While a majority of the mainstream’s hip-hop artists’ focus has drifted to a reduced content & increased flexing, the young artist from Germany refuses to dishonour the values that the game taught him back in the day.
Leopold Karrer, aka Poldi, grew up with rap music that felt strong about the principles of being real, to be able to be authentic while identifying with your own lyrics and the content of your songs. And although most of those artists were coming from a fairly different place than the young Bavarian, it’s the thought behind it that counts for the 20-year-old.
The newcomer, that is currently signed by the Munich-based record label 99 Problemz Music, addresses issues and situations outside of Gangsta-rap, responding to a high demand in today’s musical landscape. Hip-hop and rap, once hailed or labeled as the new punk music, have come very far from being a rebellious black American underground art form they were in the 1980s throughout the 90s. Today, over 80% of the Billboard Top 100 include elements of hip-hop music. The audience and target group has heavily shifted into the main stream, with more and more listeners being clearly personally disconnected from the actual lyrical content.
Poldi much rather addresses his personal values in his music. His debut single makes very clear, the young man takes out the aggression of current trap-charters and is looking to put love over hate. The approach to connect with his listeners on an authentic level, to create a dialogue and ultimately a movement, is not a radically new one, though the way that he walks it is. In his own words, he swaps the ‘gangsta’ for ‘gentleman’.
“It’s not about showing off. I want people to feel as if we’re on the same level and have similar issues. There wouldn’t be a point in talking about a lifestyle I don’t care about. I want people to know that I actually care about my listeners and the subjects I speak upon. This provides a special connection between the listener and the artist, which bragging about my wealth just won’t cut.”.
Looking at the global, as well as the German rap scene, he definitely is standing out and surely will please a huge amount of listeners with his attitude. Interesting enough, the recent best sellers such as RIN have all walked their very own way too, instead of hopping on the gangsta-trap bandwagon.