Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi (born 28 September 1978), better known by his alias Bushido, is a German rapper, hip-hop producer, and entrepreneur. He is also the co-founder of the record label

ersguterjunge ersguterjunge is an independent German hip hop label distributed by Sony BMG. It was founded by rappers D-Bo and Bushido in 2004, after he left the indie label Aggro Berlin. Bushido is the managing director. ''ersguterjunge'' is a reflexion ...

. Raised in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Ferchichi came in contact with hip-hop through

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

and his friend and fellow rapper

Fler Patrick Losenský (born 3 April 1982), known professionally as Fler, is a German rapper and the CEO of Maskulin Music Group. Career 2000–2006: Beginnings Fler was first recognized in the rap scene through collaborations with Bushido. ...

. In 2001, Ferchichi released his demo '' King of KingZ'', which later led him to sign a record label deal with

Aggro Berlin Aggro Berlin was a German hip-hop independent record label based in Berlin that existed from 1 January 2001 until 1 April 2009. Three artists ( Sido, Tony D and Kitty Kat) were signed with the label at the time of its closure. Since the end ...

. Ferchichi's first official release was ''

Carlo Cokxxx Nutten ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten'' ("Carlo Colucci talian fashion brand/small>, Coke, Hookers") is an album by German rappers Bushido (alias Sonny Black) and Fler (alias Frank White). It was released on 21 October 2002 by Aggro Berlin. In 2005, the fo ...

'' in 2002, a collaboration with Fler.

Early life

Ferchichi was born on 28 September 1978 to a Tunisian father and German mother in

Bad Godesberg Bad Godesberg ( ksh, Bad Jodesbersch) is a borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, southern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. From 1949 to 1999, while Bonn was the capital of West Germany, most foreign embassies were in Bad Godesberg. Some buildings ar ...

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

, West Germany. His father left the family when Bushido was three years old while his mother decided to move to West-Berlin. He grew up with his brother in Berlin-Tempelhof, where he attended two gymnasiums before dropping out in eleventh grade. According to his autobiography, Ferchichi was found guilty of drug possession and property damage and was given the choice to either face a jail term or to complete an officially recognized vocational training program. During his schooling, he met Patrick Losensky, also known as

, who introduced him to hip-hop and graffiti.

Career

1998–2004: Demo releases, ''King of KingZ'' and Aggro Berlin signing

Bushido and fellow rapper Vader formed the duo Search & Defeat in early 1998. They worked on an album titled ''Unbreakable'', but it was never finished. Fellow Berlin rapper King Orgasmus One joined the group, together forming the 030 Squad. They recorded a demo titled ''Westberlin Represent'', selling some copies to friends. Joined by King Orgamus One, Bushido had his first guest appearance on the track "Rap ist out", on

Frauenarzt Vincente de Teba Költerhoff (born 18 October 1978), known professionally as Frauenarzt (German for "gynaecologist", literally "The Women's Doctor"), is a German rapper from Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany b ...

's 2000 demo album ''Tanga Tanga''. Following the release of ''Tanga Tanga'', Bushido, King Orgasmus One, and Bass Sultan Hengzt formed the group

Berlins Most Wanted Berlins Most Wanted (shortly BMW) is a Berlin rap group founded by rappers Bushido, Bass Sultan Hengzt, and King Orgasmus One. The date of the foundation is not clearly known, but the artists were represented together under the group's name on s ...

. This ultimately led to the creation of the record label

I Luv Money Records I Luv Money Records is a German hip hop record label, founded in 2001 by King Orgasmus One, Bass Sultan Hengzt, D-Bo and Bushido (rapper), Bushido. Artists Amir * Clickx * Godsilla * JokA * Murdoch * Sera Finale * DJ Jim Tonic Releases

...

in 2001. Bushido's first demo as a solo artist, '' King of KingZ'', was released in 2001. ''

'' (often abbreviated to ''CCN''), a collaborative studio album by Bushido and Fler, was released in October 2002. On the record, the two rappers performed under their aliases Sonny Black and "Frank White", respectively. The album marked the first major release for both and is now regarded as highly influential for gangsta rap in Germany. Bushido followed this up with the release of his debut solo album '' Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline'' in July 2003. The album again included several collaborations with Fler, and is considered a milestone of

German hip hop German hip hop (locally known as ''Deutschrap'', ''Deutsch'' meaning German) refers to hip hop music produced in Germany. Elements of American hip hop culture, such as graffiti art and breakdancing, diffused into Western Europe in the early ...

2004–2005: Label forming, ''Electro Ghetto'', ''CCN II'' and ''Staatsfeind Nr. 1''

In summer 2004, Bushido left

and signed with

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a ...

. Together with DJ Ilan, he produced a remix of

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...

's song " Amerika". Bushido's second studio album, titled '' Electro Ghetto'', was released in October 2004. The album reached number six on the German charts and spawned three singles, "Electro Ghetto", "Nie wieder", and "Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt", all of which placed in the singles charts for several weeks. In April 2005, Bushido's second collaborative studio album, '' Carlo Cokxxx Nutten II'', was released, once again under his alter ego "Sonny Black", but this time in partnership with

Baba Saad Saad El-Haddad ( ar, سعد الحداد; born 26 November 1985), better known by his stage names Baba Saad or just Saad, is a German rapper of Lebanese descent. Early life Baba Saad was born in Beirut, Lebanon, but emigrated to Syke in norther ...

instead of Fler. He followed this up with the release of his third studio album, titled '' Staatsfeind Nr. 1'', in November 2005.

2006–2007: ''Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück'' and ''7''

On 1 September 2006, he released his fourth solo album, '' Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück'' (abbreviated as ''VDSZBZ''). The second sampler, ''

Vendetta – ersguterjunge Sampler Vol. 2 ''Vendetta – ersguterjunge Sampler Vol. 2'' is the second compilation album by the artists signed to German hip hop label ersguterjunge. Track listing ;Samples *"Eine Nummer für sich" contains a sample of "Perdition" by Dark Sanctuar ...

'', was released on 1 December 2006. In early 2007, Bushido founded the girl band Bisou featuring former candidates of the casting show ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

''. He also bought a mansion for himself and his mother in

Berlin-Lichterfelde Lichterfelde () is a locality in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz, along with Steglitz and Lankwitz. Lichterfelde is home to institutions like the Berlin Botanical Gar ...

for €1,200,000 and spent an additional €800,000 to redecorate it.

2008–2009: Autobiography, ''Heavy Metal Payback'' and reunion with Fler

In January 2008, it became known that Bushido and an unknown partner had founded a real estate business, which yielded a million

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

s in the first ten months. Bushido released his autobiography ''Bushido'' on 8 September 2008, which reached number 1 on the bestseller list Der Spiegel. His eighth album, ''

Heavy Metal Payback ''Heavy Metal Payback'' is the sixth solo album by German rapper Bushido, released 10 October 2008 under the record label ersguterjunge. The title of the album was taken from an earlier song titled "Heavy Metal Payback" from ''Aggro Ansage Nr. 2 ...

'', was released on 10 October 2008. The music video for the single " Für immer jung" caused controversy when MTV stopped airing it after two days of heavy rotation. The main editorial office had decided that the feature with Czech musician

Karel Gott ) Sinatra of the East( cs, Sinatra Východu, link=no)Divine CharlieVIVA. Bushido refused this, however, and later forbade MTV and VIVA from airing his videos because he couldn't reconcile this with his conscience. Bushido wrote in his forum on the topic that: upBushido in 2009 Cooperation between Bushido and MTV ended afterwards. After Fler left Aggro Berlin and the label shut down on 1 April 2009, Bushido reached out to his former partner to end their feud. The renewed friendship led to the production of a sequel to the 2002 album ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten''. The album is titled ''

Carlo Cokxxx Nutten 2 ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten 2'' is a 2009 collaboration album between German rappers Bushido and Fler. The album was titled as second part, but is actually the third part of the ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten'' albums. During the production Bushido confirmed ...

'', as distinguished from the '' Carlo Cokxxx Nutten II'' sequel, recorded with Baba Saad in 2005. The album was released in September, with the single "

Eine Chance/Zu Gangsta "Eine Chance/Zu Gangsta" (German for "One chance"/"Too gangsta") is a double A-side single by the German rappers Bushido and Fler off their 2009 album ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten 2''. "Zu Gangsta" contains a short sample of Cassidy's " I'm a Hustla" ...

" and a music video promoting it.

2010–2011: Film debut, BMW reunion, ''Jenseits von Gut und Böse'' and reunion with Sido

The movie ''

Zeiten ändern dich ''Zeiten ändern dich'' (english title ''Time You Change'') is a German biographical film directed by Uli Edel and starring rapper Bushido, as well as Elyas M'Barek and Moritz Bleibtreu. The film is based on Bushido's 2008 autobiography. The ...

'' was shot in and around Berlin from July to mid-September and released in February 2010. The movie is based on Bushido's autobiography, featuring Bushido as himself, directed by

Uli Edel Ulrich "Uli" Edel (; born 11 April 1947) is a German film and television director, best known for his work on films such as ''Last Exit to Brooklyn'' and '' Body of Evidence.'' His '' Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny'' won a Golden Globe for ...

and produced by Bernd Eichinger. 80,000 people watched the movie on the release date. The soundtrack to the movie, also titled ''

'', was released in three different versions on 19 February 2010. Bushido and Kay One wrote and recorded "Fackeln im Wind", which was dedicated to the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (''Deuts ...

in honor of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

and was released in June. Bushido got the idea for the song after meeting football player

Sami Khedira Sami Khedira (; born 4 April 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid in 2010. In his five seasons i ...

during the "Zeiten ändern dich – Live durch Europa" tour.Bushido: Fackeln im Wind – WM-Song Radiopremiere!
iloveradio.de. 10 June 2010 In August, Bushido reformed the group Berlins Most Wanted, which originally consisted of himself, Bass Sultan Hengzt, and King Orgasmus, in 2001 during the '' King of KingZ'' era, and added Kay One and Fler to the group. Together they released the album ''

'' with a single also called "Berlins Most Wanted". In late-March 2011, Bushido released a video on his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel, in which he confirmed plans for a new album titled ' and the guest appearance of French rapper

Booba Élie Yaffa (; born 9 December 1976), better known under his stage name Booba, is a French rapper. After a brief stint as a break dancer in the early 1990s, Booba partnered with his friend Ali to form Lunatic. The duo released a critically a ...

. On 19 April, his second statement video was published, where he first thanked singer J-Luv for his vocal parts on the single "Vergiss mich", which was released on 22 April, in digital format along with the music video. He also presented the producers Rsonist and

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is als ...

and confirmed that

Xavier Naidoo Xavier Kurt Naidoo (German: �kseːviɐ naɪˈduː born 2 October 1971) is a German soul and R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. He is a founding member of German band Söhne Mannheims, and started two record labels, Beats Around the ...

from is featured as guest performer on the song "Du bist ein Mensch". His third statement video was published on 28 April on his YouTube channel. In this video, Bushido confirmed that his labelmate Kay One has a guest appearance on the album, and introduced DJ Desue as producer. Bushido also announced that the song "Wie ein Löwe" could be downloaded on iTunes the following day. American record producers

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, rapper, disc jockey (DJ) and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ. At the ag ...

, Araab Muzik and R'sonist each contributed one beat for the album. A meeting with Dr. Dre was also intended, but Bushido cancelled due to the high price. Later,

became disappointed that new vocals were added to the song "Gangster" and that his DJ cuts were edited without giving him a chance to hear the new version before it was released. However, it is unknown if this was Bushido's idea or that of his production team. In 2011, after having ended their long-term feud, Bushido reunited with former

labelmate Sido to form the short-lived rap duo 23. Their self-titled collaborative studio album was released in October 2011. It spawned the singles "So mach ich es" and "Erwachsen sein".

2012–2014: ''AMYF'', "Stress ohne Grund" controversy and ''Sonny Black''

upleft, Bushido in 2012 On 14 June 2012, Bushido announced in an interview with the '' Bild'' newspaper that he would found a political party to become mayor of Berlin. The same month he completed an internship for CDU deputy Christian von Stetten in the Paul-Löbe-Haus in Berlin, which led to a lot of criticism due to Bushido's controversial song lyrics and his criminal past. Bushido announced his eleventh album ''

AMYF This is the discography of German rapper Bushido, who has sold more than 1.5 million records in Germany alone, as of 2009.

'' via Facebook, which was also available for pre-sale on

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

. Later the tracklist and the iTunes version were published. The first announcement video released on 22 August 2012, via YouTube on his channel. Bushido confirmed that the deluxe version features a DVD that shows footage of the recording period and also announced Sido,

Eko Fresh Ekrem Bora (born 3 September 1983), better known by his stage name Eko Fresh, is a German rapper of Turkish and Kurdish descent.ALEMEKO FRESH-EK IS BACKRetrieved 5 September 2010 Eko Fresh auf Twitter: "@xRay_RU halber Kurde halber Türke aber e ...

, Julian Williams (aka J-Luv),

MoTrip Mohamed El Moussaoui ( ar, محمد الموسوي), known by the stage name MoTrip (born 7 March 1988), is a German rapper of Lebanese descent. His stage name uses the first syllable of his name and plays off the Arabic word for "singer" or "ly ...

, and Joka as guest performers. On 19 September 2012, Bushido released the second announcement video, in which he announced several producers, including Beatzarre, Djorkaeff, X-Plosive Beats, and Phat Cripsy, and represented the other guest performers King Orgasmus One (who is only featured on the Premium edition) and Brutos Brutaloz. The third and last video released on 26 September 2012, where Bushido introduced Frauenarzt and Elmo as last guest features and announced the premiere of his music video for "Kleine Bushidos" (released via YouTube on 4 October), and the next day the song was available for any digital platform. On 12 October, released ''AMYF'' and ranked No. 1 on the album chart position in Germany and Switzerland. The second single "Theorie & Praxis" (featuring Joka) was released on 9 November 2012, but failed to reach the charts. The third and final single release of the album, "Panamera Flow" (featuring Shindy), was released on 15 March 2013 and ranked no. 51 in Germany and Austria. On 12 July 2013, released

Shindy Michael Schindler (born 7 September 1988), better known by his stage name Shindy, is a German rapper. He is currently signed to record label Friends with Money after leaving ersguterjunge. Life and career 1988: Early life Schindler was bor ...

's debut single "Stress ohne Grund", which features Bushido, of his debut album ''NWA''. After its release, the single caused controversy among the media and politicians. In the song, Bushido verbally attacked the politicians Serkan Tören, Claudia Roth and

Klaus Wowereit Klaus Wowereit (born 1 October 1953) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and was the Governing Mayor of Berlin from 21 October 2001 to 11 December 2014. In 2001 state elections his party won a plurality of the votes, 29 ...

. Tören and Wowereit filed charge against Bushido. The attorney of Berlin also filed charge against him for hate speech, defamation, and depiction of violence in his lyrics. The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons indexed ''NWA'' and confirmed it on in September 2013. Bushido explained in several television broadcaster and online portals, including ARD and N24, that he didn't want to hurt anyone. His lyrics in the song were just a response to the insults, that Claudia Roth and Serkan Tören had made previously towards him. In November 2013, the district court dismissed the indictment as with regard to artistic freedom. On 25 October 2013, Bushido announced via his forum the release date of his twelfth studio album, titled ''

Sonny Black William Boazman, known as Sonny Black, is an acoustic guitarist based in the UK, who plays blues, rags and original compositions usually fingerstyle or slide. "Sonny Black" is a pseudonym adopted when he began the first Sonny Black's Blues ...

''. He also put a link for the Standard, iTunes, and the Deluxe edition. On 20 December 2013, he released the first music video for "Mitten in der Nacht" via Bushido's YouTube channel. The second video "Gangsta Rap Kings" (featuring

Kollegah Felix Martin Andreas Matthias Blume (born 3 August 1984), known professionally as Kollegah, is a German rapper. He releases his music via his own label, Alpha Music Empire. Born in Friedberg and raised by a single mother in Simmern, he started ...

and

Farid Bang Farid Hamed El Abdellaoui ( ar, link=no, فريد العبدلاوي, born 4 June 1986), known professionally as Farid Bang, is a German rapper of Moroccan-Spanish descent. He is currently the owner of the label Banger Musik. Early life Fari ...

) released in January 2014. Before the release, Bushido posted two pictures on-set via Instagram. The first picture features Bushido and Farid Bang. The second picture features all three rappers with the hashtag "#KKS", referring to their then-up-coming album titles of each rapper: ''Killa'' (Farid Bang), ''King'' (Kollegah), and ''Sonny Black'' (Bushido). The third and last video "Jeder meiner Freunde", released one day before the album's release. On 14 February 2014, released ''Sonny Black'' which ranked No. 1 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. According to the Media Control Gfk International, ''Sonny Black'' set a download record for being the most downloaded German rap album and ranking No. 1, beating

Helene Fischer Helene Fischer ( /heˈleːnə ˈfɪʃɚ/; German: eˈleːnə ˈfɪʃɐ born Jelena Petrovna Fischer, 5 August 1984) is a Russian-born German singer. Since her debut in 2005, she has won numerous awards, including 17 Echo awards, four "Die Kron ...

's album ''

Farbenspiel ''Farbenspiel'' (german: link=no, Game of Colors) is the sixth studio album by German singer Helene Fischer. It was released on 4 October 2013 by Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Univers ...

''.

2015–present: ''CCN 3'', collaboration with Shindy and ''Black Friday''

In mid-January 2015, Bushido released a video via his YouTube channel where he announced the release date of ''Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten 3''. Before the album's release, many speculations and rumors circulated among Bushido's fan community about his collaboration partner for the album. The rappers Fler, Eko Fresh,

Haftbefehl Aykut Anhan (born 16 December 1985), known by his stage name Haftbefehl (meaning "arrest warrant" in German), is a German rapper. He was signed to his own record label Azzlack, before signing with the label Echte Musik. Biography Haftbefehl wa ...

, and Shindy were rumored to be part of the project, but each artist denied it. Fler stated later in a YouTube interview with journalist Nico Hüls from hip hop magazine Backspin, that collaboration would not have worked that time due to personal issues. In February 2015, Bushido released ''CCN 3'' as a solo project and ranked No. 1 in the German, Austrian, and Swiss Album charts. The album certified twice gold. In May 2015, Bushido served as a featured guest on the songs "Kimbo Slice" (also featuring Shindy) and "Best Friends" from the 2nd studio album, ''Rumble in the Jungle'', by Ali Bumaye. The three singles "Brot brechen", "G$D", and "CLA$$IC", were released before the album's release as promotion, accompanied by music videos. The track "Rap leben" appeared on the disc of Juice, Issue 132. The final music video "Adel" released on the same date as the album. In November he released ''CLA$$IC'', the collaboration by Bushido and Shindy, which ranked No. 1 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Due to the production and musical style the album was compared to ''

Watch the Throne ''Watch the Throne'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, collectively known as The Throne. It was released on August 8, 2011, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to the r ...

'' by Jay-Z and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. Later in November, Bushido was featured in two songs: "Statements" (released as the third single) and "Art of War" in Shindy's third album, ''DREAMS''. In June 2017, Bushido's 12th studio album, ''Black Friday'', was released. His next studio album, ''Mythos'', was released in September 2018. It featured guest appearances from

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

Capital Bra ; born 23 November 1994), known professionally as Capital Bra (German pronunciation: ɐpiˌtal ˈbɾa, is a German rapper. Born in a small town in Siberia, Russia and raised in Dnipro, Ukraine, he and his mother moved to Berlin, Germany in the ...

and Samra, and debuted at No. 1 in Germany.

Controversy

Extreme right

Bushido is often criticized in the media for his

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

, and racist lyrics and for refusing to reject some of his controversial fans. Hip-hop has always been an expressive outlet for people across ethnic lines, primarily the underprivileged in the United States. This may highlight the parallel between the United States and its macho persona in rap/hip hop music and Bushido's image or glorification of so-called gangsta rap. However, some point to his partial North African ethnicity and collaboration with minority artists, like Azad,

and Cassandra Steen as evidence that 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") in Bushido's single "Electro Ghetto"."Bushido: Rapper wehrt sich gegen "Nazi"-Vorwurf – laut.de – News"
laut.de. The "A" is interpreted by many as referring to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. According to Bushido, the line is a citation from a rap by Azad, who often calls himself "A". Bushido also called this a "willkommene Provokationsmöglichkeit" ("welcome opportunity to provoke").

Misogyny and homophobia

Bushido provoked much discussion through his use of controversial song lyrics, which can be interpreted as being misogynistic, homophobic, sexist, and violence-glorifying. For example, the song "Nutte Bounce", from his demo album '' King of KingZ'' (2001), frequently uses the term "Nutte" (German for "slut"). When questioned, Bushido explained that he doesn't mean women in general but rather the "real bitches". The song "Berlin" from his debut '' Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline'' (2003) has the following line, which can be interpreted as homophobic:"Konzert: CDU und Grüne gegen einen Auftritt von Bushido – DIE WELT"
''DIE WELT''. 2 August 2007. In November 2005, Bushido hit the headlines after he made a scornful remark about

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad ...

in an interview with net.zeitung.de: "She is just a stupid piece of meat... I just want to have sex with her; humiliate her and say goodbye." In ''

'' (2006), he made a reference to

Natascha Kampusch Natascha Maria Kampusch (born 17 February 1988) is an Austrian author and former talk show host. At the age of 10, on 2 March 1998, she was abducted and held in a secret cellar by her kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil for more than eight years, unt ...

in the song "Eine Nummer für sich", which has been criticized as "crude". Quoted as following: In late August 2007, Bushido was criticized for his involvement in the concert ''Schau nicht weg'', a campaign against violence at schools, organized by '' Bravo'' and VIVA. The critics argue that Bushido could not count as a role model because of his "homophobic and anti-women lyrics". But since 2006 he was, according to ''Bravo'', very involved in the project, so his live performance could not be canceled. During the performance, Bushido appealed aggressively to a small group of homosexual protesters by saying: "You fuckers can demonstrate, hang yourself – I don't give a shit". This led to more criticism and controversy. In June 2009, after participants of the Kreuzberg Pride spotted Bushido on the Berlin

U-Bahn Rapid transit in Germany consists of four U-Bahn systems and fourteen S-Bahn systems. The U-Bahn commonly understood to stand for Untergrundbahn (''underground railway'') are conventional rapid transit systems that run mostly underground, while ...

Schlesisches Tor, a verbal conflict ensued between the rapper and the participants in which Bushido insulted individuals by referring to their sexual orientation. As result, he and his entourage were splashed with drinks and the organizers of the pride sued him for libel."Transgenialer CSD: Bushido bekommt Ärger bei Homosexuellen-Demo – Berlin – Berliner Morgenpost"
''Berliner Morgenpost – Berlin''. 27 June 2009.

Anti-Israel Twitter controversy

In January 2013, Bushido garnered additional media attention by tweeting "Free Palestine" along with a map of the Middle East in which

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

did not exist.Toby Axelrod (14 January 2013
"German rapper's Twitter profile shows Mideast without Israel"
Jewish Telegraphic Agency. German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that "this illustration does not serve peace, rather it sows hate." Israel's embassy in Berlin responded to the rapper's actions by tweeting, with irony, directly to his Twitter handle: "@Bushido78 first women, then gays and now Israel: We are proud to belong to the victims of the integration prize winner Bushido." In 2011, Bushido received a

Bambi Award The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and oth ...

for successful German integration in Germany – despite his reputation for homophobia and misogyny. The Bambi Foundation head Patricia Riekel reacted to his tweet by saying: "We are examining the incident and will react accordingly."

Lawsuits for assault

More legal trouble ensued following an incident at a party in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital ...

, Austria on 30 July 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 man 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 (3–18 August) in jail before being released on €100,000 bail. He ended up paying €20,000 to the Austrian courts and another €1,000 to the victim himself. It was during this time that it became publicly known that Bushido had been married to another woman for several years when the judge questioned him on the topic. Bushido later denied the claims of his marriage.

Copyright infringement

Bushido garnered some press coverage when his record company,

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, 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 ''Music Is My Savior'' is the debut album from the American King Music artist Mims (both the artist's family name and a backronym representing Music Is My Savior). It was released on March 27, 2007. It includes the singles "This Is Why I'm Hot", " ...

'', an album by American rapper Mims. In 2007, Bushido earned more international press coverage when he was threatened with legal action by the symphonic black metal band

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

, who claimed that Bushido had sampled two of their songs without permission, "Mourning Palace" and "Alt Lys Er Svunnet Hen". Bushido's songs named were "Mittelfingah" and "Engel". Dimmu Borgir's manager was quoted saying: No case was brought against him. Two songs from the Liverpool band

Antimatter In modern physics, antimatter is defined as matter composed of the antiparticles (or "partners") of the corresponding particles in "ordinary" matter. Antimatter occurs in natural processes like cosmic ray collisions and some types of radioac ...

had also been sampled by Bushido without permission, although this dispute was settled later before any legal action was taken. The songs were "Terminal" and "Epitaph" (sampled on " Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück" and "

Sonnenbank Flavour "Sonnenbank Flavour" ("Sunbed flavour") is a song by German rapper Bushido and the second single from his album ''Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück''. It uses a sample from the song "Epitaph" by the British rock band Antimatter. In 2007, the s ...

"). 26 September 2008, Bushido was charged with international copyright infringement by the American gothic band

Nox Arcana Nox Arcana is the American neoclassical dark wave, dark ambient musical project of Joseph Vargo. It was founded in 2003 as a duo with William Piotrowski, who left in 2008 to pursue a career in film score composing but still acts as its studio en ...

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 "Blaues Licht"). Nox Arcana's songs appear on their albums ''

Darklore Manor ''Darklore Manor'' is the debut album by neoclassical darkwave musical duo Nox Arcana. It released on December 15, 2003 on the Monolith Graphics label. It features a style of music that bears a similarity to Joseph Vargo's earlier work on the alb ...

'' (2003) and ''

Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first men ...

'' (2004). Bushido's album '' Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück'' (2006), which was re-released in 2007 after going Platinum in Germany."zeitzeuge – Zeitzeuge"
. blog.de. 6 October 2008 Here is a section taken from the official page of Nox Arcana: Also, the French band

Dark Sanctuary Dark Sanctuary is a French neoclassical darkwave, gothic metal band that was formed in Paris in 1996. History The band's first official release was a 20-minute single-track music CD, ''Funeral Cry'', released in 1997. At that time, the band c ...

accused Bushido of taking songs off their material without permission. For his single " Janine" he used the melody of the song "Les Mémoires Blessées". On 23 March 2010, German courts convicted him and ordered him to make reparations and to stop the sales of the affected albums, singles, and samplers, including ''Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück''. In addition to that, he was ordered to recall and destroy all unsold copies. A video was leaked online by Marzel Becker and Stephan Heller, two German music reviewers. In their video, they compared Dark Sanctuary's songs to those of Bushido.

Alleged organized crime links

In April 2013, it became publicly known that Bushido signed on 22 December 2010 a general power of attorney to Arafat Abou-Chaker, the leader of the Lebanese criminal clan Abou-Chaker, which allows him to dispose of Bushido's whole estate, including accounts, cars, and gains. German magazine ''stern'' has reported on numerous occasions about Bushido's relationship with the mafia clan.

Feuds

Bushido performing in 2006

Kay One

In late March 2012, Kay One's videos, along with their million views, had been removed from Bushido's YouTube channel. Bushido

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

following this action: "I don't have beef, with anyone". Following that, Kay One posted a statement on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

and tells that "the truth will come out soon". The statement ends with the word "ex-guterjunge". In April 2012, Kay One said good-bye to ersguterjunge via Facebook. Five days prior Bushido announced the trademark of the phrase "Kay One" on the

German Patent and Trade Mark Office The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (german: Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt; abbreviation: DPMA) is the German national patent office, with headquarters in Munich, and offices in Berlin and Jena. In 2006 it employed 2556 people, of which ab ...

. In May 2012, Kay One has been attacked after two performances by masked persons armed with knives, but nobody got hurt. Later he blamed Bushido for sending those people, who denied it. In May 2013, Bushido's former friend Shindy released a

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

against Kay One, titled "Alkoholisierte Pädophile", accusing him of

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

and complaining about not being paid for co-writing songs for the album ''

Prince of Belvedair ''Prince of Belvedair'' is the second studio album by German rapper Kay One, known from his work with German rapper Bushido. The album was released on March 16, 2012, by ersguterjunge as Standard and Premium Edition under Bushido's label ersguter ...

''. Kay One banned the track and reacted via Facebook to it, where he stated that he will "uncover the truth" about Bushido and Shindy. In June 2013, Bushido and Shindy were both guests at the German online hip hop portal ''16 Bars TV''. In the interview with hostess Visa Vie, they talked about their personal issues with Kay One. In late-July, Bushido refers to his beef with Kay One in the song "Stress ohne Grund" with the line: "''Kay du Bastard best jetzt vogelfrei''" ("Kay you bastard, you are now outlawed"). In August 2013, released Kay One's diss track "Nichts als die Wahrheit", rapping about his past with Bushido and Shindy. In return to the accusation of being a pedophile, he claimed that Bushido had cheated on his wife with a 17-year-old girl. The dispute between both artists reached its high point when Kay One was invited on to the German TV show ''stern TV'', in October 2013, where he talked about the "mafia business" of the Palestinian clan Abou-Chaker and claimed that Bushido served as the "slave of the family". Since then, Kay One receives anonymous death threats and got police protection. Bushido announced his ten-minute-long-running diss track called "Leben und Tod des Kenneth Glöckner" via social media. The track was released on 22 November 2013, via Bushido's YouTube channel and reached 2 million views within 24 hours. The track received positive feedback from the German hip hop community. Hours later, Kay One reacted via Facebook by calling Bushido a "hate preacher" and accused him of lying. He also stated that he will not talk anymore about the feud. In November 2014, Kay One's released a 25-minute response track titled "Tag des Jüngsten Gerichts" on his YouTube channel. The video set a YouTube record in German rap for reaching 3 million views in the first 24 hours. Anne-Marie Ferchichi, Bushido's wife, felt insulted by Kay One's lyrics directed at her and sent him a warning via a lawyer. Kay One originally removed the video but re-uploaded it half a day later. The video was again removed from YouTube due to a court order by Bushido's lawyer. Since then, the video has been completely removed from the platform.

Kollegah and Farid Bang

In 2014, Bushido, Farid Bang, and Kollegah collaborated on "Gangsta Rap Kings", a single for Bushido's tenth studio album ''

'', the relationship between Farid Bang and Kollegah and Bushido got worse. After several indirect provocations from both sides, the situation escalated at an open-air festival in Munich in the summer of 2017. On their third collaboration album ''

Jung Brutal Gutaussehend 3 ''Jung Brutal Gutaussehend 3'' ("Young, violent, handsome 3"; also stylized as ''Jung, brutal, gutaussehend 3'' and abbreviated as ''JBG 3'') is the third collaborative studio album by German rappers Kollegah and Farid Bang. It was released on 1 ...

'' Kollegah and Bang dissed Bushido and several

artists directly.

Personal life

Bushido lives in

Kleinmachnow Kleinmachnow is a municipality of about 20,000 inhabitants in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated South-West of the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf and East of Potsdam. First mentioned in the Landbuch of Karl ...

Potsdam-Mittelmark Potsdam-Mittelmark is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the western part of Brandenburg, Germany. Its neighbouring administrative units are (clockwise from the north) the district of Havelland, the free cities of Brandenburg and Potsdam, the state of Berl ...

and has been married to Anna-Maria Lagerblom since May 2012, the sister of Sarah Connor and ex-wife of Pekka Lagerblom. They had been engaged since early 2011. It is Lagerblom's third marriage.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline'' (2003) * '' Electro Ghetto'' (2004) * '' Staatsfeind Nr. 1'' (2005) * '' Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück'' (2006) * '' 7'' (2007) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2010) * '' Jenseits von Gut und Böse'' (2011) * ''AMYF'' (2012) * ''

'' (2014) * ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten 3'' (2015) * ''Black Friday'' (2017) * ''Mythos'' (2018) * ''Sonny Black II'' (2021)

Collaborations

* ''

'' (with

) (2002) * '' Carlo Cokxxx Nutten II'' (with

) (2005) * ''

'' (with Fler) (2009) * ''

'' (with

) (2010) * '' 23'' (with Sido) (2011) * ''Cla$$ic'' (with Shindy) (2015) * ''Carlo Cokxxx Nutten 4'' (with Animus) (2019) * CANCEL CULTURE NIGHTMARE (with

Sonny Techno Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in N ...

) (2022)

Tours

*Auf die harte Tour – with Azad (2004) *ersguterjunge Tour (2005) *Gib mir ein Mic Tour (2005) *ersguterjunge Tour (2006) *Von der Skyline zur Bühne zurück Tour (2007) *"7" Tour (2007) *Carlo Cokxxx Nutten 2 Tour – with

(2009) *Zeiten ändern dich – Live durch Europa (2010) *v2.010 Tour (2011) *Jenseits von Gut und Böse Tour (2012)

Film appearances

Awards

* 2005 :'' Juice-Awards'' : 1. Place in the categories ''Beste Website'' für kingbushido.de, ''Bestes Album National'' for ''Staatsfeind Nr. 1'' :

Bravo Otto The Bravo Otto is a German accolade honoring excellence of performers in film, television and music. Established in 1957, the award is presented annually, with winners selected by the readers of ''Bravo'' magazine. The award is presented in ...

in ''Silber'' in the category ''HipHop National'' * 2006: :

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

-Winner in the category ''Live-Act National'' : "Goldenes Tape" for 20 number 1 positions of the video Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück in the MTV-Show ''

TRL TRL or trl may refer to: Arts * Temporary Residence Limited, a record label * ''Total Request Live'', a former MTV show * TRL Awards (''Total Request Live''), an Italian music award Libraries * Tampines Regional Library, a regional library in Ta ...

'' :

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

in the category ''Best German Act''Liste der Gewinner
MTV : Juice-Awards: 1. place in the categories ''Live Performance National'', ''Video National'' für ''Sonnenbank Flavour'', ''Single National'' for ''Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück'', ''Rap Solokünstler National'' : Echo-winner in the category ''Hip-Hop/R&B National'' : "Bravo Otto" in ''Gold'' in the category ''HipHop National'' : "Comet" winner in the category ''Bester Künstler'' : "Goldener Pinguin" of the Austrian Youth-magazine "Xpress" in the category: ''Bester Rapper Des Jahres'' * 2007: :

in the category ''Best German Act'' : "Goldener Pinguin" of the Austrian Youth-magazine "Xpress" in the category: ''Bester Rapper Des Jahres'' * 2008: : Echo-winner in the category ''Hip-Hop/R&B National'' : Echo-winner in the category ''Live-Act National'' : "Comet" in the category ''Beste/r Künstler/in'' : "Bravo Otto" in ''Gold'' in the category ''Bester Hip-Hop Act national'' : "Goldener Pinguin" of the Austrian Youth-magazine "Xpress" in the category: ''Bester Rapper Des Jahres'' : Juice-Awards: 1. place in the categories ''Solokünstler National'', ''Produzent National'', ''Single National'' (Für immer jung, ft. Karel Gott), ''Album National'' (Heavy Metal Payback), ''Video National'' (Für immer jung, ft. Karel Gott), ''Live Performance National'', ''Bestes Cover'' * 2009: :"Bravo Otto" in ''Gold'' in the category ''Supersänger international'' : "Goldener Pinguin" of the Austrian Youth-magazine "Xpress" in the category: ''Bester Rapper Des Jahres'' * 2010: :"Bravo Otto" in ''Gold'' in the category ''Bester Rapper national'' : " GQ-Mann des Jahres" in the category ''Musik national'' * 2011: :"

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

" in the category ''Integration''Bambi 2011 – Preisträger
bambi.de * 2012: :Echo-winner in the category ''Bestes Video National'' for ''So mach ich es'' with Sido

Literature

References

;Additional sources

The New York Times, 8 August 2005
Dimmu Borgir Accuses German Rapper of 'Stealing' Band's Music
Blabbermouth.net, 1 November 2007
Bushido klaut von Nox Arcana
Zeitzeuge, 6 October 2010

External links

Official website
* * *
Biography and pictures at ersguterjunge.org

Website with quotes by Bushido
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bushido 1978 births German rappers German people of Tunisian descent Living people Musicians from Berlin Musicians from Bonn German autobiographers Hip hop record producers Echo (music award) winners German male non-fiction writers Gangsta rappers MTV Europe Music Award winners