FM4 Schnitzelbeats – Happy Birthday HipHop!

This influential – and versatile – genre originated 50 years ago in the Bronx, New York. For this reason, FM4 Schnitzelbeats dug into local recording archives to bring up a forgotten pearl: Austrian hip-hop in its original form.

By Al Bird Sputnik

Introduction: Early variants of rap, that is, the word used rhythmically in the context of pop music, can be found in the days of the late Hermann Leopoldi. For example, in the cabaret productions of the 1950s, when – because of their vocal quality – the texts of the relevant songs were transformed into garlands of acrobatic language. Much to the audience’s amusement and sometimes with commercial success: “Just Don’t Cuddle When You’re Going Around On The Bus” (Elfriede Ott), “Rabap-Zibap” (Peter Wehle), “Telephone book polka” (Georg Kreisler) and so on. And who knows? Perhaps we should take a closer look at the pioneering achievements of Ernst Gandel’s concrete (“Schtzngrmm”) poetry.

But hip-hop is, of course, more than just chanting. After all, an independent subculture has developed here with new forms of expression that perfectly complement and reinforce each other: DJing, MCing, graffiti and breakdancing – these are the four basic elements of the youth movement in the original formulation. Hip-hop culture has negotiated a street lifestyle and for decades has accompanied millions of adolescents in their search for identity. And so to this day, and all over the world.

Audio documents can also be found in Austrian music history documenting the existence of an “original” hip-hop culture or referring specifically to the genre. And if we also think about successful productions such as “Der Kommissar” (Falco) or “Alpenrap” (EAV), we get a vivid impression of how people in the mid-80s – completely cheerful, sometimes even inflationary – experimented with elements of hip shopping culture. Curtain for today’s edition of FM4 Schnitzelbeats!

Vienna studio project. Started by former Crump and EAV guitarist Liu Bei, Gruuf released two singles in 1983 with an original rap. Following in the footsteps of Sugarhill Gang, the songs are very funky and still provide the sizzling vibes on today’s dance floors. In what?” By the way, it’s the Viennese answer to “Wot” by Captain Sensible, and what else? Backing: Canvas.

WEA

In the 1980s, elements of rap and hip-hop found their way into the repertoire of established bands and musical projects from the funk and jazz worlds, as Harri Stojka Express’ “What a Funky Night” beautifully illustrates. The song was composed and produced in 1983 by renowned Viennese jazz guitarist Harry Stoica, who played guitar in such influential bands as Gipsy Love and Novak’s Chapel in the 1970s. And speaking of “what a funky night”: the German digger poster funkscapes Recently re-released the number on an impressive 12″ single – complete with expert liner notes from fellow FM4 Trishes.

J.Robin Records

In the mid-1980s, Graz rock and jazz band M-Convention left some beautiful melancholy songs on various sets for posterity – and eventually this little masterpiece in the form of 7 “singles” DJ Ferdl, eccentric rap and grandmother Boogie production de ing a sense of humour. All those who have succumbed to the beauty of the southern Styrian sanctuary and want to deepen their passion should feel addressed here. And seriously: isn’t this also the first ever Styrian hip-hop number?

gig

Last but not least, if we look at the literature on the history of Austrian music, we will repeatedly find references to the year 1990, when the Viennese hip-hop group The Moreaus Creatures aka The Moreaus appeared. An LP by the esteemed all-star crew – DJ DSL, Sugar B., Rodney Hunter, Peter Kruder – titled “Swound Vibes” was released by the Viennese label GiG, which also produced the first Falco recordings and is valid today – very official – as the first Hip-hop album in the history of domestic music. So even before legendary formations like Bug, Tactic, or Complete Chaos.

Congratulations on the important pioneering work and happy birthday Dear hip-hop!