Bushido

Bushido
Background information
Birth name	Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi
Born	September 28, 1978 (1978-09-28) (age 31)
Origin	Tempelhof ,Berlin, Germany
Genres	Hip-Hop, Gangsta Rap
Occupations	Rapper & Producer
Years active	1998-present
Labels	I Luv Money Records (1999-2001) Aggro Berlin (2001-2004) ersguterjunge (2004-present)
Associated acts	Baba Saad, Chakuza, D-Bo, Fler
Website	www.kingbushido.de

Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi (born , September 28, 1978 in Bonn, Germany), better known as Bushido is a German-Tunisian rapper. He also uses the pseudonym Sonny Black, not to be confused with the British blues musician Bill Boazman, who has used the pseudonym Sonny Black since the early 1980s. Bushido has sold more than 2 million albums, which made him the most successful rapper in Germany.^[1]

His career started with several demo releases and collaborations, with King Orgasmus One, Bass Sultan Hengzt and D-Bo over label I Luv Money Records. In 2001 released Bushido his well-known demo King of KingZ, which was re-relased in 2003 as a digital version Aggro Berlin and 2004 as an extended version. In 2003 Bushido released his debut album Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline, which reached #88 in the media-control-charts and became one of the first German 'gangsta' rap albums.

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 attended Eckener Gymnasium, up to the tenth grade, and then changed to another gymnasium, before leaving school early,^[2] 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 the training as painter, he met future rap-partner Fler and both became friends.

Career

1999-2002

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.

In 2001 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.

2003-2005

In 2003 he released his first solo album Vom Bordstein bis zur Skyline. It was an enormous success for what was still basically an underground release. In 2004, because of artistic differences regarding his future solo career, he left his label Aggro Berlin and signed at Urban/Universal, in the summer. 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 second album Electro Ghetto, which reached number six on the German charts. On April 4, 2005 he released his second collaboration album Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten 2, once again using his alter ego "Sonny Black" and recording with Baba Saad in replacement of Fler.

2006-2008

Bushido won an Echo as the "Best Live Act" and a MTV Europe Music Award in the category "Best German Act" in both 2006 and 2007.

At the beginning of September 2006, his album Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück (also short VDSZBZ) released. It contains no features and the Singles are: "Von Skyline zum Bordstein zurück" (which was released the 18 August), "Sonnenbank Flavour" (which was released the 27 October) and "Janine" (which released the 9 February).

	"Alles Verloren" (2007) 30 second sample of "Alles Verloren" by Bushido.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

The second sampler ersguterjunge Sampler Vol. 2 - Vendetta was released the 1st of December 2006. 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 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.

The album, 7 was released on August 31, 2007 pre-selling 100,000 copies in Germany prior to release, making it a gold record.

Bushido released his biography Bushido on 8 September 2008 and his 8th album Heavy Metal Payback was released on 10 October. The album has already pre-sold 100,000 copies in Germany. The singles are: "Ching Ching", "Für immer jung" and "Kennst du die Stars".

2009

As Fler left Aggro Berlin and the label closed down on April 1st, Bushido reached out to his former partner to end their feud. The renewed friendship led to the production of a follow up of the 2002 album Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten. The album is titled Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten 2, distinguished from the 2005 album Carlo, Cokxxx, Nutten 2, which got recorded with Baba Saad. It is entirely produced by Bushido, most of the beats first being planned for the soundtrack of his upcoming movie Zeiten ändern sich. The album released on 11 September, with the single "Eine Chance"/"Zu Gangsta" and the video promoting it.^[3]

Controversy

Bushido's fan base 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.

Hip-hop has always been an expressive outlet for people across ethnic lines, primarily the underprivileged in the United States. This may give reason to 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.[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 wie A" is a citation from a rap by Azad and "A" stands for his name, who often calls himself "A". Bushido also called this a "eine willkommene Provokationsmöglichkeit" ("welcome chance to provoke").

Lawsuits for assault

More legal trouble ensued following an incident at 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 3-18) 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 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, 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]

In 2007, Bushido earned more international press coverage when he was threatened with legal action by the melodic black metal band Dimmu Borgir, 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 as saying:

"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."

But no case was brought forward against him. Two songs from the Liverpool band Antimatter had also been sampled by Bushido without permission, although this dispute was settled later before any legal action was taken.

September 26, 2008, Bushido was 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 "Blaues Licht"). Nox Arcana's songs appear on their albums Darklore Manor (2003) and Necronomicon (2004). Bushido's album Von der Skyline zum Bordstein zurück (2006), which was re-released in 2007 after going Platinum in Germany.

Also the French band Dark Sanctuary accused Bushido of taking songs off their material without permission. For his single "Janine" he used the melody off the song "Les Mémoires Blessées".

2009 a video appaeared on YouTube, where the user showed with 30 comparisons, that Bushido doesn't "compose" his own songs.^[4] The video showed first the version of Bushido and then the original, with the original artist.

Bushido has also sampled two songs from Sopor Aeternus & The Ensemble of Shadows' album Dead Lovers Sarabande Face One, as was mentioned in a blog by Anna-Varney on her MySpace page.^{[citation needed]}

Feud with Aggro Berlin

The feud that began in 2004 between Bushido and Aggro Berlin is arguably the most renowned German hip-hop feud.^[5]

Discography

Other releases

Bibliography

• 2008: Bushido (biography)

Filmography

• 4th February 2010: Zeiten ändern dich is the film adaption of his autobiography Bushido, which was released as book and audio book in 2008. Bushido plays the leading part. The film is directed by Uli Edel, produced by Bernd Eichinger and will be released in German cinemas on 4th February 2010.^[6][7]

Sources

• Germany's Rap Music Veers Toward the Violent, New York Times, August 8, 2005
• Dimmu Borgir Accuses German Rapper of 'Stealing' Band's Music, Blabbermouth, November 1, 2007
• http://zeitzeuge.blog.de/2008/10/06/musik-bushido-klaut-nox-arcana-4830657/

References

External links

• Official Homepage (German)
• Polish FanPage about Bushido (Polish)