Freundeskreis were primarily known for their political lyrics, in which they advocate equality and international understanding. After the much-noticed first album, Quadratur des Kreises , and its hit single "A-N-N-A" which peaked at #6 in the German charts, the band released its second album, Esperanto, named after the constructed language Esperanto. The reasoning for the name was that the group wished to show that they believe that hip hop should be the Esperanto of youth. In 1999 and 2000, the band was back in the charts with the singles "Mit Dir" and "Tabula Rasa Pt. II". For the soundtrack of the film 23, Freundeskreis covered the song "Halt dich an deiner Liebe fest" written by Rio Reiser, voicing it on Lee "Scratch" Perry'spolice & thieves riddim. Freundeskreis was one of the first bands to take part in the Kolchose, a group of hip hop artists from Stuttgart. In 2001, the band took a break for the members to pursue solo careers, the most active being Herre, who has released a solo album and works as producer for his wife. A Freundeskreis greatest hits album was released in July 2007 under the title FK10. After announcing their breakup in summer 2007, Freundeskreis gave their last concert in Stuttgart on 19 September 2007.
Conscious lyrics
Freundeskreis have been considered as a conscious hip-hop artist as their lyrics have educational themes. The song "Leg Dein Ohr Auf Die Schiene Der Geschichte" asks listeners to look beyond what they were taught in history lessons and learn the real lessons of history. Excerpts from "Leg Dein Ohr Auf Die Schiene Der Geschichte"" Rough translation: The rest of the song takes into account other historical events important to his year of birth, as well as other events throughout his childhood which are often overlooked. The chorus implores,
FK Allstars
FK Allstars was a collaboration of several hip hop, soul, and reggae artists, including Max Herre, Sekou Neblett, Afrob, Brooke Russell, Joy Denalane and Gentleman. Despite the FK Allstars band having its roots in hip hop, there are elements of reggae, soul, funk and jazzblended in.
