an 8-track EP titled Asozialisierungsprogramm (Asocialization Program) in 2016, shocking German listeners with their single Deine Mutter (Your Mother), a song that literally says “I f*** your mother” in the lyrics and a music video that is just as racy. With their aggressive, yet tongue-in-cheek approach to rap, they don’t shy away from the raunchy and crass, but instead use it as a weapon in their arsenal. Sure, while songs with offensive titles like So High and P***ies In the Club have helped garner attention for them, their skills, sass and perspective in life speak for themselves. They seem like down-to-earth chicks that you would want to hang out with, not pompous divas, but artists grateful for their fans, whom they often thank.
Though it is still a man’s world out there in the music industry, where sex still sells like hotcakes, SXTN have taken advantage of that part of the industry, using the indecent to pave their own path to fame. But, really, for as shallow as you would deem them to be at first glance or listen, thinking they may just be trying to sell records or become famous, there is actual substance and brains to them as artists. The mere fact alone that they use industry standards as a strength when it is usually looked at as an unfair or one-sided game is remarkable and shows their brilliance. In interviews, they are often the targets of common, one-dimensional questions like “How does it feel to be a woman in a man’s world?” or “Who are your female rap role models?” or even “Do you feel like you’re treated differently because you are women?“. What is so utterly staggering about them is their no-nonsense response to such questions. They have thick skin and don’t mind telling people off when they need to, yet they also just shrug off a lot of comments they get online like “get back to the kitchen where you belong”, looking past them, apathetically unaffected.
In a rough translation from an interview on Intro.de, they say “In a rap battle, women are traditionally degraded by men. They are remembered when men feel that women behave like them.” Juju later elaborates in that same interview that “We want to be part of the game, compete with others, and show that we are better than them.” [1] However, they don’t deem themselves feminists, per se, at least in Juju’s opinion via Juice.de: “I would not necessarily call myself a feminist. Feminist opinions are often a little too extreme for me. I do not want to fight for women either. Everyone should have the same rights, whether male or female, homo or hetero. One should not hurt each other, but also put no one on a pedestal. To be cool with everyone and not to be afraid of others – that is much more important to me.” [3] So despite their raw, at times shocking, actions and words, Juju and Nura actually do have good intentions beyond the crazy vulgarity.
“I would not necessarily call myself a feminist. Feminist opinions are often a little too extreme for me. I do not want to fight for women either. Everyone should have the same rights, whether male or female, homo or hetero. One should not hurt each other, but also put no one on a pedestal. To be cool with everyone and not to be afraid of others – that is much more important to me.” – Juju
Nonetheless, Juju and Nura do admit that there are advantages to being females in the rap business, stating in another interview from Vice that “We have a song out there and if we were guys and had only had a single, we would not have been noticed as much in the media. By being girls, we were suddenly everywhere through one song.” Along the same token though, since they are girls in a tough-guys’ business, they do feel the pressures of expectation upon their shoulders. “Most think that we have it very easy because we are women. And yes, there is not as much competition… But we actually have a harder time because we have to be the crassest in all things. It is not enough that you have good beat after good beat, you have to look good, you have to say exactly what everyone wants to hear, make everyone happy … It is totally mental,” Nura states. [2]
Their EP went over decently well when it was released and it was followed up recently by their debut album Leben Am Limit (Live at the Limit) which just dropped in June. The album features twelve songs packed to the brim with the fast rapping-style of Juju and raspy-voiced rapping by Nura. It peaked to #8 on the German charts which isn’t bad at all for a debut and they should be quite proud of their achievements thus far. Singles from the album so far are Die Fotzen Sind Wieder Da (The P***ies Are Back), Bongzimmer (Bong Room), Er will Sex (He Wants Sex), Ständer (Stand) and Von Party Zu Party (From Party to Party). Er will Sex is my favorite song on the album with rhythmic lines that flow from verse to verse and a killer hook and post-hook that you can’t help but hum to, which is literally them telling a guy off because he only wants to screw them but they “forbid it”. It’s pretty great. Von Party Zu Party is another great song on the album, one that is high-energy and perfect to work out to. There are some other hidden gems on there besides the singles too, like track 7 Ausziehen (Move Out) and track 9 Frischfleisch (Fresh Meat), some other faves of mine.
With themes centered around drinking, smoking weed, promiscuity, and the party scene in general, the ladies pack a punch to the gut and are not for the light-hearted listener. So, listen at your own risk. But hey – do you want to miss out on a party like this one? Substance and sass – they really do have it all.
*** Their EP Asozialisierungsprogramm is available on Apple Music and Spotify while the only way to listen to Leben Am Limit at the moment is to grab an imported hardcopy on Amazon. Just FYI.
References
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Er will Sex
Wir Sind Friedlich
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