German rapper nearly jailed for violent lyrics
A German rap musician narrowly avoided being sent to jail for his violent lyrics, after a Berlin court on Tuesday ruled his 10-month sentence could be served on probation.
The 24-year-old Berlin-based rapper and producer known as Blokkmonsta and two other men from the German capital’s hip hop scene ran afoul of the law for their 2005 CD that had songs that according to prosecutors glorified violence and called for killing police officers.
“This fuels the violent fantasies of those who might be encouraged to run amok,” the presiding judge said after also fining Blokkmonsta €2,000 for his musical stylings.
His two rap colleagues were fined €1,350 and sentenced to six months on probation respectively. The court ruled tracks with titles like “May 1 Rock Slide” and “My AK-47” were tantamount to calls for killing cops and death threats against Social Democratic parliamentarian Monika Griefahn, who was the head of a parliamentary committee looking into violence in the media at the time.
Blokkmonsta showed remorse for his hateful lyrics at the beginning of the trial explaining they were simply “thoughtless hijinks – we were nobodies and we wanted to get noticed.” But all the defendants contested that their lyrics should be considered merely artistic expression as opposed to incitement of violence.
The gangsta rap record label that released the controversial music is called Hirntot, which means “Brain Dead” in German.
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The 24-year-old Berlin-based rapper and producer known as Blokkmonsta and two other men from the German capital’s hip hop scene ran afoul of the law for their 2005 CD that had songs that according to prosecutors glorified violence and called for killing police officers.
“This fuels the violent fantasies of those who might be encouraged to run amok,” the presiding judge said after also fining Blokkmonsta €2,000 for his musical stylings.
His two rap colleagues were fined €1,350 and sentenced to six months on probation respectively. The court ruled tracks with titles like “May 1 Rock Slide” and “My AK-47” were tantamount to calls for killing cops and death threats against Social Democratic parliamentarian Monika Griefahn, who was the head of a parliamentary committee looking into violence in the media at the time.
Blokkmonsta showed remorse for his hateful lyrics at the beginning of the trial explaining they were simply “thoughtless hijinks – we were nobodies and we wanted to get noticed.” But all the defendants contested that their lyrics should be considered merely artistic expression as opposed to incitement of violence.
The gangsta rap record label that released the controversial music is called Hirntot, which means “Brain Dead” in German.
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