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...and back to rap

I've been listening to metric shit-tons of Antilopen Gang tracks in the past two months. Or maybe it's been the past month and a half? I'm not really good at time and calendars.

Back in March, one of the founding members, NMZS, committed suicide and, for reasons that I haven't quite yet been able to decipher in my head, it's had a pretty strong effect on me. There are the really obvious reasons, i.e. he was a young guy with a lot of talent. I haven't been able to put my finger on the rest.

Honestly, I wouldn't have known anything about the Antilopen Gang (or Anti-Alles-Aktion or fuckin' Caught in the Crack or any of that), if it hadn't been for Frosty. I still don't really like Caught in the Crack, for example. I guess it's like hearing a joke that goes over your head. And I can't really get on board with all of thr Anti Alles stuff. The first album that I heard and liked was Danger Dan's Coming Out EP. The second was NMZS's Egotrip album (after Anti Alles became Antilopen Gang). The rest consisted of individual tracks that fit within the acoustic scheme of rap songs that grab my attention immediately (i.e. sample-based stuff). There's a certain sound that I like and the stuff I like fits into particular categories. The rest of Antilopen discography was consumed via listening sessions, more or less on repeat, hosted by Frosty.

But, yeah, NMZS. Where does one draw the line between introspective and being seriously depressed and suicidal? That might be my biggest question, as someone who has struggled with depression and who is about to wrap up two years of therapy for it. I'm not trying to make any judgment calls either...I'm honestly curious. And maybe that's why I can't stop thinking about it.

I played a few Antilopen/NMZS tracks in this month's radio show, but thanks to previous song "controversies" I'm weary of playing certain songs. Here are a couple that I didn't play (and which also have actual videos)

Der Promomove
I really wanted to play this one...but I'm 100% certain that it would have gotten complaints, even though it's under 2 minutes long.
Best line (IMHO): "Props an Cro - 'Raop' dümmstes Wort des Jahres" because it's the truth. From the title of the track to all the relevant (and no-longer-so-relevant) rapper disses, it's a clever track.


Viel zu viel
Awesome sample and...well...zombies. I honestly don't know why I didn't choose this song. It goes pretty hard.


Motto Mobbing
Thanks to Ms. The-Definition-Of-Irony-Has-Changed-Since-The-80s I didn't want to play this song on the air, lest it be misunderstood...als Glorifizierung des Mobbings (glorification of bullying) even though that's not what it's about *blergh*


Antilopen Gang
It's not a video, but it's a tight crew track anyway.





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