Beginner (formerly Absolute Beginner - note that Beginner is the German plural) is the name of a German rap group from Hamburg, consisting of Jan Eißfeldt , Denyo and DJ Mad

Band history

The group was founded as Absolute Beginners in 1991, initially with six members: Jan, Denyo, Mardin , DJ Burn, Nabil, Mirko, but the latter three dropped out after a few months. They started rapping in English and German with homemade beats, but later went over to rapping solely in German. During their first public appearance they met DJ Mad, who immediately joined the group.

In 1992 they released their first track, K.E.I.N.E. on the Sampler Kill the Nation With a Groove, which caused some raised eyebrows in the hip hop community. The following year they release their first E.P., Gotting, and their first tour.

Their first proper album Flashnizm was released in 1996, which celebrated a fairly moderate commercial success despite good critiques in hip hop publications. Nevertheless they produced a video for the single Natural Born Chillaz, which MTV refused to play, and went on tour throughout the German speaking countries, drawing tiny, but appreciative crowds. Mardin became dissatisfied with the band’s progress and left in 1997. That same year Eißfeldt founded the Underground tape label Eimsbusch, references to which are interspersed in many German hip hop tracks. Eimsbusch records later developed into a full-fledged independent label, producing new acts like D-Flame and Illo77, but closed down in 2003

In 1998 they had a TOP 10 hit with Liebes Lied ("Dear Song", a pun on the word for love song) catapulting German hip hop music into the musical mainstream. Their album Bambule entered the album TOP 30 and the next singles Hammerhart ("Hammer Hard") and Füxe ("Foxes"), which featured Samy Deluxe proved that the Beginners were there to stay. They went on three tours with Dynamite Deluxe , Main Concept and the Beastie Boys respectively and appeared at major festivals. In 2001 the Beginners released a remix album to Bambule, called Boombule.

In 1999 Eißfeldt released his first solo reggae single, a cover-version of New Wave idol Nena’s Irgendwo, Irgendwie, Irgendwann. In 2001, he then released a solo reggae album, Searching for the Jan Soul Rebels, which was both a success with critics and fans. Denyo went solo too and his album Minidisko also hit the stores in 2001, while DJ Mad produced for other major acts and hosted a weekly radio show. This did not signalize a break-up, however, which Denyo and Eißfeldt showed by going on the 60hz-tour together, along with Eimsbusch-act D-Flame.

In 2002, after the German hip hop hype had abated, Mad, Eißfeldt and Denyo agreed to record an album together again, which became their 2003 hit album Blast Action Heroes, heralded by the TOP 10 single Fäule. It effortlessly rose to first place in the German album charts, countering the downwards trend of non-mainstream music styles, which had been brought about by a number of changes in the music industry and Germany's media landscape. Their 2003 Blast Action Heroes-tour went into its second round in 2004. The first Beginner DVD is scheduled for release in December 2004.

Music

The Beginners started out with highly politicized lyrics. Their first song K.E.I.N.E. attacked the German police force. Their lyrics are also usually comical and a lot of their music is a tightrope walk between comedy and politics. Indeed, a lot of the early satirical fire of their lyrics abated in their first commercially successful album Bambule, especially in the singles released, and some rival MCs accused them of selling out. However Eißfeldt’s reggae album has political lyrics throughout and Denyo has been engaged in the anti-racism hip hop project Brothers Keepers and Blast Action Heroes is also a thoroughly politicized album.

DJ Mad’s beats on Bambule were fairly old school and had a melancholic touch to them without seeming campy. The Boombule remixes were much fresher, with a variety of remix artists testing their skills on the now-classic tracks. After the long break, the Beginner returned with sounds that were much more progressive and experimental, without letting go of their classic Old-Skool roots.

Eißfeldt has a very nasal voice that is unusual for hip-hop, while Denyo’s has a boyish, irreverent feel. Their two voices blend nicely, and together with their superb multisyllabic rhymes, create a very unique listening experience.

Pseudonyms

Jan Eißfeldt is also known as Eisfeldt65, Jan Delay (his reggae name), Boba Ffett (his Style-Liga name) and Eizi Eiz (originally a character – a pretentious young rapper – in a duet with D-Flame, now his current stage name)

Denyo is also known as Denyo77, Denyo Deutschland and, simply, Dennis.

Discography

• 1993: Song K.E.I.N.E. on the sampler Kill The Nation With A Groove (LP/CD, Buback Tonträger)
• 1993: Gotting (EP/EPCD, Buback)
• 1995: Die Kritik an den Platten kann die Platte der Kritik nicht ersetzen (12"/SingleCD, Buback)
• 1996: Natural Born Chillas (12"/SingleCD, Buback)
• 1996: Flashnizm [Stylopath] (LP/CD, Buback)
• 1998: Rock On (12"/SingleCD, Buback/Universal Records)
• 1998: Bambule (LP/CD, Buback/Universal)
• 1998: Liebes Lied (12"/SingleCD, Buback/Universal)
• 1999: Hammerhart (12"/SingleCD, Buback/Universal)
• 1999: Füxe/K2 (12"/SingleCD, Buback/Universal)
• 2000: Boombule - Bambule Remixed (RMX LP/CD, Buback/Motor)
• 2003: Blast Action Heroes (LP/CD, Buback/Motor)
• + solo projects and features

External links

The Beginner Homepage (German)