Hip-hop veteran Splash!: “Rap is often still sexist”

Ron Schindler has been with Splash for 26 years! And hey, a lot has changed. There's less sexism, an awareness team, and more money.

The main stage of Germany's biggest hip-hop festival! on the Ferropolis peninsula in Saxony-Anhalt Photo by: ARD

taz: Ron, first splash! took place in Chemnitz in 1998. At a time when neo-Nazis were a big problem there and also attacking cultural workers. How did the festival survive with so many non-white artists back then?

Ron Schindler: At that time we were a small hip-hop scene in Chemnitz and we were connected all over Germany. The idea of ​​doing a festival came about quite organically and we were quite naive about it. Nobody thought about the fact that there could be headwinds from the right. Although neo-Nazis were present in the city, they repeatedly attacked youth clubs. And if you dressed like us, with baggy trousers and a cap, you were automatically their enemy. Back then I also had to run away from the neo-Nazis, just because of my clothes. Splash! But as far as I can remember, there were no problems.

How were you involved back then?

I was never really part of the organisation. But in Chemnitz we were a small group. Everyone knew everyone and was automatically there. So I also had a radio in my hand and had to deal with problems at the festival. In the first few years I also worked as a press spokesperson. Over time Splash! became more professional, I took better care of my record label, but we still sat in the same office as Splash!. Of course I noticed everything.

And how is it today?

Today I'm closer to it again, inviting people from our network to the splash! continue to establish itself as a hip-hop center where people in the scene can exchange ideas.

The documentary on the 25-year history of the festival, for which you conducted numerous interviews, is very personal. There are critical voices, but in the end everyone can trust the splash. Some. To what extent was a neutral view possible even though you were always involved in some way?

Of course we have a certain proximity to the festival. Also the documentary producer René Kästner, who for many years directed the graffiti competition Write4Gold at Splash! designed it. But we are objective enough to understand that not everything that happened there was great. That is why there are also critical tones. We wanted to start a discussion. To compensate for our proximity, editorial sovereignty also fell to MDR, ARD Kultur and rbb Fritz.

Rapper Gzuz appeared on the show! transgressor and subsequently prosecuted for it with a penalty order. In 2019 there were problems with right-wing security employees. This is also part of the Splash! story, but it doesn't happen in the documentary. Because?

We did not consciously leave this aside. We worked a lot with existing video material. It was important to be able to illustrate everything. I know that there was an incident with Gzuz. He was then kicked out of the festival and was not hired again for the next few years. There was also a lot of criticism, rightly so, about the right-wing security. Since then, a large awareness-raising team has been set up at the festival, also to report assaults or negative attitudes by security personnel.

For a long time, as also discussed in the documentary, there were hardly any women in the splash! in. Things have changed since a few years ago. Because right now?

Rap was and still is sometimes very sexist. As a result, for a long time there were few role models for women in the scene. That has changed significantly in recent years. Female rappers have played memorable concerts at Splash!. Shirin David, for example, plays a pioneering role.

Which way?

She showed young women that it was possible to assert themselves in this male-dominated society and especially in the rap scene.

A scene in the documentary shows angry people in the audience throwing objects at Sido in 2005. The accusation at the time: commercialism. Today rappers sell vaporizers and frozen pizza. How hip hop has arrived and with it the splash! change?

At first, hip hop in Germany was just a small niche of pop culture. In the early 2000s, the first boom and splash of German rap took place! Of course, it was profitable. Rap ​​is now one of the most successful music genres in the world, which has led to enormous commercialisation. The fact that there are rappers who sell pizzas also reflects what is now possible. The splash! has seen itself in all this time as an indicator of what is happening in the scene and what is being advertised.

Many artists talk about their biggest moments at Splash! What have been your most memorable performances over the years?

First of all, Jay-Z's performance in 2008. It is no longer possible to imagine an artist of this magnitude appearing today. He is financially unattainable. Back then, US rappers who were signed often just didn't show up. Watching him play was a great moment. The second moment was in 1999. When the festival ended, the people who were still there gathered and freestyled. We turned on the music, it was super dark. There was something anarchic about it. Just random people get on stage and do their thing, it wasn't planned at all. This would have been unimaginable at a major rock festival.

Meanwhile, Splash! is a major commercial event. Do these anarchic moments still exist?

In smaller settings, unexpected things happen. And of course, at the campsite, there are many anarchic moments that you cannot influence at all.

Or the Viennese rapper Money Boy, who, completely drunk, goes on the main stage with the group Die Orsons and spills juice to destroy the monitor speakers.

It is true that this is a moment that is talked about a lot. I don't know if something like this would be possible at other festivals. Anyway, Money Boy was kicked out of the venue.

The sister festival Melt will be held for the last time this summer. Probably also because the indie bands that were once influential for Melt no longer play an important role. It could also be the splash! Perish due to musical development?

We also ask ourselves this question in the documentary. What can rap be today? The trend towards electronic music took place 15 years ago. That is why in the coming years it will not all sound like techno, but other trends will be incorporated into the genre. The strength of rap is that it can be used in any style of music. The splash! is also a place for the younger generations, so it stays in tune with the times and is therefore able to survive.