Is Disrupting Germany’s Hip-Hop Scene
The rapper-designer speaks on his latest album ‘Nimmerland’ and why he isn’t moving to Berlin.
If there’s one person pushing Germany’s hip-hop scene in every direction imaginable, it’s RIN. Donning Kool-Aid red hair, the Croatian-Bosnian hails from Bietigheim-Bissingen, a small town on the outskirts of Stuttgart. In just the past few years, RIN has seen the country’s once-underground industry grow exponentially into the locale’s preeminent subculture, now embraced throughout Europe and across the globe.
The artist has developed a cult following as he’s found a tantalizing visual and aural style that transverses his music and his clothing brand, Ljubav. But RIN didn’t travel some 400 miles north to the country’s cultural hub of Berlin to develop his artistry — instead he’s remained in his hometown, cultivating his own movement by propping up his locality as much as his individuality.
Like many ‘90s kids engulfed within the ever-expanding world of hip-hop, RIN was initially exposed to the genre through the internet and TV. Early on he took to his local park, where he began to freestyle and later write out his own lyrics. In 2016, he tore up Germany’s run-of-the-mill sound with the viral single “Bianco” alongside Austrian hip-hop upstart Yung Hurn, releasing his debut Genesis EP later that year. He continued pumping out music left and right, sharing his riotous debut album EROS in the latter half of 2017, following it up with the equally-menacing Planet Megatron project in 2018.
RIN has since become the overwhelming face of Germany’s hip-hop scene, now readily selling out 10,000 person shows in Stuttgart, a city that boasts just over 600,000. Earlier this month, RIN continued to bolster his cult following with his new album Nimmerland, a sprawling 14-track collection that expels on the woes of growing up and embracing adulthood — doing so atop of eclectically produced and curated instrumentals that tap into hip-hop’s global sound.
HYPEBEAST recently sat down with RIN to better understand his beginnings, Germany’s flourishing hip-hop scene and his new album, Nimmerland.
to beat these industry set rules that you have to be where everyone else is."
big inspiration from the movie Hook where Peter Pan is too old to fly and forgot that he was ever in Neverland."
Subcultures have long existed in Germany, with hip-hop emerging in the country during the ‘80s. How do you feel hip-hop in Germany has evolved since then?
I think hip-hop in Germany emerged in a very weird but consistent way. It started like every adopted culture imitating its origins, slowly emancipating from American role models through our own influences of immigrants like me from former Yugoslavia and many other immigrants like Turks, Russians, Arabs, etc.
Why do you think hip-hop is such an attractive cultural force for German youth?
I do not think it's a German phenomenon. Hip-hop is simply the world’s biggest youth culture that’s turned into pop culture.
How were you initially drawn into hip-hop, and more specifically, how did you become a rapper?
In a very ordinary manner. Starting with TV shows of the late ‘90s and through the internet. There was one freestyle session in the park of my hometown and a friend’s comment that "I should write that stuff down" made me a rapper.
What inspires and motivates your creative pursuits?
When I think about it today, I can sum it up very easily. I want to break down every creative boundary possible, create new possibilities either for myself or for my friends, represent my hometown and leave people something they can be happy about or have fun with it or be inspired by or interested in it.
Being based in the small city of Bietigheim-Bissingen, what have been the challenges in developing a scene, and especially your own musical identity outside of Berlin’s hip-hop stronghold?
The hardest part was the hardware part. We had no studio, no engineers, no parties to go to, no scene. So we created everything for ourselves and that's why everything now is so apart from the cultural epicenters and the "mainstream.”
You’ve previously shared that you refuse to move to Berlin to continue with your music. Why not?
I'm a hometown guy, I love to be settled down, thats a big part of my personality. And like I said before I wanted to beat these industry set rules that you have to be where everyone else is.
like every adopted culture imitating its origins, slowly emancipating from American role models through our own influences of immigrants."
You often only collaborate with those close to you. How do you think this helps in developing your own ideas as an artist?
I think the best part of it is I only collaborate with people who I like and who like me. You get rid of all the random, "Oh you guys both popping, you have to work together" things and concentrate more on deeper relationships with artists you really have a connection with.
Fashion is undoubtedly one of your favorite creative pursuits. You’ve collaborated with Nike for a special-edition of Nimmerland and and even Carhartt WIP with your Ljubav line. What’s important to you about visual style, and how does it play alongside the sounds in your music?
These collaborations were childhood dreams come true and really confirmed my vision that you can make it no matter where you are from. My visual style was always natural to me, that's how I dress myself. I never really overdid it for music videos or other occasions, for me it was always important that I look the same way when I'm with my friends. It was such a big part of our reality that it had to have a big impact on my music. It wasn't calculated.
Last year you dropped the riotous Planet Megatron project and in just a year you’ve already prepared your next album Nimmerland. How was the process for this album different from previous projects?
The process was a completely different one. I wanted a concept album with a common thread going through all stages of it. Like the recording, the vocal processing or production. I was completely involved in every process, like I recorded the whole album myself, made every vocal arrangement, had taken part in the production of every song and built a studio so I could experiment all day and had room to dive deeper into the field of production and engineering.
Does Nimmerland have any specific concepts or themes you wish to portray?
The concept behind the album was Neverland (which is the English translation for Nimmerland), because I had the feeling that every young adult like me and my generation of early to mid 20's is going through this phase of being pushed into adulthood, if he or she likes it or not. I took big inspiration from the movie Hook where Peter Pan is too old to fly and forgot that he was ever in Neverland and I wanted to catch this moment for my generation so you have a piece of music you can come back to when you maybe also forgot how to fly.
What’s in for the future of RIN?
More collaborations, spreading out the Ljubav, getting better everyday and staying healthy.
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