Bushido (rapper)

Infobox musical artist


Name = Bushido
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi
Alias = Sonny Black
Origin = Tempelhof, Berlin, Germany
Born = birth date and age|1978|9|28
Genre = German rap, Gangsta rap
Occupation = Rapper, entertainer, entrepreneur
Years_active = 1998-present
Label = ersguterjunge (Sony BMG)
Associated_acts = Baba Saad, Eko Fresh, Chakuza
URL = http://www.kingbushido.de

Bushido (born Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi, September 28, 1978 in Bonn, Germany), is a German rapper. He also uses the pseudonym Sonny Black.

Early life

Bushido was born to a Tunisian father, whom he first came to know at the age of 26, and a German mother, with whom he grew up in the Tempelhof district of former West Berlin. He left school early, the German Gymnasium, and accumulated a criminal record for drug possession and vandalism. A judge ordered him to attend vocational training as a painter or face a jail term. During this training he met future Aggro Berlin partner Fler.

Musical career

In 1999 he began his musical career as a rapper. His first release was on the "Frauenarzt-Tape" with King Orgasmus One for I Luv Money Records. Soon he released his first tape "King of KingZ". This led to him moving to a new label Aggro Berlin, where he worked with Sido, B-Tight, and Fler. The album was later released on CD in 2003 as "King of KingZ (Digital Remastered)" and in 2004 as the "King of KingZ 2004 Edition" with some remixes. In 2002 he released the album "Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten" under his pseudonym, Sonny Black (arguably in the same manner as Eminem), in which he worked with Fler. The name would appear to be a nod towards his American musical influence; in that country, Sonny Black was the mafia nickname of notorious Bonanno crime family mobster Dominick Napolitano. In 2003 he released the solo album "Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline". It was an enormous success for what was still basically an underground release. Because of artistic differences regarding his future solo career, he left his label, Aggro Berlin, in the summer of 2004 and was taken under contract by Urban/Universal. In 2004, together with DJ Ilan, he produced a remix of the industrial metal group Rammstein's song "Amerika". In October 2004 he released his third album "Electro Ghetto" which reached number six on the German charts. On April 4, 2005 he released his fourth LP in two and half years, "Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten 2", once again using his alter ego Sonny Black and working with Baba Saad in replacement of Fler. At the beginning of September, his new LP was released. The name of it is "Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück". It contains no features and the Singles are: "Von Skyline zum Bordstein zurück" (which was released at the 18th of August), "Sonnenbank Flavour" (which was released at the 27th of October) and "Janine" (which released at the 9th of February). The Sampler "Vendetta" was released the 1st of December. It features artists who are signed to his Label ersguterjunge. The only single of the Sampler is called "Vendetta" and features Bushido, Eko Fresh and Chakuza.

In the winter of 2004/2005, he played a central role in a dispute with the rapper Eko Fresh and also made the song "FLERräter" against his former colleague at Aggro Berlin Fler (a play on the word "Verräter", which means traitor).

Bushido won an ECHO(German music award) as the "Best Live Act" and a MTV Europe Music Award in the category 'Best German Act' in both 2006 and 2007. In 2007 he won another ECHO-award as best hip hop/rap artist. His albums have earned platinum status in Germany, making him the most successful rapper ever in his homeland.

Bushido's admirers include both immigrants and Germans, which has drawn caution and criticism in Germany. He is often criticized in the media for his allegedly sexist, nationalist and racist lyrics and for refusing to reject some of his controversial fans.

Bushido was rumoured to have made Bill Kaulitz (of Tokio Hotel) cry live on TV, but it was officially confirmed as false, Bushido and Bill are actually great friends regardless of the sexual comments Bushido has made in the past.

All genres of music has always been an expressive outlet for people across ethnic lines; primarily the unprivileged in the United States. However, in the beginning German hip hop fans gravitated toward this "foreign" form of expression and related towards their oppression as citizens of a communist dictatorship. This may give reason or parallel between the United States and it's macho persona in rap/hip-hop music and Bushido's image or glorification of so-called Gangsta rap. [1] [2] However, some point to his partial North African ethnicity and collaboration with minority artists, like Azad, Eko Fresh and Cassandra Steen, as evidence Bushido is not racist. The Controversy was magnified by the line: "Salutiert, steht stramm, ich bin der Leader wie A" "salute, stand to attention, I am the leader like A."

The A is interpreted by many as referring to Adolf Hitler. According to Bushido "salutiert, steht stramm, ich bin der Leader" is a citation from a rap by Azad and A stands for his name, who often calls himself "A". Bushido also called this a "welcome chance to provoke" ("eine willkommene Provokationsmöglichkeit"). [3]

More legal trouble found its way into his life following a party in Linz, Austria on July 30, 2005. Upon discovery that his tires had been slashed, he and two of his bodyguards were involved in a physical altercation with a 19 year old Austrian male from Linz, who was left with severe head injuries. Bushido blames the victim for damaging all tires of his BMW 7 Series. Bushido spent 15 days (August 3rd-18th) in jail before being released on €100,000 bail. He ended up paying 20,000 Euro to the Austrian government and another 1,000 Euro to the victim. It was during this time that it became publicly known that Bushido had been married for several years when the judge questioned him on the topic. Bushido later denies the claims of his marriage.

Bushido also garnered some press coverage when his record company, Universal Music Group, sued EMI over an alleged copyright violation that derived from similarities between the cover of Deutschland Gib Mir Ein Mic and Music Is My Savior, an album by American rapper MIMS. [4]

The album, "7" was released on August 31st, 2007 in Germany. As of August 24th, "7" has already pre-sold 100,000 copies in Germany, making it a gold record. [5]

In 2007, Bushido earned more international press coverage when he was threatened with legal action by the symphonic metal band Dimmu Borgir, who claimed that Bushido had sampled two of their songs without permission - "Mourning Palace" and "Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen". The Bushido songs named were "Mittelfingah" and "Engel". Dimmu Borgir's manager was quoted as saying that '...since we were not contacted by Bushido through proper channels and told about his desire to do this, it is clear that Bushido has seriously infringed our intellectual property rights.' No case has yet been brought. Also, two songs from the Liverpool band Antimatter had samples taken from them by Bushido without permission, although this was settled before any legal action was taken.

Bushido is set to release his 8th album on 10 October 2008. The upcoming album is titled "Heavy Metal Payback".

September 26, 2008, Bushido is charged with international copyright infringement by the American gothic band Nox Arcana for copying music from three of their songs: "Beyond Midnight" (copied by Bushido on "Weißt Du?"), "No Rest for the Wicked" (copied by Bushido on "Kurt Cobain") and "Cthulhu Rising" (copied by Bushido on "Blaus Licht"). The Nox Arcana songs appear on their albums "Darklore Manor" (2003) and "Necronomicon" (2004). The Bushido album is "Von der Skyline Zum Bordstein Zurück" (2006), which was re-released in 2007 after going Platinum in Germany. [ [http://www.fangoria.com/blogs/index.php?blog=5&title=rapper_rips_off_nox_arcana&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 "Nox Arcana ripped off by rapper" Fangoria.com] ]

Discography

olo albums

Other release

* 2000: "I Luv Money Sampler" (Labelsampler, represents with other Tracks und Productions)
* 2003: "Bei Nacht" ("At Night") (Single)
* 2003: "New Kidz On The Block" (Mixtape with DJ Devin & Fler)
* 2003: "Gemein wie 10" ("Mean Like 10") (Single)
* 2004: "Out for Fame" (featuring Flipstar) (No official release)
* 2004: "Gegensätze ziehen sich an" - Eko Fresh featuring Bushido
* 2004: "Mitten ins Gesicht" ("In the middle of the face") (Promotrack on Electro Ghetto Player)
* 2005: "FLERräter" (Freetrack with Eko Fresh; Fler-Diss)
* 2006: "Kein Ausweg" ("No escape") - Bushido, Chakuza & Bizzy Montana - as Juice-Exclusive [CD #63] )
* 2006: "H.E.N.GZT" (Freetrack, Bass Sultan Hengzt-Diss)
* 2006: "11. September" (Freetrack)
* 2007: "Geben und Nehmen" - Nyze featuring Bushido & Chakuza (appeared as Video, Internet Exclusive)
* 2007: "Ring Frei" ("Ring free") - Eko Fresh featuring Bushido (Single) (DE:#64)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,372051,00.html Germany's Rap Music Veers Toward the Violent] , New York Times, August 8, 2005
*de icon [http://www.kingbushido.de Official Homepage]
*pl icon [http://www.kingbushido.org.pl Polish FanPage about Bushido]
* [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=83942 Dimmu Borgir Accuses German Rapper of 'Stealing' Band's Music] , Blabbermouth, November 1, 2007