Sparring (album)
| Sparring | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Olli Banjo | ||||
|
Publication |
2004 |
|||
|
Format (s) |
CD |
|||
|
Title (number) |
17th |
|||
|
Roe Beardie |
||||
|
Studio (s) |
Dusseldorf |
|||
|
||||
Sparring is the first mixtape by German rapper Olli Banjo . It was released on July 19, 2004 on the Düsseldorf label Headrush Records . The mixtape is the second sound carrier with which Banjo was able to enter the German album charts.
concept
After very few guest rappers were featured on Banjo's album Erste Hilfe , the rapper was asked by a large number of people about the reasons, according to his own statement. Since Banjo wants to direct the focus of his solo albums to himself, he decided to release the concept album Sparring , on which a hip-hop musician friend can be heard on almost every song.
Sparring was created in preparation for Banjo's second album Schizogenie . The title was taken from the training form of sparring , which occurs in martial arts . In an interview, the rapper explained against whom the "fights" on the mixtape are directed:
“I think German rap [...] sucks, 90 percent really puke me. And the fight is definitely against this 90 percent. I'm a sociable person, but I see it a bit like when I play football: before we can shake hands and then we can hug, but there is war during the 90 minutes. "
As a result, Eko Fresh , Spax , Deichkind and Raptile, among others , are mentioned and attacked on Sparring .
Track list
- Sparring (Intro) - 2:03
- Hello, how are you - 2:39
- Das Biz (feat. Curse) - 3:35
- Millionaire (feat.Escandize) - 3:12
- I'm puking (feat. Italo Reno & Germany) - 3:52
- Your enemy - 2:30
- Through the wall (feat. Eizi Eiz) - 3:26
- Edelschwert (feat. Schivv) - 2:30
- I hate with you (feat. Jonesmann) - 3:28
- Suicide (feat.Kool Savas) - 4:02
- Showtime (feat. Harris) - 3:04
- Taxi Taxi (feat. Sido) - 4:51
- Tell What You Want (feat. Separate) - 2:38
- Fire (feat. Tatwaffe) - 3:07
- Aschaffenburg City (feat. Leetow & DJ Flow) - 2:45
- Rhinoceros - 3:04
- Schizogenie Preview - 2:47
Texts
Critical texts
Sparring contains for the most part songs that can be assigned to battle rap . An exception is the piece Das Biz , on which Curse is represented with a guest contribution. In this, the two hip-hop musicians deal with the problems that arise for artists in Germany due to the structures.
“You watch a video of your top idol on television and wonder why everything in Germany is scrap-metal? We'll try to explain to you what it's actually about, how do the rhymes come from my pen onto a CD. The business ABC, from the logo, i.e. from the small emblem, to the external presentation of your intellectual idea. Why the media mostly doesn't see the quality, why opponents of good music don't look like enemies. [...] Break down all barriers from the demo tape to the echo . Accompany the artist even in difficult times of the career. The product manager coordinates the promotion with CoOp , Coca-Cola , Puma and Nivea-Lotion . Then come the promoters who take your video, go to VIVA with video , who assign rotations. They have to choose from millions, millions become ten. Michael Jackson , Bro'Sis and Dieter Bohlen are ten. In France they try to regulate the whole thing with quotas and so they try to give young artists more ground. But in Germany nobody tries to revive the dead, to promote local artists, to raise the level. So it runs on MTV Grönemeyer , even though his own sons celebrate me. "
Storytelling
The song Taxi Taxi can be assigned to the storytelling rap. This had previously appeared on a CD from the hip-hop magazine Juice . Banjo recorded Taxi Taxi together with the Aggro Berlin rapper Sido. The piece is the second part of the song Taxi , which can be heard on Sido's first solo album Mask . In the piece of music Taxi , Sido plays a bank robber who gets into a taxi after a robbery and forces the driver to flee from the police under threat of violence. Olli Banjo plays the taxi driver in the first part, who after a short time likes the situation and tells the bank robber about his otherwise dreary life. Taxi Taxi now describes the situation of the two protagonists after their successful escape from the police.
“I thought I could manage that, my life under control. But you stop moving when you smoke pot. You don't take everything that seriously until you learn that this is just how far away you are from your dreams. I took my life in hand, the idea with the bank came to me. Without much planning, I got myself a gun, put my mask on and went into the bank, like O-Dogg. Killed the woman at the counter with one shot, took money, ran out, hijacked a taxi. In this situation you really count on everything, just not a hostage like that, he liked it. He gave full throttle, you could tell he was having fun, if I was a Pole, then I would have said: "What is that about?" We made it to Mallorca and are friends, now Olli is counting our money while I get a tan. "
Battle rap
Since Olli Banjo unites numerous guest rappers on sparring , most of the songs can be assigned to battle rap . Rhinoceros , which completes sparring , is an example of this genre. The song is also one of the few pieces on which Banjo raps alone. A video clip of the rhino was also shot.
“I'm back in the punks business, the stress starts in 2004. Because from here everything will be new, my new album with more cock, why your girlfriend is tense - did you disappoint her? My record will save German rap like the Neptunes over in America. I don't think any act is cool anywhere, you can reel everything away from me. Go practice dyslexics ! [...] I am disappointed with rap. All records are kidding, joke. Even if you already have your hit. Give me your money. Olli Rambo flattens your hits, get you down on the floor like "sit down". I correct your world. I've got a G-Pepp with me, wake up better bums, we miss the common denominator when rap on the mic. I see embarrassing rappers who capsize without their town. You have to improve your styles to prolong your hype. [...] Conclusion: I am tolerant like a Nazi. I lack respect. You all just want a few beats, a double rhyme and part - any idiot can do that. The industry is so gross that MTV and VIVA are getting AIDS . I'm doing a test. I'm on coca like Oasis because I know how hot my tape is. Get the record now! "
production
The mixtape was produced by Roe Beardie, who is one of the founders of Headrush Records . Only the beat of one song was taken over by DJ Flow.
Guest Posts
Sparring includes a number of musical guests who are among the most successful German rappers. The Berlin rappers Sido , Kool Savas and Harris are each involved in one piece of music. The hip-hop duo Italo Reno & Germany and Curse are represented from Minden . On the song I hate with you you can hear the singer and rapper Jonesmann . Banjo has been planning to record a joint album with this since the appearance of Sparring . Edelschwert was created in cooperation with Schivv, who now works as a lawyer and only pursues rapping as a hobby. Other so-called features come from Ercandize , the Mainz Separate , Leetow & DJ Flow, the company member Tatwaffe and Eizi Eiz . In an interview, Banjo was asked about how the selection of the large number of well-known rappers had come about:
“I met and got to know all of the people over the years. It was the first time that they sympathized with each other and considered recording a track. I then collected everything and put them on an album. It was never like anything was checked with management or anything. It all came about naturally. "
marketing
Before the release of Sparring , the song Rhino was released . This was made available for download free of charge on the Internet. A video clip of the rhino was also shot. The shooting took place on June 7th and 8th, 2004 in Cologne and Düsseldorf. The video was shot under the direction of Katja Kuhl.
reception
success
After First Aid, Sparring is the second record with which Olli Banjo was able to enter the album charts. The mixtape rose to position 79 on the chart in the 32nd calendar week of 2004. After a week, Banjo's first mixtape got off the list of the 100 best-selling albums of the week on August 8th.
Reviews
The ratings of the mixtape were mixed. The Laut.de website only gave Sparring one of five possible evaluation points . The sound carrier thus received the worst rating possible in this rating system. In the justification, the beats are described as "mostly boring, chaotic, unstructured". The texts also fall through in the review by Philipp Gässlein as "unbearably primitive":
"" Sparring "is [...] an album that the world doesn't need and for which not only Olli Banjo, but also the so-called crème de la crème des Deutschrap should apologize. Seventeen tracks, fifteen skips, that can't work. And lines like "I am tolerant like a Nazi" are not necessarily suitable for raising the level of German rap. "
The authors of the hip-hop magazine Juice came to an almost opposite view . In this Olli Banjo received 4.5 evaluation points, so-called "crowns". The highest possible rating in the juice is six crowns.
“Banjo is back. While he saved German rap last year with "First Aid", he is now giving it a new perspective in preparation for his second big solo fight with sparring . The concept album for in between extends the usual boxing distances to a total of 16 rounds and Olli keeps himself and his guests constantly in the infight. [...] The Cologne resident bites off your ear mainly quickly, humorously, complex and yet with pinpoint accuracy and enjoys it raw and bloody. The beat structure [...] kicks through the bench in a highly synthetic manner and covers everything from hypno to psycho that is good for intensifying the pressure of the rhymes. "
credentials
- ↑ Mzee.com: Interview with Olli Banjo
- ^ July 2004 edition of Juice
- ↑ Olli Banjo "Sparring" ( Memento of the original from January 14, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lyrics to Das Biz on Banjofan.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lyrics to Taxi Taxi on Banjofan.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Lyrics of the rhino on Banjofan.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ HipHop.de: Interview with Olli Banjo ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Mzee.com: New Olli Banjo Album / MP3 Download
- ↑ Chart tracking on Musicline.de ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Review on Laut.de
- ↑ P. Gässlein's profile at laut.de ( memento of the original from October 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ August 2004 edition of Juice
Solo albums: First Aid (2003) | Schizogeny (2005) | Lifeshow (2007) | Head disco (2010)
Mixtapes: Sparring (2004) | Sparring 2 (2006) | Sparring 3 (2008) |
Sampler: Lost Tapes (2007)
Collab albums: 4 Fists for a Hallelujah (with Jonesmann ) (2009)