Date Available
5-5-2021
Year of Publication
2021
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Arts and Sciences
Department/School/Program
Classical Languages and Literature
First Advisor
Dr. Brenna R. Byrd
Abstract
Samy Deluxe, a Black German Hip-Hop artist from Hamburg, Germany, has become a staple in the German Hip-Hop realm. Since the start of his career, he has tried to replicate the genre that originated in the Bronx and apply it to a German setting. Samy Deluxe raps about with social criticism, German political issues, and racism. Not only has Samy Deluxe established a discography of politically driven music, but he has also used his platform to establish a Black German identity for himself in a German context.
This has not been an easy feat, due to issues within German society that, while perhaps unknown to most white Germans, make it difficult for Black Germans to become fully accepted as “German.” In my research, I explore the history of German identity and the philosophies about Germanness that still linger that make it a challenge for those like Samy Deluxe to find themselves and their identity in Germany. I use this history to analyze Samy Deluxe’s autobiography, filmography, interview commentaries, and discography to establish a definition of how Samy Deluxe sees himself fitting with a German society.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2021.171
Recommended Citation
Culley, Michaela N., "SO BITTER, SO BÖSE: SAMY DELUXE DEFINES A BLACK GERMAN IDENTITY THROUGH HIP-HOP" (2021). Theses and Dissertations--Modern and Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures. 8.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/mcllc_etds/8
