KLIT MAG LONDON by Nic Rauch

The London Issue This is a magazine about Girlpower, Hip Hop & Diversity

, 2016

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In the music industry, almost no genre is more diverse than hip hop. No other culture is as distinct and politically – and nowadays it is represented in all levels of society. But it also offers a lot of potential for being attacked. On the one hand, it is honest, politically and socially critical, on the other hand it is about profiling and cock comparison. It‘s about begging and dissense and respect. Sexism and misogyny, but also the mother as a highly respected being. Rap, graffiti and breakdance as an artistic expression of this culture. Community, support. Created as the voice of a subculture. Although it‘s origin seem to be more masculine, the female fan community is Big : feminine, trans and queer rappers are more present than ever. Tendency rising. The feminist attitude, which assigns equality to all genders, also lives from many of these attributes. Community, respect, artistic expression. and often even a powerful pool like this to raise attention and in some moments to just say :

in this london issue I‘M exploring the world of hip hip and feminism around this awesome huge city. london has always stood for loud and progressive music and subcultures. i met rapper shay d and we talked about the struggles females have in british hip hop industry – but not just there. „What we doing today? Repping, innit? Yeah, fucking repping, innit? Yeah, fire in the park, let‘s go!“ 5

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words: Nicole Rauch Shay D is a rapper, promoter, avtivist and she gives workshops – her energy and high spirits are infecting. She raps about the status quo, is socially critical, empowers little girls and I have fallen in love with her a little bit. In this REALTALK, she tells me what goes wrong in the London rap scene, why there are seemingly few female MCs and how her, where she comes from and how her background influences her current work. A side street in London‘s trendy Shoreditch district, here lies the Boondocks. Upstairs chic bar, downstairs a kind of event room. Sheet music is hanging on the walls, the light is dimmed in purple blue. Here I meet Shay D, she hosts her event „word on the street“, which takes place twice a month. There will be something like poetryslam without contest, word poets, acoustic rap. Everybody is allowed on stage. There are also special guests, tonight rapper Bobbie Johnson, word poet Deanna Rodger and the rapper and beatboxer MC Zani & Beatbox Hobbit. DJ Shorty accompanies the evening, at the end of the event there is an open mic.

Nic: You’re doing a lot of different stuff besides rap, would you call yourself an activist? Shay D: Yeah.. I guess I would call myself an activist. I know it has a bit of a stigma because it’s like people expecting you to be at every single march and demonstrating and stuff but I think threw all the work that I do it‘s being active in for example opening dialogue or educating young people or talking about content in my songs that can spark a debate. So I think in that way that there is active like I am someone who

does go to demonstrations and go to marches but I think there is so much more in being an activist. But I also don’t wanna take away from people that actually really do revolutionary stuff – and when I mean that I mean like they put their lives at risk like… you know, I‘m Iranian, so in Iran someone who really wants to do music, like they would die for that, because you know if they get caught there’s consequences. Where as here it’s quite easy to be revolutionary because it’s… you are allowed to be, you know, we have that democracy.

Yea you are privileged to do it, but you do it in your own way.

How and when did you start supporting especially women in Hip Hop and young girls?

...yeah. I try my best.

Ehm.. I would say probably about 5 or 6 years ago I joined another female MC called MC Angel and we started to run a night together called „lyrically challenged“ and we started really focussing on running women in Hip Hop events. So we did like an album launch at Jazz Café and we did a couple of programs. We had female breakdancers, graffiti artists, DJs, rappers, poets and it was really something special – you could feel what the feminine energy does in Hip Hop it’s just so different, it makes everything better and since then I‘ve just carried on because I do like the youth projects and stuff – actually some of the girls are coming today from the project last week, they are really young, they are like 16, one is 12, one is 14 one is 16. There is like seven of them but they gonna coming I’m going to try make them perform a little

Would you also call yourself a feminist? I don’t know. I don’t mind that word at all. But I think some people feel sooo connected and so strong about that word that sometimes it makes other people who feel like – that are rapping for women – it makes you feel like maybe you’re not? You know, like it makes you question yourself but I mean I’m a feminist in terms of like you know I believe in equality for women and I do feel like they… you know, everyone should be able to be themselves, but I also really do feel strongly about how women carry themselves aswell and like how even in Hip Hop how certain rappers present themselves and sometimes I’m uncomfortable with it and thats even if men didn’t exist, it’s just as… I don’t know. I think I’m still asking myself about his word you know. So, I don’t know what it is.

bit. So yeah – it’s really nice. I would say like really the past six years I’ve been actively supporting women in Hip Hop. I just think it’s still not enough support for it to be honest. There is a lot of us, but we looked at a novelty act and – say like someone runs an events or has a festival and they are like „oh.. okay

we‘ve booked all these people - oh my god - we’re missing a couple of girls - lets ring a couple of girls to book them“. So it’s kind of just like to balance there out or make it something special after it’s already been planned – and I really feel like that happens a lot. Where is from the beginning it’s not like „oh let us book six girls and two guys“ …you know? It’s always lots of guys and then a couple of girls – where as we wanna be like „ok we wanna book like six girls and then put two guys on“, like it’s just weird.

I experienced the same at german festivals. It’s always like two or three girls or girl bands, but on the small or more hidden stages. …and yea, every other lineup is like: all guys. It’s crazy! How were you raised up? Does your mother plays a special role or did you have any other role model? Ehm, oh well. I was brought up by my single mom, and my grandma and my granddad. So we all lived together and then my granddad passed away, so it’s just my mom and my grandma. They are totally opposite characters. My mom, she is very strong but she is really kind hearted, she speaks quietly and she‘d never be rude, I’ve never heard my mom swear, like say a rude word in my life. She is so calm. And then my grandma is like a really wild spirit she’ll like swear she’ll like shout about stuff and she’s really passionate and she is like always making jokes. They are really different characters. Yea… so I feel like I’ve got half and half of their characters.

so the best parts of both sides? Yea, kind of. Sometimes they come out at the wrong times, but yea I was raised with women in that way and I only like really kind of repaired the relationship with my Dad more recently, ehm, and I’ve got lots of half siblings and stuff with a big age gap, so it’s just been really mad. I grew up in North London which is really multicultural, like so much – and we got evicted from our house – so we lost our house and were homeless for a bit and we had to go and live in my other grandmas flat. So it was four of us in one room and it was really difficult and that was for like 7,8 years in a like really rough estate and then we got rehoused to like a nicer place but then I’m an adult also (laughs) yea, it’s been interesting.

So it had a good impact on your evolution, you’d say? Yea! I mean, losing our house was like.. it was kind of we were really the first victims of gentrification, ehm, I don’t know what they call it in Europe… It’s the same thing.

…so yea we were really like the first victims of that because they tored down our flat and the area started changing and people couldn’t afford to live there anymore. So, that was a really tough period, cause I was like finishing university and that really stressed me and that’s when my granddad passed away so actually I dropped out of Uni and then I missed my graduation and I had to graduate the year after with people I didn’t know. I think it made me stronger and it definitely affected what I wanna do with my life. So, I really thought people don’t get educated on their entitlements, their benefits, what credits they’re entitled to, what their rights are and these things. Now it’s like: I always read the small print and stuff and I’m always really suspicious of everything now but at least it makes me know like what I‘m entitled to, so yea. The whole gentrification thing is also happening a lot in german cities like Berlin and Hamburg… That‘s crazy, I know it happens in Paris and in Marseilles, I saw in LA, it was happening, cause everyone we saw says such good things about Berlin, so I didn’t know…

yea it‘s a great place but you feel the pressure on the rents everywhere you go, I mean it’s still cheap compared to London or Paris or even other german cities, but the rental price increased so quickly. Oh my god, It’s really happening everywhere. It’s crazy. The people who are running our world are so fucked up (laughs) I can see why it’s happening. Back to music. How you would describe the Hip Hop sound of London? Oh wow, I think as a soundscape London is very aggressive, it’s very gritty, it would say it’s a little bit depressing. But also quite rebellious.

Okay, why depressing?

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Because when I think of Hip Hop and London I think of like… gray. And I’m thinking of the sounds and the beats people make and they are quite draggy and it just kind of really echoes that vibe. If we specifically talking about Hip Hop I feel like talking about Grime – it has a different sound – but grime is also gritty and it’s also rebellious and it’s also aggressive. Ehm, probably not as depressing, you know. But yeah that’s how I hear London Hip Hop (laughs).

What is special about the Female Rap scene in London? Yeah, there are so many of us and we all really grinding hard. I think there’s a problem in the sense that there’s not so many being appreciated by others, so it feels like only a couple of us are doing really well... I put a post up recently on Facebook and I said „If I hear one more person say „where are all the female rappers?“ I’m actually gonna kill myself (laughs) and I put like 30 tags – a list of 30 names of female rappers that I know, and some of them I don’t know in person, some of them I know personally, and I was like:

„If tomorrow you don’t sit there and look at every single persons video and know at least one song, then you don’t have the right to say „where are they?“ because they are there!“ People have become lazy, they just wanna proscribe to them, they don’t want to search – or if they are shown something they don’t wanna hear it until someone else is cosigning and saying „oh, this is good, you should listen“ but it’s like: they are all there! you know.

So, it’s harder for female rappers? Yea, it’s still really hard yeah. It is. I think it is really hard. What do you think are the reasons for that? I think because a lot of the audience are men. And when you go to a Hip Hop show there are so many men in the audience. I always make the girls come to the front and there are only about two rows and the rest are guys. So I think the audience – just out of habit – have always been men and it seems to be that way still. Also we‘re still in a place where in Hip Hop they really look toward America still for who they are, because a female rapper in the UK might headline a show but won‘t fill

it up, and they are from here, they are from London. But a female rapper from New York might come into Jazz Café and it would be two nights sold out and it’s like – wow – like they don’t support their own local scene, because I think people – out of habit – are still looking toward another continent for their Hip Hop. That’s a pity. Oh yeah. Okay, next question. (laughs) I feel like in a game!

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What are the best places to experience Hip Hop culture? In London? Ehm, the thing is so many venues – it really depends on the promoters. The thing is there are so may venues. It really depends on the promoters, because sometimes someone puts on an event in a venue and then you go there because he told you, but then they don‘t do a Hip Hop event for like two months. So it‘s better to follow the promoters because they use different places all the time. A very cool spot is „Chip Chop Brixton“, the owner is really cool. Obviously Boondocks is a great spot, we do two events a month here as well – it’s Hip Hop and spoken word. I can’t really think, they do so many. „Rock the Belles“ is another one, that’s at Hoxton, but again they do „Supa Dupa Fly“ at different venues.

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„Supa Dupa Fly“ is at Pop Brixton right? We’ve been there last weekend. Yea, but they change like every couple of weeks, so Pop Brixton, sometimes they do it at Ace Hotel, it just depends. So it’s better to always follow the promoter because they move. Well, that’s interesting to know. Yeah.

What are your favorite spots in London?

Yes, but I’ll come back and definitely go there.

I’m so weird – I’m addicted to coffee, so I love coffee shops. That’s the only thing about gentrification that’s good – cause I got more coffee (laughs). But coffee I can’t afford. It’s like that. It’s just hot water in a little cup and you’re charging me 4 pounds. But yea I really like a spot called „Bean“, it’s in Crouch End (*Northern London) where I grew up and it’s like a really cozy coffee shop, and there’s a restaurant called „Bird“ that I really love, they do like really good fried chicken and it’s organic like bourbon chicken.. and I really like libraries (laughs) I’m always in the library! And when it’s not freezing cold, London has got really dope parks and green spots, so I’m always in Hyde Park. All the little Hampstead Heath is really nice. And one of my favorite places is „The Shard“. I don’t know if you been up to The Shard yet, it’s the building that’s pointy, it looks like a broken piece of glass and it’s really high, by the river. The very top there has a bar – like a Jazz-Bar – and it’s free, you can just go in and have a tea or like drinks and stuff and then there’s a chinese restaurant and they have their own restaurant which are quite like more expensive but the bar is really nice, so you have a nice view over London, it’s really nice. Are you leaving tomorrow?

Oh, you should... you should see. I supposed to be in Berlin on tuesday. We had flights to Berlin, I mean a week ago we had our flights wednesday to thursday, but when we went to fly when we were going the night before it’s said there were storms and that all the trains were cancelled – but I messaged my friends in Berlin and said: how bad is it? And they said it’s not that bad. But we were bit like: is there any point of going? It was one day – like go on wednesday, come back thursday. We were like - we gonna walk around in the rain all day, like what’s the point? So we didn’t go, it would have been my first time.

So you never been to Berlin? Never! Yea that was gonna be the first time to go. But are you planning another trip? Yea definitely. Do you have any MC friends in Berlin? I have one friend he’s a guitarist, he’s a musician and the other one is part of the blue man-group, so he is one of the blue guys, so that‘s it, I just know those two guys.

where I would check myself. But yea, not really other people that I don’t know so much.

cool. We already talked about females in Hip Hop and what’s missing and what you wish for, right? You seem to be very passionate about what you’re doing – what is your recipe or what keeps the fire burning? You know, I ask myself that all the time because I get blocked so much sometimes. Right now I’m working on my new projects and this week has been cool I’ve been writing often in the studio, but like two weeks ago I just didn’t know what I wanna do, I didn’t like anything I was making - I was like „I don’t know how to like it – I don’t know why I’m doing this“ – and so I go threw that all the time. I think for me it’s a problem if I don’t do it. Sometimes I don’t know why I do it, but I know that I can’t NOT do it. So I guess that’s my only reason that I can’t really think of that „I can’t not do it“, it doesn’t feel natural. I need to write, like to let it out you know. So do you have something like a ritual for when you have a blockade like going for a walk or something like that? Yea, I just bought painting stuff. So I started painting, cause I thought if I start painting I might go back to that fresh and then I was

What are your hopes and dreams for the future?

like: I’m not so great at painting so I was like „yea I’m not being good at anything like that… (laughs) …but for the moment it’s cool. Yea, but this week has been cool, I’ve done two songs this week, so it’s cool. Do you have any role models?

For me I just wanna tour, like I literally just wanna go to different cities because of Hip Hop, you know? When I went to Switzerland, when I went to Norway, when I’ve been to France… like everytime I go somewhere I’m like „god, I’m here because I‘m rapping“ – for me that feels so special. I hadn’t even been to Scotland before and I had a headline show there and the people there saying the words to my songs and I was like „oh my god, like wow, why are you speaking to my songs?“ For me, that’s all I wanna do. I don’t wanna be famous, I don’t wanna be signed, I just wanna have an audience in different cities and get to be there because of Rap. Do you know if you have any german fans?

Ehm.. I think, probably most people like Oprah but for me it’s my mum and my grandma. I love them. I hear this very often… mothers play such and important role to a lot of artists. Yea, I mean they‘re just a really good at it. Cause there are some parents that aren’t great parents, but my mom has been such a good example of just a human being, and I think sometimes I’m like– if I did this, my mom would tell me off. She’d be so ashamed if she knew I just said this and that’s

I’ve done a few radio shows on the phone in Germany and people on my artist page – I know they‘re there, but that’s all I know, otherwise I don’t know - I need to come there and see. Then it’s gonna be interesting when you’re coming to Berlin or any other city. Yea, I’d love to see their reaction.

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I will be there, no matter where. (laughing) What is your advice for females who are willing to do something but maybe are a bit insecure? I think that being insecure is so natural. I don’t think it ever leaves anyone and I always think even people that are always like „I‘m so confident, I have no insecurities, I love myself“ – that’s great, but I even thought that‘s fed from insecurities aswell – I think everyone should really embrace being open about being uncomfortable and I think when you talk about that openly it makes it easier and to network with people. Like, for years I was so shy I would go somewhere with my backpack and not talk to anyone. And after when I started doing it more and being more sociable I was like „man, why didn‘t I do this before“ Haha, I feel similar at the moment here in London with my backpack and recording stuff. It‘s really important, but even you reaching out to me and you were another city, like that’s great! That’s really good for what you‘re doing, and so I would just advice people to network, be around like minded people, and do trade art – like do things for people and they can do stuff back for you and yea, I kind of feel like just be open about being uncomfortable. If you’re scared, say you’re scared. If you’re nervous, say you’re nervous. Like don’t try to pretend you’re not, like it’s not real, just be real!

My last question would have been about your motto of life or what’s your best advice, would this be the answer? Like one of the mottos that I really, really love – I guess there is two – one of them is „the grass is greener where you water it“, I really like that. It’s in one of my songs. I really love that cause I always feel like everyone‘s looking to something else to be better but actually sometimes you just need to feed your own garden. Another one is „this day will never come again“. And I think that scares me so much, I was thinking like “woah, in like ten years imma gonna look back on this day and be like „oh man, if any I could do that day again“ and you can‘t. So it‘s kind of like try to make the most of it. It’s not that deep – life is so fragile, like I literally can die in the next couple of hours. You know, hit by a car or something. I‘m just trying to make the most of it.

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On facebook you also quoted „a candle doesn’t lose its light by lighting other candles“. Where do you think this competitive thinking comes from? I think some of it is human nature. Some people are just like that, I think it’s from insecurities, like you said. I think people are worried because if you’re not happy with what you’re doing you want to blame something and I think that is when you start blaming others and feel like if there’s only space for one person to do well and it‘s like: no, there isn’t. Look how many male rappers are headlining shows and have awards and stuff, but especially with girl… the industry have forever made us feel like we only can celebrate a maximum of two… ...girls or in general?

Girls. There could be just two girls that are like very sexual and open and then two who that are like Lauren Hill, like very conscious and stuff. And that‘s it! We are not allowed to like anyone else – we can only limit this, you know? And it‘s crazy, it‘s like, but why? Why do you guys celebrate 40 men at the same time? It‘s really weird, so I think that it‘s just from peoples insecurities. If you‘re good at what you do then it shouldn’t matter, just be good at what you do. Do you think it‘s a girls problem, do you think that girls were raised up with a mindset like this? Yea! I think girls have forever been made to feel competitive and I think it‘s because men run most of the stuff like magazines and films and the music industry – and people like drama, they like arguments – TV shows have made us like debates, like chatshows like Jerry Springer or Ricki Lake, this stuff have made us like people arguing and so I just feel like they fed into that, you know. Some of it might be human nature, I don‘t know. You’re quite active on social media –

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how important are Instagram and Facebook for promoting yourself and your events? Do you do any other advertising? Social media has become so important for me and the stuff that I do. Five years ago, before I took music very seriously, I wasn‘t on any social media. I never even had facebook for family reasons, my cousins and everyone had, but I never had it. So I literally didn’t even know how to use it at all. I only use the internet to download music. I only use it for my artist page and stuff like that, it has been great, because I’ve been able to connect with people all over the world, done radio shows internationally over skype, booked for shows,I wouldn’t be able to do probably a lot without it. Seems that it works out very well, I mean I contacted you via Instagram and now we are sitting here in London minutes before your venue. Yeah, for that reason I have to go now, I‘m scared that the people are gonna come, should we carry on in a bit? Because the doors are at seven but I‘ve got 20 minutes to set up.

There are a few british female MCs she‘d like to recommend, here you go: Reverie, Gavlyn, Nitty Scott, Saroc, Nolay, Truemendous, Bobbie Johnson, Jaz Kahina

follow Shay D on: facebook/shaydrap instagram/shaydrap

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t o n My DNA tion a t i m i for Kendrick „DNA“ –

MN., 201

Lamar, DA

Cultural Appropriation: the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture. Text & illustration: Anissa Carrington

Als ich dann mit 10 oder 11 Jahren zum ersten Mal Aaliyah auf MTV in bauchfreien Tops über schwarze Wassergräben tanzen sehe, ist der Wunsch, der lange gesäht ist und durch Vorbilder wie Destiny’s Child gegossen wurde so stark, dass meine Mutter endlich nachgibt, und mir erlaubt, mir im Beauty Salon auf dem amerikanischen Stützpunkt in meinem Heimatort die Haare mit einer chemischen Glättung, genannt Relaxer, glätten zu lassen. Ich trage einen weinroten Pullover mit schwarzem Nike-Logo drauf und betrachte mich durch meine eckige Nickelbrille im Badezimmerspiegel. Mir fallen Strähnen ins Gesicht. Endlich sehe ich gut aus.

Eins vorneweg: Weder ich noch irgendeine andere schwarze Person kann weißen Menschen verbieten, sich Elementen der schwarzen Kultur zu bedienen. Ich habe aber eine Meinung. Und die kommt jetzt, so subjektiv vom Herzen geschrieben, wie es nur geht, ohne tiefen wissenschaftlichen Anspruch und Quellenangaben.

Die in der schwarzen Community weit verbreitete Annahme, dass glattes Haar „gutes“ Haar ist und natürlich krauses „nappy“ und unschön, ist tief verwurzelt und eine direkte Folge der Kolonialisierung und Ausbeutung schwarzer Menschen. Der Fokus auf eurozentrische Schönheitsideale hat sich über die Jahre hinweg festgetreten. In Zeiten, in denen meine Ur-Großeltern noch Besitz weißer Männer waren, wurde klar unterschieden: verhältnismäßig helle Haut und nicht zu krauses Haar bedeutete, dass man besser war, bessere Aufgaben bekam, als Bedienstete im Herrenhaus arbeiten durfte, während die meisten Menschen mit eher dunklerer Hautfarbe und sehr krausem Haar nur auf dem Feld arbeiten durften. Dieser „Colorism“ wurde von der schwarzen Gesellschaft zum Teil übernommen und ist auch heute noch Thema. Nicht umsonst steht in allen Afro-Shops zwischen Cocoa Butter und Hair Moisturizer auch Haut-aufhellende Creme und der eben erwähnte Relaxer. Speziell in den USA werden auch heute noch Menschen, insbesondere Frauen, mit glattem, gebändigtem Haar als professioneller und zuverlässiger empfunden, werden in konventionellen Arbeitsumfeldern ernster genommen und kommen leichter an Jobs.

Es folgt: ein Gefühl. Mit meinem sechsten Geburtstag fängt es an. An erster Stelle vor allen Wünschen, vor jeder Barbie und jedem Zeichenwerkzeug steht groß und breit: 1. GLATTE HAARE. Meistens male ich daneben noch ein Bild, weil ich mich mit Bildern leichter tue, als mit Worten. Ein Mädchen, lange dunkle Haare, Seitenscheitel, die Haare wehen im Wind. So wie bei Sailor Jupiter oder meiner besten Freundin Dani, die damals noch mittlellange aber immer schon kräftige, glänzende dunkle Haare hat. Die riechen nach ganz anderem Shampoo als meine und wenn sie über den Schulhof rennt, fliegt ihr die Mähne hinterher. Ich möchte das auch. Und deshalb bleibt für die nächsten sechs Jahre die Nummer eins auf jedem Geburtstags- und Weihnachtswunschzettel gleich. Irgendwann besuchen wir meine Familie in den USA. In einer zehnstündigen Sitzung werden meine Haare zu Braids geflochten, 99 Stück, mein Bruder hat sie gezählt. Ich hab pinke, weiße und orangene Perlen unten dran und komme mir ziemlich cool vor. Es gibt ein Foto, auf dem ich X-beinig und in Radlerhosen in unserer Hofeinfahrt stehe und mich strahlend auf den ersten Schultag nach dem Sommerferien freue. Zurück in der Schule kommt mir der Maxi aus der Klasse über mir entgegen und schreit: „Wüäää die hat lauter Schlangen aufm Kopf!“

e free, h t f o d n a l In the oaders l e e r f f o l it‘s ful ad in the street Leave us de organ donors to be their anized my people, g They disor l loners ners. w o e v a l l s a r m a d e u s e l ast n a m e o f o u $, still got th ey Bada$

– Jo the free“ 7 „land of dass, 201 a B n a k k ik All-Amer 37

Diese jahrhundertelange Hirnwäsche impft uns ein: Schön ist helle Haut, vielleicht von der Sonne gebräunt aber nicht zu dunkel, schön ist weiches, glänzendes Haar, schön ist, was eben gerade in Mode ist. Zur Zeit ist die westliche Populärkultur tief geprägt von der Kultur des Hip Hop. Donald Glover bedankt sich nach seinem Golden Globe Gewinn bei den Migos, Pop-Songs sind mit Hip Hop und R’n’B Beats versehen, an Streetwear angelehnte Kleidung gibt es in allen großen Modehäusern, ob als „Boyfriend-Jeans“ oder „Athleisure“ getarnt und jede Klasse, Sportmannschaft oder Jugendfeuerwehrgruppe, die was auf sich hält, hat vor ein paar Jahren ein Harlem-Shake-Video gedreht. Modezeitschriften zeigen seit einigen Jahren mit Hilfe von Fotos von jungen, weißen Models und Social Media Starlets die Frisuren-Trends der jeweiligen Saison und verpassen ihnen gleich neue, schmissige Namen: Bantu-Knots werden zu „Mini-Buns“, Baby Hair zu „Slicked-down tendrils“ und Cornrows zu „Boxer-Braids“ oder noch besser: „Kardashian-Braids“. Ich gebe euch kurz einen Moment, um die drei Frisuren zu googlen. Ok. Geht jetzt weiter.

g that n i t p e c c a s ck and t of it i I think par h beauty in being bla et it‘s so muc hing that, I guess, I gways known t that‘s the about because I‘ve albe black. emotional lways been proud to . e that. I‘ve a ed to be nothing els t Never wanything about it. nge Loved eve„rTina Taught Me“ – Solathe Table 2016 : t at Interlude n), A Sea o s w a L s wle (Tina Kno

Frisuren, die seit jeher von schwarzen Frauen ob als schlichtes Styling oder als „protective style“ verwendet werden, sind jetzt, wo schöne, weiße Mädchen sie für sich entdeckt haben, auf einmal salonfähig und Trend. Die Modeszene bejubelt sich und People of Color rollen kollektiv mit den Augen. Und bei den Frisuren hört es nicht auf. Weiße Modebloggerinnen posieren mit FUBU-Shirts, runde Hintern und voluminöse Lippen sind dank der eben erwähnten Kardashians mehr als Mainstream. Während schwarze Menschen insbesondere in den USA schlichtweg aufgrund ihrer Hautfarbe auf offener Straße von Polizisten ermordet werden verkleidet sich Taylor Swift in ihrem „Shake it off“-Video als

Hip Hop-Girl und Miley Cyrus wackelt mit ein paar schwarzen Tänzerinnen und Grillz als Accessoires ihre Backen in die Kamera und erfindet das Twerken. Traditionelle afro(-amerikanische) Kleidung und Frisuren sind ein essentieller Bestandteil der Hip Hop Kultur. Sie verleihen der Identität und Individualität Ausdruck, zollen der afrikanischen Kultur Tribut und sind schlichtweg praktisch. Was oft fehlt, ist der Respekt vor der Kultur, die jahrzehntelang marginalisiert und als minderwertig erachtet wurde. Die ihren Ursprung in der Unterdrückung durch weiße, systemisch privilegierte Menschen findet, welche selbst heute noch stark zu spüren ist. Hip Hop entstand aus einem Schmerz heraus, den keine weiße Person jemals nachempfinden kann. Das ist völlig in Ordnung, aber dennoch – oder gerade deswegen sollten sich eben diese respektvoll mit dieser Kultur auseinandersetzen. Die Linie zwischen simpler Wertschätzung und kultureller Aneignung ist sehr dünn. Wie schön wäre es einfach, wenn alle Menschen, die sich der schwarzen Kultur bedienen, diese nicht als Kostüm erachten würden und sich aktiv mit all ihren Aspekten, negativ oder positiv, beschäftigten.

e world d i w e l o h as in the w e it all y‘all‘s turn g g i n y m l l A ng to mak us o s s i h t e d Ma hit is from n forget us s s i h t , s u For m us the the Table, 2016 o r f h c u m Get so Seat at

.“ „F.U.B.U

– Solange

Wenn ihr euch jetzt fragt, wie genau ich mir das vorstelle, besonders bei normalen Menschen, ohne Millionen von Twitter-Followern und Einfluss auf das kollektive Bewusstsein: ich weiß es doch auch nicht. Wenn mir, wie neulich, auf dem Weg in die Arbeit ein weißes Mädchen mit Cornrows entgegenkommt, lasse ich trotzdem einen Seufzer los, tut mir leid, ich kann nicht anders. Vielleicht bin ich neidisch, weil sie einfach sorglos eine neue Trendfrisur trägt, ohne auch nur kurz den kulturellen Druck gespürt zu haben, der auch heute hier und da durch mein starkes afro-deutsch-amerikanisches Selbstbewusstsein blitzt. Ich laufe an ihr vorbei und hoffe, dass sie einen klugen Menschen in ihrem Leben hat, mit dem sie sich über die Bedeutung der imitierten Kultur austauschen kann. Und meine Braids wehen im Wind.

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O u t s i d e t h e b o x : r e a l t a l k w i t h e l e c t r o n i c m u s i c i a n B a y o n n e

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Hip Hop is d i v e r s i t y, feminism is d i v e r s i t y. So, sometimes it‘s important to look outside the box and leave your comfort zone to explore different millieus and keep your head fresh, get in touch with people that are doing stuff you wouldn‘t like at first sight or just to get inspirend.

r e a l t a l k

w i t h

Roger Sellers alias Bayonne is from Austin, Texas. He makes minimalist electronica music, sampling live on stage. We first saw him one year ago as supporting act for the german band Roosevelt at Übel&Gefährlich in Hamburg. We were fascinated by his show – he was deeply lost in his music, he played with all his mimic and gestures and the colorful lights emphasised the atmosphere. Since then his album Primitives is one of my favorites to hear. We met him before his concert at Sebright Arms in Bethnal Green, London.

INTerview & Pictures: Nicole Rauch & Alexandra Benkenstein

Bayonne: B, Nic: N, Alex: A N: There will be a big firework tomoroow I guess. B: Tomorrow night. I heard about that. It’s like a bonfire thing they do or something. N: Where is it? B: I don’t know. I think it’s A: Are you still here tomorrow? B: Yeah, I’ll be here until monday. N: Ah you have another concert with Syl van Esso right? B: Tomorrow and monday and then I’ll go with them for the rest of the UK tour.

N: Such a pitty, that they are not also here tonight. Because the show was already sold out… So we will ask you the first question: We have seen you in Hamburg last year! B: Oh yeah! N: At the show you did with Roosevelt and your live show was amazing! You on the stage and the lights an stuff. (all laugh) Are you involved somehow into the lightshow? Do you have any influence on it? B: It kinda depends. Sometimes when I’m in the US, I have somone running the lights for me, it depends on the Tour itself. Usually on these kind of tours overseas, I kiinda just talk to the lighting person and just kinda figure it out as I go. There are certain songs where I use certain colors. As a..

N: So you have some ways to see like „I wanna have more blue lights“? B: Yeah. Its always completly different depending like from venue to venue, `cause… like the Sylvan Esso show, they gonna have a lot better productions and better lights and stuff instead of like more than this place. So I kinda just go as I go. But in the states I have always like a person to come with me. N: And also on stage you seem deeply into your music. And it seems like you are performing your music somehow with your hands and with your Mimik? B: Expressive kind of? N: Yeah! Is it intuition or are you really into it in this moment, letting it flow… or is it planned somehow?

B: It’s not really planned, I kinda just allow myself to let go, when I’m on stage. Yeah it’s very intuitive and uhm I let it happen naturally, I guess. N: When you see yourself on stage on TV or something, what do you think? B: Sometimes I don’t like it. N: (Laughs) It’s very common, that people don’t like to see themselves B: Watching themselves, hearing yourself. Uhm but you know, I try to stay honest about it and I kind of just flip the switch when I’m on stage and it just happens naturally, so it doesn’t really bother me, that I do that. I guess. N: That’s cool! You’ve been to London before right? B: Mh-hm. N: For another show B: Yes this is my fourth mhmm maybe fifth show in London and fourth time I’ve been here.

eat before, but I’ve never actually played a show there. N: What kind of sound do you here, when you think of London? B: Hmm.. That’s a good question. I guess when I think of London, I think of like the british invasion, like the beatles and things from the 60s. Hm I don’t know yeah british invasion kind of stuff. I see it as such an American. I don’t have very smart or not like knowledge about the culture here. The musical culture. So yeah I don’t know really. N: What noises do you here when you think of London? B: Like when I think of London? I think very loud and very busy and kinda like in spots like this kind of like industrial, just klinky. I do like to use stuff like this in my music a lot. I mean if it fits. N: Does it inspire you? B: Yeah! Yeah it does. Big places, big cities likeLondon, New York have always kind of inspired me sonicly. But if I’m really stres-

N: Oh cool, but you’ve been to (???) before? B: I’ve been there for a meeting and to

sed out and tired it might not inspire me. (laughs) N: If it’s just annoying? B: Yeah it can get very annoying. N: Do you have a city, which is most inspiring to your music? B: Ehm… probably home. Just home in Austin. It’s where I probably get most inspired like immeditely. That’s where I have my stuff with me, where I have my studio and so I can easily do it, you know. When I’m travelling it’s kinda hard to … not to get inspired, but I can’t really do anything right now. It’s not home. So I get inspired in Texas or Austin. N: Ok. Did you eat english breakfast before? B: (laughs) I have before, yeah. N: Do you like it?

B: I do! I got used to it. Like the typical english breakfast, yeah! The first time I had it was actually a place in Austin that my friend took me to and I did not like it. Then I came here and had probably a better one and yeah its good! It’s alot. it’s like filling, it does its job. (laughs, N laughs) N: Does english breakfast have a particular sound for you? B: Eeeh.. (N: laughs) (seufzt) I don’t know it’s like „g’shih“ (gushy?) maybe? I think of like HP sauce. (laughter) „G’shih“ (gushi?) Let’s go with that! N: Ok. You wanna continue? Ok. Your music is very experimental. do you even experimenting during a gig, or is it… B: Yeah! It’s very hands on and intuitive as I’m playing. Like a lot of samples are not always the same going into each different show. I try to keep it that way. ’Cause it keeps it fresh for me. Yeah. Every show is a little different, which I like. I don’t want it to be like straight, you know the same thing every night cause then I would get so sick of it. N: Does it also depend on the audience? B: Oh definitly. Yeah. The ausience has a big deal to do with it. And I communicate with the audience a lot. It has a lot to do with it for sure.

N: How many people are there tonight? It’s not that big, right? B: It’s pretty small. I think it’s like a hundred and thirty or something. N: That’s cool! Very intimate. B: Intimate kind of space. N: What inspires you or who inspires you. B: It changes all the time. Animal collective did a lot for.. that’s one of my favorite bands. They did a lot for my sound, the Bayonne sound. Bands like that, like kind of experimental, but not really electronic. More electronic dance music, that’s more kind of noisy and melodic. Like Animal Collective comes to my… N: Do you know animal collective personally? B: I don’t know how big they were in Germany, but they were really big in the states for a good ten years, so. N: Do they still make music?

B: Yeah they are still doing that thing. And they are still very inspiring to me. And like Beachboys, Beatles, very melodic music… I like a lot, too. But I mean I could go on forever about what inspires me musically you know. It always comes from different, separate places, at different times. N: You talked about Germany, so… You’ve been there, at east to Hamburg, have you been to other places there? B: yeeah I did. Cologne, done Berlin, did a couple of shows in Berlin and there were like a couple of spots on that German tour, I just can’t come up with right now. N: Like little cities, which are not that important? B: Smaller cities, but they were beautiful. Hamburg was actually one of my favorites. N: Yeah… Because of the city or the clubs? B: The club was beautiful and the crowd was great. It was very responsive.

N: We were very impressed. I’m not kidding. We didn’t know you before and we were like: who is that?

A: Noo!

B: Thanks!

N: (Towards A) How many people were we at the concert?

B: Ehm… Probably about three years, but I was doing a lot of the same songs under my name, but I changed my name to Bayonne about three years ago.

N: And then we were like: „Ok that’s cool!“

A: six?

N: What does music mean to you?

B: Yeah it was a really good reaction.

N: Six or seven and everyone was like „Oh my god.“ (laughs)

B: (pause) It’s like emotion. Like expression, trying to get through life and having some kind of outlet. Just something that makes you feel good and gives you a feeling, emotion.

A: It was better than Roosevelt! (laughs) B: Oh thank you! N: But don’t tell anyone! (A,B,N: Laughter) B: I’m gonna call him right now and tell him.

B: That’s super good to hear. A: And we bought your vinyl.

N: So do you do it for your self more than for others?

B: That’s cool! A: And you signed it. B: oh nice! Yeah the sales were actually very good that night. That was a memorable show for me. N: That’s very cool! Very cool to be a part of it. So it was one year ago. Since when do you play as Bayonne?

B: Yeah. I’d say so. I mean it’s become my job, so I kinda have to do it, but I would do it either way. N: So your label… B: I enjoy it. N: … let’s you all your freedom?

B: Yeah very much so. Ehm the label in Germany cityslings (?) have been very good about that, my American Label has been very good about it, too. They kinda just allow me to do what I want, which is refreshing. N: When did you start doing music? You were doing music before Bayonne, as Roger Sellers. B: Yeah I mean I’ve been making music my whole life, but I was doing a lot more like a kinda folky stuff for four, five years. N: We saw videos, where you were sitting on a „Traktor“, on a … B: Yeah it was like a trailer kind of thing. It was a guitar Band. N: That was cool! B: Yeah I still do that stuff, I just … under Bayonne I just don’t do it as much, you know. But its still like a huge part of my life and music. N: Your Name comes from the street you lived in. Are there certain places with names in London you’ve got a special connection to? B: (pause) Ehm Tottenham, that’s usually where I stay, that’s where where that guy from LA (?) lives and I kind of gotten to know that area more than anywhere else. So that’s probably where I would say like I feel at home. N: (towards A) Do you know the place? A: Not really N: We are not that much into the streets of London. B: Well I’d see I’m not either, you know. (laughter)

N: What’s your favorite place in London? B: I would also say like Tottenham, just because I’d say I know it a little bit better and I feel more comfortable there. And I’ve done like the central London thing, all the touristy stuff. That’s actually pretty fun, too. You get to see stuff, like all beautiful buildings and it’s crazy. It’s mind-blowing. But pretty much all of London I’ve experienced is really cool. N: We just found out today, that London has as much inhabitants like New York. In London are living 8 Million people, same in New York. B: Yeah the population is gigantic. N: That’s crazy! I didn’t know that. B: It’s huge. N: How do you dress for a gig? Does it depend on the place? B: Not really. It’s genuinely the same. I usually just wear jeans and like I wear tennis shoes, ‘cause I run around and all that. And just like a white T-Shirt, or a colored T-Shirt. Simple. Yeah… simple N: But you think about it? B: Yeah, because I know like what, how I can move easily, it’s mostly for comfort on stage. I don’t go for like a certain fashion or a lifestyle.

ally change from place to place, I just kinda go with what I’m comfortable with. N: You have your Backpack with you. Is there important stuff in it?

to just make noise or something to try to find something. Cause, yeah, a lot of times you’re not inspired and you can’t find something, that you… you have to push … you just have to find a way.

B: Yeah! I had three bags with me coming from a train. I was able to disperse that at other places, so its less heavy now. But yeah, this is where I carry all my stuff.

N: So you have the pressure to do the things?

N: Where do you live, or how do you live? In a house, in a flat, or in a …

N: Because you make a living out of it.

B: I’m in like a duplex, which is kind of in between a house and an apartment, so it’s like a house, which has to separate units. I couldn’t really do an apartment. Because I make a lot of noise, sound… I could never do that in an apartment. N: Because you make music at home? B: Most of it yeah. I’m going to studios sometime, but I’m very comfortable just doing bedroom recordings, more than anything else. N: How many hours do you think per day or week? B: It like fluctuates so much. Sometimes it’s super productive and then like the next week I’m like urghh, you know… What to do? But you know I try to keep it consistently every day. I try to do something every day.

N: So the fashion of London for example doesn’t influence you in any way?

N: What do you do, if you have a breakdown or you’re not inspired at that moment, do you leave everything alone or do you…

B: No it doesn’t… my wardrobe doesn’t re-

B: Sometimes I dig for it, I’ll allow myself

B: Yeah absolutely

B: Right it’s my job you know. And then usually when you find something, then you’re like „Oh yes!“ and then you’re exited about it you know. But that can be days or weeks before you… of digging and then you’re like „yeah I found something!“ N: That’s interesting! So as Designers we know the problem of not being inspired at a moment and then its always a question of leaving everything alone and go for a walk or something like that or do you force yourself to just do whatever. (laughs) B: Ya, sometimes I feel like taking a break, like a walk is really good for me. Then I can kind of clear my mind, come back and then maybe be inspired. It kind of changes the settings in your mind. I kinda do that, too sometimes and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. N: cool. What do you think about social media? Is it more more a chance for getting in contact with your fans or is it a burden because of the growing pressure of comparing yourself with other artists? B: I’d say very much both. So… I don’t really enjoy doing social media, but I know it’s so important. So I will do it anyway. And

my label helps me out with that and my manager helps me out with that a lot, too, but you know, they push me to make posts. And I do, when I’m travelling a lot. I’m pretty good about it. Because I’m actually inspired by things, but if there is nothing to post, there is nothing to post to me. Like I’m not gonna force something on people, just because… (laughs) it’s gonna give a couple of likes, you know. N: That’s cool. You’re also doing like kinda weird stuff on your instagram. Some videos, where you are making a face (laughs) B: I’m sure that if you dug, you’ll find some pretty strange things… N: But it’s cool! It makes you … I don’t know B: Brings some humanity to it? Sure yeah N: yeah that’s what I wanted to say. So I think it’s cool. B: eah, yeah I mean… N: It’s not that professional B: right. N: Not that „ I want likes“ B: I wanna keep it personal, too you know. N: How do you like your music yourself, what makes it special? A: How do you define your music? B: I would say it’s electronic obviously, because I’m using all the gear, no DJ, I

don’t really do dance music. So I don’t really like to go under electronic. ehmm.. genre because most of it is actually not electronic anyway. It’s… A lot of it is recorded with acoustic instruments. But I use electronic equipment to convey that. If that makes sense. N: Yeah. B: So it’s really melodic and like minimalist music is probably a good way to categorize it under. It’s minimalist. N: How would you describe a typical London pub sound? B: (pause) I’m not very ehm I don’t really know. The only you know... British music that I know would be you know what I know as an American, being like the British invasion kinda like the Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but that’s not you know… really relevant anymore. And I honestly pay too much attention to it. (laughs) To be quiet honest. N: But do you go to pubs often here, when you are in London? Do you like beer? (laughs) B: Do you like beer? Yeah, yeah! (N, B, A: Laughter) A: That’s good! N: So you just drink your beer and don’t… B: Kind of. Most of the time I’m working, you know. It’s … If I came to London just like on vacation, I would experience it a lot more I think, but most of the times I’m just on tour. Sometimes it’ll just be one night and then I’m off you know. So it’s so hard

to absorb a place. you know. In such a small time. I’m so sorry we couldn’t find a better reply (laughs) N: It’s fine. (laughs) What’s the difference between the sound of London and the sound of Austin? You can also describe it in a few words. B: Austin is a lot more … like rock kind of ehm I feel like there is a lot more electronic stuff here. It’s a little bit more aggressive. There’s a lot of like country and stuff and like Texas music. It’s like all falls under that like that’s what’s really popular in Texas or in Austin. So it’s vastly different. Like two completely different things. N: How do you feel before a gig? Are you nervous right now? B: I usually get really nervous before but then once I’m on stage I’m really fine. It’s usually like an hour before set and it doesn’t even matter if it’s like a huge show or a tiny show. It’s always just like butterflies. You have to like get ready you know. You mentally have to prepare. N: Yeah. Do have any rituals before you go on stage? B: I usually stretch, you know, I drink a beer, I jump around a little bit. And I kinda just have a moment to myself and like … chill out, you know. N: Ok. So this were the questions for now. (laughs) Towards A: Do you have any questions? A: No That’s all.

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, t e l l a B d n a p o plet, H i p H i H w f o H o n o i s u F l u f r we d l o r P o a W e c n a D e h t g n i in f e d e R s I words: Karin Nelson pictures: KAI REGAN Back in the early 1990s, Homer Bryant, who founded the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center in 1981, attended a rap concert in Canada and noticed how the cadence of the music allowed the kids to easily remember the lyrics. “I thought if I put rap and ballet together, I might have a hit on my hands,” he recalls. (And indeed he did, though it would take over two decades for it to be realized.) Backed by music he’d written himself — “My name is Homer and I’m here to say that I am the guru of rap ballet. Ballet put your body in touch with your mind. And the rap beat keeps you stepping in time” — he began developing what would become Hiplet, a dance movement he eventually trademarked in 2009 that blends ballet on pointe with hip-hop. And in the two years since he first posted a video online of his students performing it, Hiplet has become an all-out cultural phenomenon. “We’ve traveled all over the world and gotten over a billion views,” says the St. Thomas-born Bryant, who was a former principal with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Much of the appeal of Hiplet is the sheer newness of seeing classically-trained ballet dancers plié and pirouette and then break out into a sassy nae-nae. But also, its social impact: In giving African-American dancers, who have often struggled to fit into the world of ballet, a space to shine, Bryant is empowering a community of kids. Among them, Zipporah Wilson, 17, who has been studying with Bryant for the last four years. “Ballet was not meant for African American girls,” she says. “Balenchine wanted these long, skinny girls in pink tights and pink ballet shoes. That’s not always the case for us.” And as Bryant notes, little has changed. “You have Misty Copeland who’s a principal at American Ballet Theatre, and there are like five or six other African-American dancers there,” he says. “I have over 285 students of color in this school, and there are more girls who want to be Hiplet dancers than be Misty.” As such, Bryant’s dream is to find investors and turn his basement-situated troupe, which is funded by parents, many of whom struggle to pay the tuition, into a professional Hiplet Dance Company, with male dancers. “We can pull 50 men off the street and start training them,” says Bryant. “The discipline of dance is a wonderful thing.” He also envisions one day Hiplet on Broadway or The Hiplet Nutcracker. “This is a feel-good Chicago story — there’s nobody killing and shooting here,” says Bryant. “We just need people to start looking at us now with a serious eye.”

ECH E P S S QUEEN

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EECH P S S N QUEE

et t like a cors , ugh Flow‘s tigh cornbread e k li s ll e sm e tep Your weav your doors to it g n rehead ri b I‘mma an your fo th r e g ig b to be I‘m about t sorted eeds to ge n d a rnette e h r u Yo n like a Co w o d d e k c t li You will ge , all net h is eballing I ball, sw o you‘re ey h w w o n k d So I don‘t a bald hea , I ball like ll a b I se u Ca ordan hael J-J-J I ball, Mic cool then eef? Safe, You want b ll dem ore then am? K, ca te a t o g give you m u a m Yo m I‘ , re want mo And if you e Morden n south lik w o d s e o g ‘s yawning Your man uth like he o m is h s n e And he op us e‘s gorgeo h , w w Oww No lie bow tie neck like a r u o y t a e I‘ll b how time pork rind cause it‘s S e c fa r I go ham, u o y cosign e watch to on‘t need a th d t I u , p n a io it m n I‘ recog tag me in, ‘t need any m up then a te And I don a n n a ese girls w Cause if th e a phone lin clothesline g ding like in line d e g n in o d y ph I make it g, that‘s m n ri g n ri g n I make it ri Wait

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ECH E P S S EEN

[Verse 2] eisha s like Shark Punchline d online Deplete ya t you‘re ba a th k in th Do not d delete ya ace you an sp k c metre a b ll I‘ nge in the a h c e k li in I‘m going aesar de salad, C si a ith a pizza You‘re e I came w k li x o b a Give you bleach ya p cause I‘ll u n te h g li So m the gyal de And big up m dem ichelle the p the gyal ls and I‘ll M Yeah big u ir g se e th ncé to I‘ll be Beyo tell them what else to w o n k ‘t n I do like Alvin Sounding em and Kel th I‘ll Kenan ! d back that bell dem never calle I ‘t even all t u in Shell dem, b a , u w o o y u kn ballbags ck, cause st night yo smells like la th k n a a re Just fall ba m b r r u o you u walk bac call from y girl, when d made yo d n o a o g e a m e o I missed a h ‘r you he drove be saying mad, cause e ‘r Look don‘t u o y t a told me th Your man t cute ‘re not tha look dusty Cause you neven, you u ‘s ir a h r s crusty And you ur lip look o y n o t a What‘s th ust be muscly old sore? M nd they‘re a h c Is that a c n e h my bars are And yeah n Gumtree to get ugly nd sell it o a g It‘s about o d r u o a pic of y r the bants I‘ll upload rance ts, it‘s all fo n a b e th a tour in F r id d nds st Just fo ju s, Pari h when it la m o tc fr a w k c st a b ju ‘s on Just got s your dad EP real so ringtone a e the Scene f m o sa n , e e e n u Q r ringto me as you You‘ll have It‘s mad

[Verse 1] ping goes ping e n o h e ding ding iP y M my line lik n o s n a m r Cause you a ting ting t o n ‘s dins But it up like din e m ts a e e ing ching Cause h ank like ch b e th in y Got mone bling e like bling And I shin y kingpin k down an engine I will knoc up like an e m rt a st So don‘t Skrrrr! off, nip slip I‘m a show ip ard, kick fl I go overbo ip sn ip cut, sn I be in the like sip sip c y ith m up w k c a b g n Sitti click click ang, yours My bars b a picnic like I‘m at g n ti a e m I‘ , big lips uch mouth m o to t o g You e stand girls ‘re in a rav And I can‘t when they ff o ls e e h their Who take e your big to I‘ll step on to behave w o d you h in m re to tings man Just n‘t do them a c u o y se Becau ink our feet st u think? sy, cause y How do yo w o fr s ll e rave sm When the otsits Cheese W e‘s hostage Freeze, sh ve Austin e cold, Ste n o st ‘s w lo F h gyal, ostric the cockpit Long neck chilling in m I‘ t a th So Fly ke foxes ht, kinda li pit ig n ll a t u O like a mosh e v o sh to s e ur drop lip If push com pkick to yo ro d a t e g l You wil

and me nties ey can‘t st ] 2 th s e k ru li o t h ge their pa c n C a a n h e c [Preth to y t a e d ay but forg e me every nds everyd Haters pre ie fr ir e th change Bare girls ur panties change yo , y es st a n s t‘ Tha your panti st change ju , y st a n That‘s

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EECH P S S N QUEE

[Verse 1] napchat wn like a S pback I hold it do d like a sna a e h r u o y Go over le tap that a pic, doub d e (bruh) d a lo p U , granddad ld o so ‘s w flo And your i boss!) nter a b It‘s just lack cab (o b a e k li h o muc club for? I‘m way to ing in the tt a h c p a n Why you S , man o famalam Just dance , yo fam, y m la a m fa Like yo than al badder Ain‘t no gy van ra roads, ca I‘m on the amadan this fast, R nche Let me do own, avala d g in o g ‘s Cause it ragraph it short, pa p e e k a m I‘m , anorak mma reign I‘ , sh e L n Quee zareth his rail, Na Take it off s h Jesus nd Eve‘d u oh Lord, o s, su e J st Adam a h ju O s d n ie fr f snakey er A couple o who‘s bett debate on o n ner ‘s n e re J e e c And th girl like Bru a to n a m I‘ll turn a like braaa the dance n w o d ll e I sh like braaa n di dance w o d k c ru Mi b u , dududud on Dudududu , I be the d e v lo y e th e n I be the o from where I‘m They know n 1, yo bredri 01 to the 2 ne gone? your hairli Where has ek ve the che [Bridge 1] can‘t belie I , their teeth it e sh v e ru li b ‘t even n I can‘t be o d d n a wake up reath ting Some girls t‘s a bad b a th , g n ti ad you ain‘t That‘s a de name and y m lk ta you How could th? d your tee e even brush teeth [Hook] brush your , th e te r u Brush yo your teeth teeth, brush r u o y sh Bru your teeth eth, brush te r u o y r teeth Brush , brush you th e te r u o Brush y

tock o the tick one? Stiff gyal d your lips g ‘s re e h w l, gya Big mouth cked off me to be ti ti t o g ‘t in a I atch new wristw But I got a flops ip ss e to toe, fl ke Kris Kro Let‘s go to Dolezal wd jump li ro c ke Rachel e li th s k e o lo lezal t a I‘ll mak th friend Rachel Do e in k li sk s k rk o a d lo I‘ve got a iend that light skin fr a t o g e v I‘ And ot sure ‘s which? N Which one ntour d, encore wearing co are clappe l e a ‘r y u g o y m e se u D ff ca k you‘re bu Don‘t thin ro b ws off Felicia!) wipe your s off (Bye il a n r u Cause I‘ll o y nd your wig a I‘ll snatch t u o hands I go blind, op the nail sh Like I‘m at ffin‘ girls are blu Look, these ttin‘ ain‘t on nu They really me ) What? do dirt on ur cousin? o y You can‘t t e g d n onna go a ou not (Are you g sy, I beg y ro ‘t in a g n Everyti d set it off Latifah an n e e u Q ll I‘ y flop e like a bell c n u o b I n Fetty Wap The your man, n o e y e e n Got o g gwop , I‘m gettin Yeah baby like Netflix Watch me dead ting club d electric, e n a th s a to g r o g u You h for yo ‘t got doug But you ain cheek [Bridge 2] elieve the b ‘t n teeth a c I , eve it brush their n e v e ‘t n I can‘t beli o ? nd d even speak wake up a teeth? could you w o shed your Some man H ru b t? n a e v th e o ‘t d in u a o y u me and yo How could talk my na u o y ld u o How c [Hook] your teeth eth, brush te r u o y r teeth Brush , brush you th e te r u o eth Brush y sh your te r teeth, bru u o y sh te r ru B you eth teeth, brush r u o y sh Bru

[Verse 2] p like a tip to oss Bars cold like Rick R y ll e b t o p a t o You‘ve g

EECH P S S N QUEE

[Verse 1] chinwag stop for a ‘t n o d se a Ple Tic Tac it Kat You need a up like a K e k ro b t e g You will e a bin bag ken out lik ta n e th d An w blow g down, lo in o (slow mo) g ‘s it r Beca like a photo p a sn e m n ake like Tray vo So don‘t m h o o de d u p h g u ro th I‘ ll come kon d out like A like Avon All blacke d Songz your oor to e m o c s like Trey a te o n I‘mm m e e th you gimm song And make e a Drake k li , g n ti d sa Mad ting, y p hone ‘s cool, pa Everything r panties hange you c to u o y same ones? I told earing the w l il st u o So why y aul no S e a n P Dutty Ay, n do? hat you go w l, a y g d a Cornwall I‘m b pporters in su t o g e v rtmore Look, I‘ allers in Po b e m so w that pose? A nd I k no love to do ls ir g o d y h But wait, w iners? ur new tra o y y e Are th thoseeeee? What are al Eedyat gy g ya l and eat it se o n r u o y Pick alest gyal I am the re yal! e realest g I-I-I am th a ke Melesh Katrina You ain‘t li e, yeah, I‘m n a ic rr u h teacher I‘m a n‘t like the id d ss la c English e Felicia!“ ut like „By o d e lk a w So I ool, kids Stay in sch n [Chorus] ppreciatio show no a on ti ia v re They don‘t like abb rt o sh s g Keep thin hating are really ls ir n g se e All th rispy baco look like c s p li ir e th When on Crispy bac CRISPY! n o c Crispy ba CRISPY! n o Crispy bac CRISPY! y bacon ok like crisp Your lips lo on Crispy bac CRISPY! n o c Crispy ba CRISPY! on Crispy bac CRISPY! y bacon ok like crisp lo s p li ir e h T

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EECH P S S N QUEE

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EECH P S S N QUEE

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h a n d i c r a f t

We have a very specific image of Victorian women: corsets, fainting spells and sophisticated embroidery. Some of them may indeed be true, because the women at the end of the 19th century were indeed virtuoso embroiderers. However, on the back of magazines such as Home Needlework Journal, Needlecraft and Modern Priscilla, advertisements for the second biggest hobby of the Victorian woman were also found: secretly masturbating.

More than a hundred years ago, doctors invented the vibrator because they constantly got cramps in their fingers during the treatment of their hysteria patients. However, for a long time the vibrator was not considered to be a sex toy, but rather a kind of... With the advent of household electrification, the dream of a personal vibrator finally beca me reality. The industrial revolution finally gave women the power to come under the protection of their own four walls. Previously, women of the upper and middle class went to their doctor for several centuries to be satisfied. The first electrified household item was the sewing machine in 1889,“writes Rachel Maines in her landmark work The Technology of Orgasm:“ Hysteria „, the Vibrator, and Women‘s Satisfaction. According to Maines, the electric vibrator was the fifth electronic household appliance ever invented. „Nine years before the electric vacuum cleaner, ten years before the electric iron and more than a decade before the electric frying pan, which probably reflects consumer priorities.“

But why is our idea of women from the time before the sexual revolution full of vacuum cleaners and free of vibrators? That‘s because the clitoral stimulation in the eyes of the quirky Victorians wasn‘t masturbation-it wasn‘t even sexual. Instead, clitoral stimulation was used solely to alleviate the symptoms of what is believed to be a serious disease affecting only women. The British doctor Havelock Ellis wrote in his 1913 work The Sexual Impulse on Women that an estimated 75 percent of all women suffered from „hysteria“ -a disease whose symptoms ranged from headaches and epileptic seizures to rude language. Virtually any behavior that a woman showed could indicate hysteria and the massage of the pelvic region was the most successful remedy since the invention of the disease in ancient Greece. In the Victorian era, it was assumed that women would not experience sexual desire. Hysteria thus became a disease that was completely detached from all sexual ideas. Even orgasms got a new name: When a woman was enlivened and satisfied after the pelvic massage, they said she had a „hysterical paroxysm.“ Laute Mai-

nes, the „doctors“ remained in the reassuring belief that women were sexually stimulated exclusively by penetration. For this reason, the speculum and tampon were discussed much more controversially in medical circles at first than the vibrator.“ When a woman felt the desire to stimulate her clitoris, it was a clear sign that she was suffering from „hysteria“, according to the theory. The only way to achieve relief was to stimulate the clitoris until the woman no longer wanted to be stimulated. Of course, the effect of the treatment did not last very long, so the women affected were extremely lucrative and regular customers. Aretaios of Cappadocia, a doctor from ancient Greece, called the uterus „an animal in the animal.“ He believed that the uterus tended to become independent and strangle the woman from the inside out when she was left to her own devices: In this case, the uterus had to be lured back to its original place with sweet smelling oils. The oils had to be applied with intense movements around the clitoris, which had a very relaxing effect on the women. The origin of hysteria has changed over thousands of years: in ancient times it was the wandering uterus, in the Middle Ages it was a demonic obsession. Of course, it was much easier for demons to take possession of women because their vagina served as an entrance gate, similar to the Death Star‘s vent. According to Maines, doctors advised them to marry, to go horseback riding regularly or to be fingered by a midwife in order to alleviate the suffering. In the Victorian age it was assumed that modern society and the increased demands on the weak sex were the reason for the disease. In the Victorian era, doctors attributed hysteria to the dangerous activities of intellectual women,“wrote Greer Theus from Washington and Lee University. All the foot-operated sewing machines and the increasing literacy rate tore the women‘s delicate minds to shreds. Fortunately, progress has been made in the treatment of hysteria. One of these innovative treatment methods was the water cure, also known as pool shower. Instead of turning the vibrators higher, the doctors pointed fire hoses at the inner thighs of the women. This method was installed in the middle of the 19th century in spas all over Europe and America. Women loved this application and swarmed into the health resorts where this form of treatment was offered. R. J. Lane wrote about his experiences in an English spa that men were sceptical about the pool shower, but „women after the showers“ explained that they felt much more euphoric and buoyant as if they had been drinking champagne „. Doctors hated the treatment of hysteria

because they constantly got cramps in their hands and quickly tired their fingers. They seemed to have been just as enthusiastic about bringing the women to orgasm as the sex partners who sent their wives to therapy,“writes Maines. So they kept looking for ways to accelerate the hysterical paroxysm. When water consumption in the cities was not yet measured, there was a short time when home vibrators were operated with the help of a small water wheel that could be connected to the sink. But the real breakthrough came with the steam-driven vibrator. In 1869, an American physician named George Taylor applied for a patent for the „manipulator“, in which the patients had to sit on a padded plate with a vibrating area in the middle. His most important customers were spas and doctors with a correspondingly high number of treatments to justify the expenditure on such a large, heavy and bulky device,“Maines writes. However, doctors were quickly tired of shovelling coal into the engines of the vibrators, which is why Mortimer Granville invented the first battery-powered vibrator in the early 1880s. However, he made it expressly clear that his device was not intended to be used at the clitoris:“I have avoided it and would like to avoid treating women with the help of vibration in the future, for the simple reason that I do not want to be deceived by the moods of the hysterical state or the characteristic appearance of this mimetic disease and that I do not want to contribute to deceiving others,“ he wrote in 1883. Instead of faking orgasms, Granville believed that women faked an illness to have orgasms. The battery in Gransville‘s vibrator weighed 18 kilograms, but was supposedly portable. Shortly before the turn of the century, batteries became smaller and smaller and women began to buy vibrators for home use. A catalogue of the American company Sears from 1918 advertised a home motor with various attachments, one of which was a vibrator. But the motor could also be used for „beating butter, mixing, stirring, grinding and polishing as well as for driving a fan,“ writes Maines. According to the sex toy distributor Good Vibrations, vibrators have been widely advertised in women‘s magazines since the 1920s. The Antique Vibrator Museum also says that „it became increasingly difficult to ignore the sexual function of vibrators after they appeared in the first porn movies. Probably why the advertisements for vibrators disappeared from the serious publications.“ Maines did not experience a boom in the sex toy industry until the 1980s, as a result of which vibrators became a completely normal everyday object and the vibrator finally came into the spotlight.

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A vital force in 1980s New York was a new movement known as hip hop. In the late 1970s, Fab 5 Freddy played Basquiat cassette recordings of live rap performances from parties in the south Bronx and Harlem. He also introduced him to emerging figures from this scene, including experimental artist-musician Rammellzee and graffiti artist Toxic. In November 1982, Basquiat made an extended trip to California, while preparing for his 1983 show at Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles. Rammellzee and Toxic came to join him on the West Coast, jokingly referring to themselves as the „Hollywood Africans“ in reference to the inescapable racism in the film industry. Basquiat made the the title for his powerful portrait of the trio.

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The late 1960s saw a boom in the number of artists focusing on the construction of identity in the media, challenging gender roles and rewriting the male-dominated traditions of art history. One of the strategies employed by these artists was to borrow elements from popular visual culture in order to question the ways in which the female body is presented, whether as sex fantasy or ‘domestic goddess’. Artists have also manipulated their own appearance, stressing how clothes and make-up function as a costume and dressing up to ‘perform’ gender in a way that meets or plays with social expectations.

Some works highlight the ritualistic and depersonalising aspects of applying cosmetics, while others enact exaggerated gender stereotypes. Some women artists have chosen to expose and highlight their sexuality, in order to reclaim it and transform it from an object of male desire to a creative and oppositional force. In other cases, the categories of ‘male’ and ‘female’ are resisted or rejected for a more fluid and dynamic understanding of gender identity. Curated by Valentina Ravaglia

The Guerrilla Girls are feminist activist artists. We wear gorilla masks in public and use facts, humor and outrageous visuals to expose gender and ethnic bias as well as corruption in politics, art, film, and pop culture. Our anonymity keeps the focus on the issues, and away from who we might be: we could be anyone and we are everywhere. We believe in an intersectional feminism that fights discrimination and supports human rights for all people and all genders. We undermine the idea of a mainstream narrative by revealing the understory, the subtext, the overlooked, and the downright unfair. We have done hundreds of projects (posters, actions, books, videos, stickers) all over the world, including Bilbao, Iceland, Istanbul, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Rotterdam, Sao Paolo, and Shanghai. We also do interventions and exhibitions at museums, blasting them on their own walls for their bad behavior and discriminatory practices, including our 2015 stealth projection on the façade of the Whitney Museum about income inequality and the super rich hijacking art. Our retrospectives in Bilbao and Madrid, and our US traveling exhibition, Guerrilla Girls: Not Ready To Make Nice, have attracted thousands. For 2016 we produced new street and museum projects at Tate Modern and Whitechapel Gallery, London; and in Paris, Cologne, and Minneapolis. In 2017, we have new projects and exhibitions at MASP, Sao Paolo; the Frestas Triennial, Sorocaba; The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam; The Museum of Military History, Dresden; and many other places. What’s next: More creative complaining!! More interventions!! More resistance!!

GUERRILLA GIRLS REINVENTING THE ‚F‘ WORD: FEMINISM 91

valie export, 1940 Born and works in Austria Action Pants: Genital Panic 1969 Six screenprints on paper This set of posters was produced to commemorate an action performed by VALIE EXPORT in Munich in 1968. She entered a cinema wearing trousers with a triangle of fabric removed at the crotch and walked between the seated viewers. Her action was intended to confront the cinematic representation of women as passive objects. The posters were then fly-posted in the streets. In the photograph, the vulnerability of her exposed sex clashes with the male phallic symbol of the machine gun. „Aggression was part of my intention“, the artist has said. „I wanted to provoke, because I sought to change the people‘s way of seeing and thinking.“

Zanele Muholi, 1972 Born and works in South Africa from Only Half the Pictures 2003-6 ID Crisis 2003 Bra 2003 Photograph, gelatin silver print on paper The photographic series Only Half the Picture exposes the difficulties faced by black lesbians and transgender people in South Africa, where they are confronted by widespread homophobia, discrimination and violence. The photographs provide a voice to the black LGBTI community, to which the artist also belongs. „I have seen people speaking and capturing images of lesbians on our behalf, as if we are incapable and mute“. Muholi has said. „I refused to become subject matter for others and to be silenced.“

carolee schneemann, 1939 Born and works in USA Interior Scroll 1975 Beet juice, urine and coffee on screenprint on paper Schneemann thinks of her performances as a form of painting. Interior Scroll documents a performance of the same title, which took place in New York in August 1975. Wearing only an apron, she applied paint to her face and body. She then read read passages from her book Cezanne, She Was A Great Painter, while adopting a series of life modelling poses. After removing the apron, she drew a narrow scroll of paper from her vagina and read aloud from it. Schneemann thus presented the female body not as an object of contemplation but as a source of creativity.

Artist & society room 7: Carrie mae weems, 1995 Born and works in USA From Here I Saw What Happened And I Cried Chromogenic color prints with sand-blasted text on glass With From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, Carrie Mae Weems reveals how photography has played a key role throughout history in shaping and supporting racism, stereotyping, and social injustice. This installation is comprised of appropriated photographs of slaves in the American South and other 19th- and 20th-century photographs of Africans and African Americans that the artist found in museum and university archives. Among the photographs she selected were daguerreotypes commissioned in 1850 by Swiss naturalist Louis Agassiz, who traveled through the American South with a photographer, making portraits of slaves. Agassiz intended to use these portraits as visual evidence to support his theories of the racial inferiority of Africans, and to prepare a taxonomy of physical types in the slave population.1 “When we’re looking at these images,” Weems has said, “we’re looking at the ways in which Anglo America—white America—saw itself in relationship to the black subject. I wanted to intervene in that by giving a voice to a subject that historically has had no voice.”

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Sanja Ivekovic‘s e the pressures imp form to conventio explore the femi private is the po first artist in Cro a feminist, descr disobedience tow that treated femi from the West“. Iv school in 1971, du the „Croatien Spr artists rejected t state-sanctioned

Valérie mréjen, 1969 Born and works in France Manufrance 2005 Video, colour and sound Running time: 5 min Mréjen is a writer, filmmaker and photographer with an interest in banal and everyday images. Manufrance illustrates a day in the life of a 1970s housewife, pieced together from a series of static shots filmed from copies of the French mail order catalogue „Manufrance“. These photographs were created in a decade when feminist ideas were finally being discussed more publicly, reaching more people than ever before. Nevertheless, highly polished images of women as mannequins, presented alongside other desirable goods, remain an enduring steretype in advertising.

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Built in 1888, Electric Avenue looks resplendent with its glazed canopies running along its elegantly curved street. It was the first shopping street to be lit by electricity, and was Brixton's focal point for many years. Every Christmas, it would be lavishly covered in spectacular Christmas decorations.

the History of Brixton The name Brixton is thought to have derived from Brixistane, meaning the stone of Brixi, a Saxon lord. He is thought to have erected a boundary stone to mark the meeting place of the moot or hundred court, possibly at the top of Brixton Hill. The road at this point was known as Bristow or Brixton Causeway long before any settlement. The area marks the rise of the land from the marshes of North Lambeth up to the hills of Norwood and Streatham. The River Effra flowed from its source in Norwood down through Herne Hill to Brixton, where it was crossed by low bridges carrying the Roman roads to the south coast (now Brixton and Clapham Roads). A network of medieval country lanes, such as Acre Lane, Coldharbour Lane, Brixton Water Lane and Lyham Road (formerly Back Lane) ran between the main roads. Surprisingly, Brixton as a village or settlement did not exist until the end of the 18th century. Originally woodland, this had gradually depleted until the district was covered by farmland and market garden, well known for its game and strawberries. Things began to change when new bridges were built across the Thames, making South London accessible to city dwellers wishing to escape the dirt and noise of London. The earliest built development took place along the Washway (now Brixton Road). The 1806 enclosures of the Manor of Lambeth ( belonging to the Archbishop of Canterbury) set the stage for growth in the area. The opening of Vauxhall Bridge in 1816 was the catalyst and terraced houses and detached villas soon lined the main road. St Matthews Church, consecrated in 1824, indicating that there was a sizeable population by this time.

Large terraced and detached houses were built along the main highway. The Rush Common enclosure stipulations dictated that they were set back from the main road with generous front gardens that prolonged the semi-rural nature of the area. A windmill, still in existence, was erected in 1816 by John Ashby half way up Brixton Hill. Close by in 1819 the Surrey House of Correction, later Brixton Prison was established. The relatively late arrival of the railway to Brixton in the 1870s sparked the usual building boom and changed the landscape of the area with bridges and viaducts. Most developers built two or three storey terraces aimed at the artisan market. The expanding population demanded shops and Brixton rapidly developed into a major shopping centre. Bon Marche on Brixton Road was the first purpose built departtment store in the country, opened in 1877. Electric Avenue was one of the first shopping arcades to have electric lighting. The famous market began in Atlantic Road but was moved to Station Road in the 1920s to ease traffic congestion. At the end of the 19th century Brixton became home to theatre and music hall artistes. Dan Leno lived in Akerman Road, Fred Karno had his Fun Factory off Coldharbour Lane, Charlie Chaplin lived in Ferndale Road at the turn of the century whilst part of the Eight Lancashire Lads troupe. Slum clearance, bombing and the end of 99 year leases on larger houses changed Brixton. Postwar saw the settling of immigrant workers from the Caribbean which defined modern Brixton: famous for its vitality and tolerance as much as riots and crime.

In London nimmt das Problem der Gangs wieder zu. Cafébabel ist nach Brixton gereist, um diese Welt hinter den glitzernden Lichtern von London Bridge und Picadilly Circus zu entdecken: Ein Vorort im Süden von London, wo vor allem Familien mit Migrationshintergrund, auch aus Jamaika, leben. Wir haben mit Tracy Sour Miller gesprochen, die in den 80ern das gefährlichste Mädchen von Angell Town war. „You can crush us, you can bruise us, but you‘ll have to answer to, oh, the guns of Brixton“ sangen The Clash in den 70ern. Zu der Zeit war das Viertel Brixton tabu für alle Weißen und nicht Vorbestraften. Die jamaikanische Mafia breitete sich ungestört aus. Es war das Terrain der so genannten Yardies: So wurden die Jamaikaner genannt, die in den 1950er Jahren massenweise aus den Government Yards in West Kingston (Jamaika) ankamen. In dem Viertel leben vor allem Schwarze jamaikanischer Herkunft. Die sogenannten Brixton Riots sind in die Geschichte eingegangen. So hießen die Unruhen, die von Zeit zu Zeit in der Gegend ausbrachen und bei denen immer ein Schwarzer von der Polizei getötet wurde: 1981, 1985, 1995, zuletzt 2011.

Neben den reicheren Vierteln im Westen von London und auch den ärmsten Arbeitervierteln im East End gibt es den Süden. Es gibt Brixton. Inzwischen hat die Gentrifizierung viele dieser Unterschiede aufgeweicht, aber sie hat es nicht geschafft, ein großes Problem der Gesellschaft zu lösen: die Gangs, die heute besser organisiert und weit verbreiteter sind als früher. In den 1980ern gab es die Younger 28s, die Junction Boys, die Peckham Boys und die Ghetto Boys. Heute sind es die Muslim Boys, die Poverty Driven Children, die Guns and Shanks, die ABM (All ‚Bout Money) und die TN1 (Tell No One). Wer da mitmacht, ist jung, sehr jung, oft noch nicht einmal volljährig. Es sind englische Jugendliche, in London geboren, häufig mit Migrationshintergrund und aus oft katastrophalen Familienverhältnissen. Da sind Raubüberfälle, Messerstechereien und Schießereien, die oft im Gefängnis enden. Dahinter stehen Frust, Armut und Hass, die die Kinder zu Hause erleben. Sie leben in einem Viertel, das der Staat vergessen hat, wo man sich im Haus einschließt, so-

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bald es dunkel wird und lieber nicht daran denkt, was draußen passiert. Die „Karriere“ bei den Child-Gangs beginnt früh, schon mit 12 oder 13 Jahren, mit kleinen Ladendiebstählen im Supermarkt. Mit 16 Jahren landet man nach einem bewaffneten Raubüberfall im Knast. Wer sind diese Jugendlichen? Was wollen sie von der Gesellschaft? Und warum scheint der Staat sie vergessen zu haben?

Ein Tag in Angell Town Als ich in Brixton ankomme, ist es kalt aber sonnig. Ich steige aus der U-Bahn und stehe auf der Brixton High Street, der wichtigsten Straße des Viertels. Lange Reihen von Geschäften, Fast-Food-Läden, Supermärkten. Die Wandbilder von David Bowie sind zur Zeit die Hauptattraktion. Ich sehe vor allem Schwarze auf der Straße, aber auch ein paar Weiße. Mein Ziel ist ein anderes: die Häusersiedlung Angell Town. Abseits der Brixton High Street sind die Straßen hier leerer, die Geschäfte spärlicher und die Weißen rarer. Ich betrete das Wohn-

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gebiet von Brixton. Außer einer Gruppe Halbstarker ist fast niemand auf den Straßen zu sehen. Es ist fünf Uhr nachmittags und es wird schon dunkel. Ich biege in die Overton Road ein und bin angekommen: Angell Town, ein Block Sozialwohnungen, die sich durch Größe und Baufälligkeit auszeichnen. Ich erkenne jetzt, dass ich mich in einem echten „Viertel im Viertel“ befinde. Da sind viele Häuser aus Sperrholz nebeneinander, die Vorhänge zugezogen, viele jamaikanische Flaggen in den Fenstern. Bei Nummer 159 befindet sich South Central Youth, ein Hilfszentrum für Jugendliche, die in Kriminalität abgerutscht sind. Ann Stockreiter, die Leiterin der Organisation, erzählt mir von ihren Aufgaben. „Oft bin ich es, die zu ihnen kommt, aber manchmal kommen sie auch zu mir. Ich treffe sie auf den Polizeiwachen, oder hier, im Zentrum“, erklärt sie mir. „Wir bieten psychologische und praktische Hilfe, um ihr Leben zu verbessern. Wir unterstützen sie in allen Bereichen, von der Schule bis in die Familie. Wir wollen ein Bewusstsein aufbauen“.

„Die Situation der Child-Gangs hat sich im Vergleich zu den 80ern verschlimmert: Die Banden sind viel zersplitterter und daher auch zahlreicher. Die wichtigsten und organisiertesten sind zur Zeit Rock Block, 67s und Siru, ihre Mitglieder sind zwischen 12 und 19 Jahre alt.“ Eine Sache möchte ich Ann fragen: Was tut der Staat gegen diese Zustände? „Leider ist die Unterstützung ungenügend: Es fehlen Gelder, um Organisationen wie die unsere zu finanzieren, aber auch das Bewusstsein für die Bedürfnisse dieser Jugendlichen“. Ich bitte Ann, mir eine Erfolgsgeschichte von einem Jugendlichen zu erzählen: „Joshua ging nicht mehr zur Schule, weil er von seinen Mitschülern verbal und körperlich gemobbt wurde. Er fing an, Straftaten zu begehen, Drogen zu dealen, sich in Schwierigkeiten zu bringen. Mit unserer Unterstützung hat Joshua seine Studien wiederaufgenommen, einen Abschluss in Physik und Chemie gemacht und hilft heute in Entwicklungsländern“.

Der Blick von Innen Was bringt diese jungen Menschen dazu, sich kriminellen Banden anzuschließen? Ich hatte die Möglichkeit zu einem Interview mit Tracy Miller, oder Sour, wie sie in den 1980ern hieß, als sie das gefährlichste Mädchen in Angell Town war. Mit nur 15 Jahren wurde sie Teil der berüchtigten Gang Younger 28s. Sie hat gestohlen, Leute bestochen, Drogen gedealt und saß im Gefängnis. Tracy wurde in Jamaika geboren und kam mit 10 Jahren zusammen mit ihrer Mutter nach Angell Town. Der Vater war im Gefängnis, zu Hause wechselten oft die Stiefväter, die Mutter war schizophren und sie waren arm. Die Lebensumstände ließen keine Hoffnung auf Verbesserung zu. „Als meine Mutter einen ihrer Anfälle hatte und man sie in ein Rehabilitationszentrum brachte, holte sie aus der Küche ein Messer, um sich zu verteidigen. Ihr Verhalten erschien mir

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damals normal. Einer meiner Stiefväter war ein Pädophiler. Wenn er aus dem Bad kam, zeigte er mir mit herausgestreckter Zunge seine Erektion. Ich fing an, nachts ein Messer unter meinem Kissen zu verstecken und ich war bereit, es gegen ihn zu benutzen, falls er mich anfassen sollte. Von dort war es nur ein kleiner Schritt, bis ich immer ein Messer dabei hatte.“ „Es klingt absurd, aber im Gefängnis fühlte ich mich sicher, sogar beschützt. Ich musste nicht über meine Mutter und ihre Stimmungsschwankungen nachdenken, über meinen Stiefvater, über die schlechte Gesellschaft draußen auf der Straße. Im Gefängnis konnte ich ich selbst sein, ohne Maske oder Panzer“, erzählt Tracy. „Ob ich wusste, dass ich eine Wahl habe? Es gibt immer eine Wahl. Ich wusste tief in meinem Innern, dass das, was ich tat, falsch war.

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Was mich da herausgeholt hat? Mit 18 Jahren wurde ich schwanger. Meine Tochter hat mich zu einem besseren Menschen gemacht. Meine Töchter sind mein Beitrag zur Gesellschaft.“ Tracy wohnt heute zusammen mit ihren beiden Töchtern, die die Vergangenheit ihrer Mutter kennen, in Brixton. Sie hat ein Buch über ihre Geschichte geschrieben und die Kampagne One Minute in May ins Leben gerufen, um die Bevölkerung für die Probleme der Child Gangs zu sensibilisieren und um die Familien derer zu unterstützen, die jedes Jahr durch Pistolen und Messer in Brixton umkommen. Laut einer Statistik des Jahres 2008 werden in ganz Großbritannien täglich mehr als 60 Personen Opfer von jugendlicher Gewalt. 2014 gab es einen gigantischen Einsatz von 700 Polizisten gegen die Gas Gang. Allein im Jahr 2015 haben in London 15 Jungen (alle 18 Jahre alt oder jünger) in Messerstechereien ihr Leben verloren.

SCURR SCURR A playlist with all songs from this issue. just scan the code via spotify search or type: KLIT MAG VOLUME TWO â&#x20AC;&#x201C; LONDON

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E c p c d

a a l o r

s l a l e

y l t o s

e m o i n u m g o n e s e d t

n t h e p h o n e a n d C h a n e l a n d i s t a y o i m p r e s s u m

„Nasty girl“ by The Notorious B.I.G. (feat. P. Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge, Avery Storm), Duets: The Final Chapter, 2005

ISSUE II Instagram/klit.mag Email: hello@klit-mag.de Concept and Design: Nicole Rauch University of Applied Sciences Würzburg Faculty of Visual Design „Editorial Design“ Lecturer: Christina Hackenschuh 7. Semester Wintersemester 2017/18 Fonts: Brandon Grotesque, Dharma Gothic E, Times, Six Caps Three Cheers to: Alexandra Benkenstein, Anissa Carrington, Lisa Büchse

spread love, bitches.