Disarstar unites street and leftist theory, word power and pop, attack and system criticism: In the midst of a global pandemic, the Hamburg artist found the strength and the words for his most pointed and best album to date. »Deutscher Oktober« will be released on March 12, 2021. It is the political manifesto that German rap urgently needs right now.
The classic rap narrative goes like this: Underdog somehow struggles through the streets and longs for: money, women, cars, bling-bling. Hip-hop as the only ticket out of the ghetto, so to speak. But when success finally comes, a complete assimilation of the protagonist with the capitalist glitter world takes place. The neoliberal rags-to-riches fairy tale: If you haven't made it, you're not good or tough enough.
At first glance, we also have a typical street rap biography with Disarstar: As a teenager, he spent some time in a home, then lived alone in St. Pauli, dealt with drugs, and had prior convictions for dealing and bodily harm.
Then we learn that Disarstar actually comes from a completely normal middle-class family – which fell into an economic crisis that threw the young man off course. That he overcame his later crisis thanks to the help of a dedicated social worker, subsequently came into contact with the writings of Karl Marx through connections in the leftist Hamburg scene, and that he eventually completed his high school diploma and is now studying on the side.
Disarstar is concerned with the social question, with justice. The fact that there are significant issues in this regard was brought to his attention even more drastically during the first lockdown caused by the coronavirus than usual. The native Hamburger has lived in St. Pauli since he was 17, and he is well aware of the social imbalance in this neighborhood. But as in many other areas, Corona acted like a magnifying glass here as well: It was only when the tourists were gone that the social misery spread out before one unabashedly.
This serves as a starting point and a significant inspiration for the new »Disarstar« album »Deutscher Oktober«, which will be released on March 12, 2021. »My city is like split in two ... begging poor and outrageously rich« is what it says in »Großstadtfieber« featuring the rapper Dazzit. In the background, you can hear the voice of a tour guide leading tourists through the villa district of Blankenese. St. Pauli and Blankenese - both Hamburg districts are close to each other: Hop or top, street or academic career. »The world is sick, one eats a steak, the other nothing, they step on us with their tricks«, raps Disarstar in the first single »Sick«.
Political awareness has always distinguished Disarstar. But rarely has he articulated it as precisely as in »Deutscher Oktober«. This album is not about the big theses, the political guidelines, or theoretical constructs for which Disarstar is usually known. Instead, he reports in the style of a reporter from microcosms he knows well. This makes the album so strong: My street, my people, my block. Just different.
Disarstar finds inspiration for his tough social realism primarily in France, the USA, and England. »In these countries, there are people who are extremely political but still have pop cultural relevance, like Stormzy or Kendrick Lamar«, says Disarstar. »I miss that in Germany; there is no equivalent here.« He would never say that himself, so we will: It has been missing until now. Until »Deutscher Oktober«.
With »Deutscher Oktober«, Disarstar brings his astute political rap to the point more clearly and precisely than ever before. In this respect, it has become exactly the album that German rap and pop discourse need right now.
The video for “Trauma“ can be found here:
