| Freundeskreis | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Stuttgart, Germany |
| Genres | German hip hop Hip hop Rap |
| Years active | 1996–2007 |
| Labels | Four Music |
| Website | Official website |
| Past members | |
| Maximilian "Max" Herre "Don" Philippe Kayser Martin "Friction" Welzer |
|
Freundeskreis (Circle of friends) also known as FK, was a German hip hop group from Stuttgart, whose songs were in German but also in English, French and Esperanto. The members were Max Herre, Don Philippe and DJ Friction.
They were a socially conscious German rap group. They have released three top twenty albums in the past ten years.[1] The fact that they rapped in multiple languages is actually quite common in German Hip Hop. One of the early rap albums, Krauts with Attitude, held only three songs in German. Meanwhile, there were eleven songs in English and one song in French.[2]
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Freundeskreis (German for circle of friends) was primarily known for their political lyrics, in which they advocate equality and international understanding. After the much-noticed debut album Quadratur des Kreises (Squaring the circle) and its hit single "A-N-N-A" which peaked the German charts at #6, the band released their second album, Esperanto, named after the constructed language Esperanto. The reasoning for the name was that the group wishes to show that they believe hip hop should be the Esperanto of the youth.[3]
In 1999 and 2000 singles like "Mit Dir" (With you; featuring Joy Denalane, who would become Herre's later wife) and "Tabula Rasa Pt. II" brought the band back to the charts. For the soundtrack of 23, Freundeskreis covered the song "Halt dich an deiner Liebe fest" (Hold on to your love) written by Rio Reiser, voicing it on Lee "Scratch" Perry's police & thieves riddim. Freundeskreis was one of the first bands to take part in the Kolchose, a group of hip hop artists from Stuttgart.
In 2001, the band went into hiatus, and the members are pursuing their respective solo careers - the most active being Herre, who has since then released a solo album and works as producer for his wife.
A Freundeskreis greatest hits album was released in July 2007 under the title FK10. After announcing their breakup in summer 2007, Freundeskreis gave their last concert in Stuttgart on September 19, 2007.
Freundeskreis have been considered conscious hip-hop artists as their lyrics had educational themes. The Song "Leg Dein Ohr Auf Die Schiene Der Geschichte" (lay your ear on the tracks of history) asks the listener to look beyond what they were taught in a history lesson and learn the real lessons history teaches.
Excerpts from "Leg Dein Ohr Auf Die Schiene Der Geschichte[4]":
viele Menschen schrecken zurück wenn sie "Geschichte" hör'n
Geschichte...
vier langweilige stunden pro Woche in der schule
(...)
neunzehnhundertdreiundsiebzig Geburtsjahr wichtig für mich
als auch geschichtlich denn da wurd' klar dass die C.I.A. 'ne hure war
rough translation:
many people step away when they hear "history"
History...
Four boring hours in school a week
(...)
1973, birth year, important for me,
as well as historically, because then it became clear that the CIA was a whore
The rest of the song takes into accounts other historical events, important to his year of birth as well as other events throughout his childhood which are often overlooked. The chorus implores,
you're just a part of it so get to the heart of it
'cause if you don't go you won't know
you're just a part of it get to the heart of it
'cause if you don't go you never ever never ever gonna know
FK Allstars was a collaboration of several hip hop soul, and reggae artists, including Max Herre, Sekou Neblett, Afrob, Brooke Russell, Joy Denalane and Gentleman. Despite the roots of the FK allstars band being in hip hop, there are elements of reggae, soul, funk and jazz blended in.
| Year | Title | Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | ||
| 1997 | Quadratur des Kreises | 12 |
| 1999 | Esperanto | 3 |
| 2007 | FK 10 - Best Of | 15 |
| Year | Title | Chart position |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | ||
| 1997 | "A-N-N-A" | 6 |
| "Leg dein Ohr auf die Schiene der Geschichte" (Put your ear on the tracks of history) | - | |
| "Wenn der Vorhang fällt" (When the curtain falls) | 77 | |
| 1998 | "Tabula rasa" with Mellowbag and Gentleman | 13 |
| "Halt dich an deiner Liebe fest" | 30 | |
| 1999 | "Esperanto" | 46 |
| "Mit Dir" with Joy Denalane | 9 | |
| "You can't run away" with Gentleman and Udo Lindenberg | 74 | |
| 2000 | "Tabula Rasa Pt. II" with FK Allstars | 30 |
| 2007 | "FK 10" | - |