Hip Hop, Self-organisation, Social Struggles and Solidarity Between Greece and Germany

[Music video by In.Flammen in support of the anti-militarist camp “War Starts Here”. The camp resists Europe’s most advanced military training centre, located in Germany.]

IN.FLAMMEN is building a political Hip Hop network between Greece and Germany. As a group, IN.FLAMMEN emphasises self-organisation, social struggles and solidarity, while reinforcing their fight against capitalism and its oppressive mechanisms through the use of Hip Hop culture: “We love Hip Hop culture, but for us, Hip Hop is also a weapon for the fight against the misery of everyday life. It is a way, that brings us together beyond national borders and languages.”

As a radical online blog and collective that  embraces self-organisation and supports the strengthening of such networks, Interregnum decided to give a platform to this initiative.  We believe that a politicised, vibrant D.I.Y  scene can foster a resilient, creative and radical imaginary in cities. This post therefore complements the steadily-increasing variety of initiatives that combine culture and radical politics in Glasgow.

The following statement comes directly from the facebook page of IN.FLAMMEN:

“We will meet each other to share, to discuss our ways of fighting, to agree and disagree, to learn from each other, to exchange ideas. Our goal is to work together more closely to organize our resistance in a better way. This will also make us stronger as a community because we will create a collective knowledge. We will exchange our experiences in a creative way and build relationships on solidarity and mutual respect.

We want to strengthen the D.I.Y. hip hop movement because we think that revolutionary music cannot work within a music industry that is based on capitalist structures. One way or another, the day will come when we have to decide where we want to go. So let us decide now! Our first steps have been events that include concerts with political rap artists from Greece and Germany as well as talks and discussions with collectives and activists.

We focus on issues in which we can find a common ground and which bother us in our everyday lifes. The events have taken place in the German cities Berlin, Magdeburg, Bremen, Hamburg and Leipzig as well as in Athens. However, we are open to anyone who would like to organize such an event in another city (or country). We are starting with Greece and Germany because of the connections we already have. However, those connections have not come up accidentely. They have emerged from anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian struggles as well as from the need of self-organizing and revolutionary hip hop in both of the countries. Our plan is to open our network to other places in future.”

Interregnum is planning to organise a concert and bring members of IN.FLAMMEN in our city, along with other political rap artists from Scotland and the rest of the U.K, Greece and Germany. Watch this space!

Feature photo Credits:  In.Flammen, vol. (4), 14/10/2017. Steki arhitektonikis,
Athens, Papoutsadiko squat.
Contact: in.flammen@riseup.net