Fremd im eigenen Land? – Diskursanalytische Untersuchung von Raptexten im Hinblick auf die Identität junger Migranten in Deutschland

This paper explores the problem of identity in ethnic minority hiphop youth culture in Germany. Using the Foucault-oriented Critical Discourse Analysis (Kritische Diskursanalyse) by Jäger (2001), rap texts are being examined with resepct to the relevant concepts of ethnicity, diaspora and the so-called “Kanaken-Kultur”. The latter characterizes a German version of black stereotyping used in hip hop culture as a means of distinction from the German “Mehrheitsgesellschaft” (major society). The derogative term “Kanake”, now transformed into a self-referential description with a positive connotation, provides the basis for the concept of identity arriving with the
abstract figure of the bricoleur. The fundamental idea of Lévi-Strauss’ (1968) concept of bricolage is derived from a syncretic notion of culture, as Kaya (2001) states - as well as for the concept of hybridity. The data, created by ethnic German hip hop artists, is being qualified by the named method to show if the abstract figure of the Bricoleur and the social practice of being “Kanake” correspond.