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"My freedom is curtailed because I have to fear that I will be silenced"

Blokkmonsta is a musical outsider.

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"My freedom is curtailed because I have to fear that I will be silenced"

Blokkmonsta is a musical outsider. With both fictitious and real horror, his rap style is in the tradition of American horror core. Bloodthirsty scenarios meet stormy synth productions that are based on the slasher films of the 1980s. Starting in 2007, its violent content attracted the attention of the Federal Inspection Agency for Media Harmful to Young Persons (BpjM). The authority indexed 27 albums by him and his artists because of youth endangerment. For the most part, they ended up on the infamous List B, which puts them under an absolute ban on distribution.

In 2012 the wave of indexing ebbed away and Blokkmonsta began to establish itself in small steps with the offbeat rappers on his Braintot Records label. His new album "Kult", which he recorded with his companions Uzi and Perverz, entered the top 10 of the album charts.

WORLD: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard of you?

Blokkmonsta: It's rap music, but I use a lot of shouting as a stylistic device. Due to my voice it goes in the direction of crossover. In terms of content, I want to show things that I think are wrong in society. But I've also released a lot of fictional themed albums where I work with scenarios that fit my horrorcore world. I can live it out in a completely different way and offer the viewer a kind of cinema film as an audio version. That is my claim.

WORLD: What shaped you aesthetically?

Blokkmonsta: I was listening to a lot of American horror core back then. Through Ice-T, I delved deeper and deeper into the subject through Brotha Lynch Hung, Doomsday and Three 6 Mafia. Those were huge sources of inspiration for me. In German music we had representatives like Fettes Brot, who spread a good mood with hip hop without insults. That's fine too, but I missed the antithesis to it. If nobody can give me this music in German, which I love so much in America, then I'll make it myself. I wanted to depict the real violence in the world in a visual way.

WORLD: On your new album "Kult" you lead in one song through the numerous strokes of fate in your family history and then it says: "I compensate for this pain by putting a knife in it." How important is music to you to avoid emotional overload to manage something?

Blokkmonsta: Music is always a good outlet to process your pain and aggression anyway. If I'm feeling overwhelmed by a situation, I go into the studio, produce a beat in the right mood and write the lyrics to it. If there's truth in it, you'll hear it out. Then I usually take the first take, because a new take will never convey that feeling of what you were in the studio for.

WORLD: In an exceptional emotional situation, you are not in control of the situation either. Do you feel like you're regaining your sovereignty through music?

Blokkmonsta: I'm already in control of the situation because I'm looking at events in a reflective manner instead of going completely nuts. That doesn't get you any further - and I'm much too old for that now. Nevertheless, I know that I can bundle this energy and put it into something good. Occasionally I reveal a bit of myself, something human behind the fictional character Blokkmonsta, but only scratched because I don't want too much to be known about me either. The mystery of Blokkmonsta should still be preserved. My fans don't know what I look like. Very little personal information is known about me.

WORLD: What distinguishes the character Blokkmonsta?

Blokkmonsta: The Blokkmonsta character is very messy. When I put the mask on and go into the character, I switch. My gaze changes immediately, the way I walk and move. Over the years, I've subconsciously trained myself to imagine this anti-hero in my personal comic universe. When I watch older videos I find the way I move disastrous because it doesn't fit the image I have of myself.

WORLD: Is there actually an age limit for horror core or does the masking raise you to the status of an ageless fictional character?

Blokkmonsta: Blokkmonsta is a timeless creature. I'm approaching 40 and thanks to the mask I have the advantage of concealing everything. Then I put on sporty youthful clothes and I already look like a 25-year-old - although I've been making music for 25 years.

World: You once said that you decided to wear a balaclava because you wanted to make music against the state and the police. Why did you focus on these “opponents”?

Blokkmonsta: That's because of my past. I grew up in Kreuzberg and got into criminal circles pretty early on. Accordingly, the police had me on their screens as a child and young person. Not much got around legally because I was still a minor. Because of my affinity for the criminal, I had a completely different view of cops anyway. We also listened to a lot of N.W.A., Ice-T and Tupac at the time. And what did they convey in the music? fuck cops For me, however, there wasn't this honest hatred of the people behind it, only the policeman as an opponent who doesn't want to be caught in the cat-and-mouse game.

WORLD: Do you see yourself as a political rapper?

Blokkmonsta: I have my firm political views, of course, but I don't introduce them into my music because I don't want to steer any of my listeners in any direction. I also don't mix sex, alcohol or smoking with the music. I just want to create movies. Everything else has no place in my musical universe. We don't want to harm anyone with our music, we want to get people down from their aggression and accompany them in their problems.

WORLD: You once said you regret the EP “1. Mai Steinschlag”, where you call for violence against the police. To this day, the black bloc marches there on Labor Day. Why don't you make a statement against it and show public solidarity with the police?

Blokkmonsta: No, not at all, in my opinion far too much goes wrong with the police for that. I couldn't stand up with a clear conscience and say: That used to be a stupid joke, but now we're all good friends. There are the good guys. I know damn nice cops. But they say themselves that a hell of a lot is going wrong within the police force. A SEK official once said to me: "If I weren't with the SEK, I would be a criminal." The institution of the police would have to be cleaned up properly so that people could trust it.

WORLD: "1. Mai Steinschlag” and “Fick die BPjM” caused your house to be searched in the summer of 2007 and a subsequent court case. Looking back, how much of the events of that time do you consider justified?

Blokkmonsta: I went too far back then. It was justified that the state naturally had to ask about such an album. I still can't understand why the state is sending a SEK team to 22-year-old teenagers who make music to beat us up and destroy my entire apartment. I was pinned to the ground, a sack was pulled over my head, and then five people kicked me. That is no longer relevant.

WORLD: On the new album you serve the opposite program with an auditory love letter "Kiss the BPjM". Have you made your peace with the agency?

Blokkmonsta: It's an outdated post-war agency that had to operate according to very old guidelines. They don't choose the albums themselves, which they simply index randomly, but follow up on reports from "concerned citizens" - in our case from the police. In the committee they decide on the indexing, which is also fine. That's what the institution is there for, even if I've always argued against it. The only bad thing is if the panel puts us on List B. The decision then automatically goes to the police, who in turn carry out a confiscation. Although they have already spoken to us through our lawyer and know that we are musicians who would rather cooperate than be broken, they come back with the SEK. For me, this was a tactic of attrition. But in the end I made my peace with the authorities.

WORLD: In the meantime, the indexes have become significantly rarer.

Blokkmonsta: Yes, since 2012 the indexes have decreased. Nevertheless, four albums are currently available from the Federal Center for Child and Youth Media Protection. I'm on the phone with them. We also strive to find a solution for future albums together with the testing agency. I have nothing to hide. take everything If you say young people aren't allowed to hear this, I'll delete it, no problem. I would show them my CDs beforehand. Then they can say what bothers them - as with the FSK for DVDs.

WORLD: How do you define freedom?

Blokkmonsta: Freedom is very broad. can you move freely What can you say before it bumps into something and triggers another stupid debate? What can one still dare to say in today's society? How far can you even think?

WORLD: Do you feel restricted in your freedom?

Blokkmonsta: Yes, I feel restricted in my freedom. If I were to say what I think about various subjects, there would be so much backlash from people who couldn't understand it that it would be to my detriment. My freedom is curtailed because I have to fear that I will be silenced.

WORLD: But you can handle a headwind.

Blokkmonsta: I can handle headwinds. And because I have relatively common sense, I can judge how much headwind I can take. How much headwind could I effectively face if I express myself critically or offensively? And can I swallow it all or could I lose control? In the end I'm Blokkmonsta anyway, the underdog that the state doesn't want.

WORLD: Do you have to imagine Blokkmonsta as a happy person?

Blokkmonsta: Yes, actually. Of course everyone has private worries, strenuous days, work is not always fun. But I'm doing all this because I want to have a good life. And everything I've done in life so far has been with a goal in mind. I've gotten closer to that every year. After work I have my haven of peace and can become a normal person again. Then I'm happy when I can just chill in the garden with the animals and get my life energy back. I've achieved a lot in life that I never thought would happen. Even though it was hard, I am very grateful for everything.

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