Düsseldorf's Finest - On the trail of hip-hop and graffiti culture

Anyone interested in hip-hop and graffiti culture should go in search of traces in Düsseldorf: The state capital is considered an important place of origin for both subcultures in Germany. The hip-hop tour, a multimedia city tour including historical photo material and music samples, offers a wonderful opportunity to immerse yourself in the topic. Two pioneers of the Düsseldorf scene are also part of the walk between the legendary Kiefernstraße and Kunstverein WP8. At each stop, they can talk from their own experience about the origins of hip-hop culture in Düsseldorf, Germany and Europe and contribute their insider knowledge and one or two anecdotes: graffiti artist Oliver "Magic" Räke and hip-hop artist Dr. Christian Calles aka Killa Calles. They gave us a foretaste of the tour, which continues from March 9, in an interview.

Oliver and Christian, we are sitting together today in the Icklack leisure center, one of the most important places in Düsseldorf when it comes to the history of hip-hop and graffiti culture. What exactly connects you personally to the topic?
Oliver Räke: I'm one of the first generation of sprayers in Düsseldorf who are still actively painting and therefore one of the pioneers of graffiti culture in Germany. It started with me in 83/84, when I was growing up in Derendorf. Accordingly, there was a picture of mine at the S-Bahn station there for a very long time: "Welcome to Magic City". I painted it on the occasion of a Run DMC concert in Düsseldorf to welcome the concertgoers.

Christian, you are not only a veteran of the Düsseldorf hip-hop scene, but were also known throughout Germany as a rapper. How did that come about?
Christian: A documentary about the Ratingen hip-hop band Fresh Familee was very influential for me at the time. At that time, hip-hop and rap were really only known from America. This roughness from New York and the style, as well as basketball and breakdancing, were extremely fascinating to me as a teenager. Fresh Familee was a kind of eye-opener for me: that rap could also work in German. The rappers Nimzwai and I released the track "Düsseldorf's Finest" at some point. When our video was shown on VIVA, we were suddenly known nationwide and made a record.

You got into rap and hip-hop here at Icklack.
Christian: I was part of the Icklack Squad, which consisted of several groups, individual rappers, DJs and musicians. We had a lot of gigs, recorded our own tapes that were distributed throughout Germany and, as I said, were also on music television. Back then, we tried to build up our own structures, even internationally, for example via my own radio show, which I did on community radio at the time, and via the hiphop.de website, which Icklack also helped to set up.
Oliver: It has to be said that the scene in Germany in the 1990s was much more homogeneous than it is today, also stylistically. Back then, people were working on a common idea of hip-hop. The scene was a community that met regularly to dance, rap and spray together.

As pioneers, how do you feel about the fact that hip-hop and graffiti have now reached the mainstream?
Oliver: Funnily enough, it's obviously a quality of hip-hop to be able to be mainstream and underground at the same time. Hip-hop and graffiti are absolute participatory cultures that don't function purely through consumption. If you want to be a hip-hopper, you have to be part of it, as a rapper, sprayer, dancer ... You can't just watch. That's why the scene is initially associated with the underground for anyone who wants to get into it. As a sprayer, you have to have been chased by the police at least once before you can hang in a gallery. A picture has to have an exciting story behind it.

You came to your current profession through spraying.
Oliver: Yes, I worked as a graphic designer for the hip-hop scene relatively early on and designed the logo for hiphop.de or record covers and flyers for events, for example. You didn't get much money back then, but people did everything themselves and sold records out of the trunk of their cars. That always made the scene strong.

And now, forty years later, there's even a hip-hop tour through Düsseldorf that you're accompanying. Which stops mean the most to you?
Christian: The Icklack definitely has a very special meaning because it was my rap living room during a very exciting time.
Oliver: Definitely Kiefernstraße. It's incredible how atmospheric this place still is and how it contrasts with Königsallee, for example. The S-Bahn lines were very important to us as they took us through the Ruhr area and thus to the graffiti.

Are there any other important places for you that might not be part of the tour?
Oliver: Definitely the Pretty Portal gallery, a gallery that started early on with a graffiti program and is now more dedicated to street art. Also, of course, places with urban art such as the underpasses at Bilker Bahnhof or Oberbilker Allee.

We've now mainly talked about Düsseldorf's hip-hop and graffiti culture. How do you generally see the city as an art and culture location? Which places inspire you when it comes to music and art?
Oliver: Definitely Schleuse 2 in the Bilker Bunker: there is a very good music program with electronic music, sometimes also hip-hop. The Salon des Amateurs is of course legendary. I like the Kunsthalle, the K20 and the K21, the Philara Collection, but also the Hetjens Keramikmuseum - world class if you are interested in this type of art. The Hood Projects gallery on Hüttenstraße is also great, with an exciting post-vandalism program.
Christian: For me, it's also Schleuse 2. I also love going to street art events, where I'm often booked as a DJ. And I like the Hood Company in Oberbilk, a store mainly for spray cans, where exhibitions take place and where the scene meets.

What are your favorite places in Düsseldorf?
Oliver: I go to the Rhine to take a deep breath and for the space. And at night, I cycle through the city.
Christian: I like going to the Kassette and am looking forward to its successor: the Fliese. I eat pizza at Via Apia, right next door. Last summer, I loved the Boombox events, which had changing locations - and Park Life. I like the KIT events, where you can just sit down on the lawn and listen to the DJs. Not forgetting the Büdchentag, where lots of people put on great events.

One last question: Why Düsseldorf? What keeps you in your hometown?
Oliver: Father Rhine - I love Düsseldorf! I've already been away twice for a while, but I really enjoyed coming back.
Christian: Düsseldorf is home for me. The city offers me plenty of opportunities and is simply beautiful!

Dr. Christian Calles aka Killa Calles

In his real life, rapper Dr. Christian Calles aka Killa Calles has a doctorate in biology and works at the Coordination Center for Clinical Studies at Düsseldorf University Hospital. But you can also meet him as a DJ or in urban places, where he occasionally gives voluntary hip-hop workshops for children and young people. In the 1990s, the video of his track "Düsseldorf's Finest" was shown on VIVA and was known throughout Germany.

Oliver Räke aka Magic

Graffiti artist Oliver Räke aka Magic works as a graphic designer, illustrator and freelance artist. He is a pioneer of the European graffiti scene and has been a sprayer in Düsseldorf since 1983. You can currently see graffiti by Oliver Räke in Düsseldorf's public spaces, for example in the underpasses at Bilker Bahnhof and on Oberbilker Allee, near Hüttenstraße.
oliverraeke.de

Interview: Katja Vaders
Photos Freizeitstätte Icklack: Kristina Fendesack

Our tip: Hip-hop tour with Killa Calles & Oliver Räke

The Sound of Düsseldorf
The hip-hop tour continues on March 9. How are Kiefernstraße and hip-hop in Düsseldorf connected, you ask? What role did street rap play for the city? Which international stars of the scene have already been to Düsseldorf?Killa Calles and Oliver "Magic" Räke join music journalists Dr. Michael Wenzel and Sven-André Dreyer on a tour of the city, passing the places where hip-hop history was written in Düsseldorf.In addition to stories and anecdotes, there will of course be Düsseldorf hip-hop sounds to listen to. 

Further information can be found at visitduesseldorf.de.