The lyrics of Frankfurt rap duo Celo & Abdi are often very drastic. They often contain harsh criticism of the supposed majority society.
"Hör zu, was Abdi sagt, Hunger in Afrika/ Parallel dazu isst du Hummer und Kaviar" (Listen to what Abdi says, hunger in Africa/ Simultaneously you eat lobster and caviar)With these accusatory lines, rapper Abdi begins the song Parallelen (Parallels), on which he raps together with his colleagues Celo and Haftbefehl. The intro to the song consists of an introduction by news anchor Klaus Cleber, whose voice has been digitally edited: "We're talking about parallel societies, communities in the middle of Germany that live by rules that are not ours. It's not just about mosques and Turkish coffee houses or shops. It's about what holds a society together at its core, about justice and the law." This juxtaposition - of what is seen as a social grievance and how differentiated the various lifestyles are, even in Germany - is the essence of the song. "Es geht ums nackte Überleben / Eine Welt, zwei Parallelen / Ich will Para sehen oder Plan B" (It's about bare survival / One world, two parallels / I want to see Para or Plan B), the song continues. Parallelen was a single release from the debut album Hinterhofjargon (Backyard slang) by Frankfurt rap duo Celo & Abdi from 2012. The album focuses on drug excesses in Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel (train station district), prison stays in the song Besuchstag (Visiting day) and Europe-wide drug rings in the song Traffic Cartel. Throughout, the songs on the album are about a parallel world that both shocks and crudely fascinates the middle class in Germany.
Celo & Abdi rap about these topics, sometimes humorously, sometimes melancholically or - as in Parallelen - drastically and accusingly. The beat of the song, produced by Hamid Chizari alias M3, slowly builds up to a dark and terrifying soundscape. This fits in with the reckoning with the centre of society that the song also represents. Time and again, the rappers confront the national and international community with their own contradictions: "Die Würde des Menschen unantastbar/ Parallel dazu Genozid in Ruanda“ "„Die Würde des Menschen unantastbar/ Parallel dazu Genozid in Ruanda" (Human dignity is sacrosanct/ Parallel to the genocide in Rwanda.) A drastic criticism of the international community watching the genocide in East Africa. Not every line is a pointer to "those at the top". Individual fates from Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel with its red-light district and notorious drug scene are also highlighted: „Parallel dazu platzt im Puff ein Gummi/ Parallel dazu schnappt die Nutte Hunni“ (Simultaneously, a rubber bursts in the brothel/ Simultaneously, the hooker grabs a hundred dollar bill.) An allusion to the fact that sex can be bought for little money and that a woman who offers her sexual services becomes unintentionally pregnant while a high-earning banker fills up his BMW.
Celo & Abdi use a slang in their music that delights culture enthusiasts, but probably frightens German teachers.
The album Hinterhofjargon provides an insight into the migrant subcultures of German cities and a slang that delights culture enthusiasts, but probably frightens German teachers. The duo mix Arabic, Serbo-Croatian, French, Turkish and, of course, German in their songs. Celo (real name Erol Huseinćehajić) was born in Frankfurt am Main to Bosnian parents, while Abdi (real name Abderrahim el Ommali) was also born in Frankfurt to Moroccan parents. They have been making music together since 2009. With their rap style, which truly deserves the label "multicultural", they have made their mark on the German rap scene. German rap superstar Haftbefehl quickly became aware of the duo and signed them to his label. He is therefore a recurring guest on many songs, including Parallelen.
There, Haftbefehl also brings charges and draws attention to the unfair starting conditions with which people are born in Germany: „Ihr kleiner Sohn kennt nichts außer Hass und Zorn/ Liebe bleibt ein Fremdwort, denn vor Jahren ging schon Papa fort. Schon als Kind gestorben, Oma nennt sie Hundesohn /Parallel dazu Mutter putzt im Knast für Hungerlohn." (Her little son knows nothing but hate and anger / Love remains a foreign word, because daddy left years ago. Died as a child, grandma calls her a son of a bitch / Mother cleans in prison for starvation wages.) It is striking that the word "Parallel" is used as an anaphora. The constant repetition at the beginning of the verses emphasises the finger-pointing character of the song: "Parallel dazu Touchdown beim Superbowl. Parallel dazu Schulden und Hungerlohn/ Parallel dazu sagt einer Hurensohn." (Simultaneously, touchdown at the Superbowl. Simultaneaously, debt and starvation wages/ Simultaneously, someone says son of a bitch.)
At the end, Klaus Cleber's introduction is taken up again: "It's about what holds a society together at its core, about justice and the law." After what the three rappers have denounced in the previous lines, the listeners inevitably ask themselves what really holds society together at its core and whether it is even possible to talk about a society with so many parallels.
August 2024