Blumentopf

Blumentopf
Origin Munich, Germany
Genres Hip hop
Years active 1992
Present
Labels Four Music, EMI
Website www.blumentopf.com
Members Cajus Heinzmann (Heinemann)
Bernhard Wunderlich (Holunder)
Florian Schuster (Schu)
Roger Manglus (Roger)
Sebastian Weiss (Sepalot)

Blumentopf ("Flower pot") is a German hip hop band from Freising, near Munich.

In the early days of the band, the members met irregularly and did not have ambitions to become professional musicians. Each week a new name was chosen. The band was invited to perform at a festival for their first live show. The name at the time was Blumentopf and once it appeared on promotional posters for the festival, it stuck.[1]

They released their first album in 1997 on Four Music. Since then, they have released five more albums as a group, along with songs released on compilations, and various side projects. They are currently signed to record label EMI.

The band consists of five members: rappers Cajus Heinzmann (Cajus, Heinemann, Master P), Bernhard Wunderlich (Holunder, Holundermann, Wunder), Florian Schuster (Flo, Kung Schu, Schu), Roger Manglus (Roger, Specht) and Sebastian Weiss (DJ Sepalot).

Music

Blumentopf is known for using a Storytelling style. They use humor, irony, and a lot of wordplay to tell stories about everyday life, relationship, parties, both true and fictitious.

Other songs can be placed in the conscious hip hop genre, commenting on current issues. The song Danke Bush! ("Thank you, Bush") presents a critical view of the politics of George W. Bush. Several songs also suggest that drugs and hip hop are not directly connected. One such song is Nur dass ihr wisst ("Just so you know"). In the lead-up to the 2009 German federal election, the group appeared in a Wahlwerbespot ("election advertisement") in which they encouraged Germans to vote. They expressed the importance of learning about the candidates and using their right to vote, emphasizing how little effort it really would take.

Blumentopf's first three albums have a very old school hip hop feel. The fourth album Gern geschehen saw powerful synth beats unusual ideas as seen in Jeder zweite linkt dich, which uses samples from the song Santa Baby for the entire beat. This was continued in the fifth album Musikmaschine ("Music machine"), which has a song using skateboard noises for the majority of the beat. Recently, band members have learned instruments so they can play their songs themselves. They hope to develop these opportunities further.

Raportage

The term 'raportage' comes from the music style, rap, and the German word Reportage ("report"). This concept is consistent with Blumentopf's Storytelling style.

For the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Blumentopf worked with the German television channel Das Erste in producing game commentary set to music. The Raportagen were broadcast with video clips of the band, game and press conference footage, and other related video during Das Erste football coverage. This concept was continued during UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and again at UEFA Euro 2012.

Side Projects

DJ Sepalot released a solo project entitled Red Handed in 2007. Roger and Cajus released their solo albums Alles Roger ("Everything roger/ok") and Planet Cajun. Since the beginning of May 2008, Blumentopf broadcasts a radio show with on3radio.

Awards

Blumentopf was voted Best Live Band by readers of the German hip hop magazine Juice in both 2001 and 2002.

Blumentopf represented Bavaria in the Bundesvision Song Contest 2010, coming in fourth place.

Goethe Institute Middle East Tour

The band was invited to participate in the 2005 Goethe Institute Nah-Ost Tour during the month of November. The band performed in Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, Beirut, and Amman. For the tour, the group collaborated with local artists from Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Syria, and Lebanon.

Discography

Albums

Singles

DVD

Collaborations

Other collaborations

Notes

  1. ↑ Smith, Natalye C. Blumentopf: "not the classic hip-hop guys" Examiner.com, 24 November 2010, accessed 28 February 2010.
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