“NDW 2005”
Instrumentalized by AfD: Rapper Fler wants to “never play live again”
Rapper Fler at a concert in 2009
© BRIGANI-ART / Imago Images
The song “NDW 2005” by rapper Fler caused irritation when it was released 18 years ago. Now the AfD quotes from it – the rapper defends himself and wants to draw personal conclusions.
In 2005, rapper Fler achieved his greatest chart success to date: his song “NDW 2005” made it into the German top ten. “NDW” stands for “New German Wave”. On the beat of Falco’s huge hit “Rock Me Amadeus”, Fler raps, among other things: “The national anthem is coming today with drums and bass.” Now his song has also found fans that the 41-year-old is not at all enthusiastic about.
The AfD faction in Wuppertal quoted from the piece on Twitter: “This is black, red and gold – hard and proud.” Fler, whose real name is Patrick Losenský, did not like this appropriation of his line at all. The rapper immediately announced personal consequences: “Never play the song live again from now on,” he promised on his Twitter account.
Fler defends himself against AfD
There are “simply too many weirdos outside of the ‘subculture hip-hop’ who use my text for their nonsense,” complained the musician. He also indicated that he now regrets having published the now 18-year-old piece at all. “I wish I hadn’t done that song,” he tweeted.
Already after the release of the song and his debut album “Neue Deutsche Welle” Fler had seen himself exposed to criticism. At the time, Fler advertised the album with the slogan “On May 1st, we’ll be shot back”. He was accused of spreading nationalist slogans in his texts. However, Fler himself had always vehemently distanced himself from right-wing ideas in his statements.
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The AfD had quoted his line on the occasion of the so-called “pride month” that the party is propagating – alluding to the “Pride Month” in June, which is intended to draw attention to the situation in the LGBTQ+ community. In another tweet, Fler announced that he wanted to take legal action against the AfD.
Other musicians have also complained about the AfD’s instrumentalization of their songs. Pop star Max Giesinger sued the party for playing his hit “80 million” at events. Most recently, the band Böhse Onkelz – apparently with the help of lawyers – resisted AfD politician Björn Höcke performing one of their songs.
Sources: Fler on Twitter / AfD Wuppertal on Twitter
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