Ruhrpott AG
Encyclopedia
Ruhrpott AG was a German
hip hop
group from Bochum
.
RAG first found recognition in the German hip hop
scene in 1998, with the album Unter Tage. The second and final album P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L followed in 2001. RAG's music was characterised by profound, poetical lyrics containing numerous simile
s, and by relatively restrained, often heavy and melancholic beats.
Ruhrpott is local slang for the heavily industrialised Ruhr Area
of northwest Germany, and the abbreviation AG (Aktiengesellschaft
) is equivalent to "plc
".
, rather than directly from Bochum, and Aphroe is originally from Herne
. Both groups have been active in the hip hop scene since the early 1990s.
Raid and Filo Joes encountered each other at jams and other events – they discovered they were linked by a similar mentality, and decided to make music together under the name "Ruhrpott AG". One of their earliest recordings (although not actually released until it appeared on their second album, P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L) was the original version of "Tief im Westen": a stream of emotions, associations, similes and metaphor
s concerning the band's native region, the "Ruhrpott", painting a multi-layered and often contradictory but nevertheless affectionate picture.
After two albums the members of RAG went their separate ways. Pahel and Galla released solo albums on different labels (entitled Natur des Menschen and Swing Kid respectively), while Aphroe, who has stated on his MySpace
that there will not be a third RAG album, is also pursuing a solo career.
. They frequently used metaphors, often relating to their self-knowledge and also their place in the world, for example in the hip hop industry. The second album, P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L, expanded their range from the early heavy, dreamlike style towards a harder-edged, more concrete lyrical approach in which the storytelling was not always shrouded in indirect imagery.
Examples of this are "Nackte Stadt" and "Pro und Contra" (both from the second album). "Nackte Stadt" is a collage of thoughts and feelings from various city-dwellers, who are all connected by a web of relationships that none of them can see in full. "Pro und Contra", another song with a noticeably harder sound than Unter Tage, is a wordplay which builds sentences through the association of words beginning with the syllables pro and kon.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
group from Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
.
RAG first found recognition in the German hip hop
German hip hop
German Hip Hop refers to hip hop music produced in Germany. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early 1980s.-1980–1990:...
scene in 1998, with the album Unter Tage. The second and final album P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L followed in 2001. RAG's music was characterised by profound, poetical lyrics containing numerous simile
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas...
s, and by relatively restrained, often heavy and melancholic beats.
Ruhrpott is local slang for the heavily industrialised Ruhr Area
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr, by German-speaking geographers and historians more accurately called Ruhr district or Ruhr region , is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With 4435 km² and a population of some 5.2 million , it is the largest urban agglomeration in Germany...
of northwest Germany, and the abbreviation AG (Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft
Aktiengesellschaft is a German term that refers to a corporation that is limited by shares, i.e. owned by shareholders, and may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland...
) is equivalent to "plc
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
".
Formation
RAG arose from two earlier (and still active) hip hop collectives in the Ruhr Area: Filo Joes (with the two MCs Pahel and Galla) and Raid (MC Aphroe and DJ Mr. Wiz). Mr. Wiz is from OberhausenOberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
, rather than directly from Bochum, and Aphroe is originally from Herne
Herne, Germany
Herne is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area directly between the cities of Bochum and Gelsenkirchen.- History :Like most other cities in the region Herne was a tiny village until the 19th century...
. Both groups have been active in the hip hop scene since the early 1990s.
Raid and Filo Joes encountered each other at jams and other events – they discovered they were linked by a similar mentality, and decided to make music together under the name "Ruhrpott AG". One of their earliest recordings (although not actually released until it appeared on their second album, P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L) was the original version of "Tief im Westen": a stream of emotions, associations, similes and metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s concerning the band's native region, the "Ruhrpott", painting a multi-layered and often contradictory but nevertheless affectionate picture.
After two albums the members of RAG went their separate ways. Pahel and Galla released solo albums on different labels (entitled Natur des Menschen and Swing Kid respectively), while Aphroe, who has stated on his MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
that there will not be a third RAG album, is also pursuing a solo career.
Lyrics and music
RAG's lyrics and beats, particularly on Unter Tage, conveyed a fairly heavy and melancholic mood, with the band members expressing their feelings about their lives in the Ruhr Area. Their complex use of language, dense with imagery, excurred at times into fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
. They frequently used metaphors, often relating to their self-knowledge and also their place in the world, for example in the hip hop industry. The second album, P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L, expanded their range from the early heavy, dreamlike style towards a harder-edged, more concrete lyrical approach in which the storytelling was not always shrouded in indirect imagery.
Examples of this are "Nackte Stadt" and "Pro und Contra" (both from the second album). "Nackte Stadt" is a collage of thoughts and feelings from various city-dwellers, who are all connected by a web of relationships that none of them can see in full. "Pro und Contra", another song with a noticeably harder sound than Unter Tage, is a wordplay which builds sentences through the association of words beginning with the syllables pro and kon.
Albums
- RAG: Unter Tage (1998; Put Da Needle To Da Records/EFA) LP/CD
- RAG: Unter Tage DJ Instrumentals (1998; Put Da Needle To Da Records/EFA) LP
- RAG: P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L. (2001; Put Da Needle To Da Records/Motor) LP/CD
- Galla: Swing Kid (2005; LaCosaMia Records) LP/CD
- Pahel: Natur des Menschen (2003; Sambaground Sound) LP/CD
Singles
- Raid: "Stille Post" (1993) 12"
- RAG: "Kopf Stein Pflaster" (1998), from Unter Tage 12"
- RAG: "Unter Tage" / "Kreuzwortfeuer" (1998), from Unter Tage 12"
- RAG: "Nix Is" (2000) MCD/12"
- RAG: "Ragtime" (2001), from P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L. MCD/12"
- RAG: "Pro & Contra" (2001), from P.O.T.T.E.N.T.I.A.L. MCD/12"
- Raid: "Geh-Heim-Tipp" (1999) 12"
- Filo Joes: "Low Budget" / "Trashtalk" (1998) 12"
- Pahel: "Sahara" feat. Daddy Freddy (2003), from Natur des Menschen MCD/12"
- Pahel: "Seele auf Eis" feat. Lunafrow (2004), from Natur des Menschen MCD/12"
- Roey Marquis II. feat. RAG: "Eiszeit" (1999) MCD/12"
- Roey Marquis II. Remixes: Filo Joes - Low Budget/ABS - Focus MCD/12"
- Roey Marquis II. Remixes: RAG/Stieber Twins/Skillz en masse MCD/12"