De fofftig Penns (
Standard German
Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
: ''Die fünfzig Pfennige''; English: ''The Fifty Pennies'') was a German
hip-hop and
electro band. Unusually, their lyrics are exclusively in
Low German
:
:
:
:
:
(70,000)
(30,000)
(8,000)
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 = Germanic
, fam3 = West Germanic
, fam4 = North Sea Germanic
, ancestor = Old Saxon
, ancestor2 = Middle L ...
, a minority
Germanic language
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, North America, Oceania and Southern Africa. The most widely spoken Germanic language, Engli ...
of northern Germany and the eastern Netherlands.
History
De fofftig Penns was founded in 2003, purely for fun, by three schoolfriends from , a district of the port city of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
in north-west Germany. They were Malte Battefeld ("Riemelmeester Malde"), Jakob Köhler ("Kommodige Jaykopp") and Torben Otten ("Plietsche Torbän"). Until near the end of their schooldays, they knew hardly any Low German at all.
They chose the name as a tongue-in-cheek tribute to American rapper
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...
; their first song was a parody of his song "
P.I.M.P.
"P.I.M.P." is a song by American rapper 50 Cent, from his debut studio album '' Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003). The song features production from Mr. Porter of D12 and was mixed by Dr. Dre.
A remixed version of the song, featuring fellow ...
". They were attracted by the idea of performing in a modern musical genre using a dialect most often associated with their grandparents' generation.
Jaykopp has said that their first song was not free of linguistic mistakes, but that after a while they all learned to speak good Low German. His grandmother was delighted that they had learned how to chat with their grandparents in their native tongue. Torbän's grandmother has even attended one of the band's more recent concerts; but left rapidly, because it was too loud. The band broke up after its members graduated from school, but reformed in 2007.
They began to perform live in 2009, as a
supporting act
A opening act, also known as a warm-up act, support act, or supporting act, is an entertainment act (musical, comedic, or otherwise), that performs at a concert before the featured act, or "headliner". Rarely, an opening act may perform again a ...
for other bands in northern Germany. In October 2009, they competed as the representatives for Low German at
Liet International Liet International ( fy, Liet Ynternasjonaal), formerly Liet-Lávlut, is a song contest for musicians who speak any of Europe's regional or minority languages that was held the first time in Friesland in 2002. The goal of the festival is to boost in ...
, a music competition for the regional and minority languages of Europe, where they placed eighth but attracted favourable critical attention.
In early 2010, they began to tour as a
headline act. In August and September 2010, they performed live at seven schools in northern Germany, on the invitation of the . Jaykopp said that the band had to get out of bed at the same time as the schoolkids so that they could carry out
soundcheck
A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...
s at 8 AM - but that when they saw the kids dancing on tables at 10 AM, they knew that the kids were now awake.
The band represented the German
state of Bremen in the
Bundesvision Song Contest 2013
The Bundesvision Song Contest 2013 was the ninth edition of the annual Bundesvision Song Contest musical event. The contest was held on 26 September 2013 at the SAP Arena in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, following Xavas's win in the 2012 contest in ...
with their song "Löppt" (English: "It Works"), where they placed seventh.
For inspiration, they largely rely on songs by better-known musicians; such as ,
Egotronic
Egotronic is a German electropunk band from Berlin formed in 2000. It is well known for its Antideutsch political views.
Band history
After a couple of projects released through self-publishing, Egotronic joined the Hamburg record label Aud ...
,
Mediengruppe Telekommander,
Saalschutz
Saalschutz is a Swiss electropop band from Zurich. The band classifies its style as "techno punk".
Band history
After a split single with Knarf Rellöm, released on Rewika Records in 2003, the first album followed in 2004, released on ZickZa ...
and . Their 2016 song "An de Nordseeküste" is a version of the 1985 song "An der Nordseeküste" by - with
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
in Low German by the original performers.
The band disbanded in late 2018 following a farewell tour.
Awards
* 2012
Heinrich Schmidt Barrien Prize, for services to the Low German language.
* 2013, Hamburger Nachwuchs des Jahres ("Hamburg Newcomers of the Year") - De fofftig Penns.
* 2013HANS – Der Hamburger Musikpreis, Hamburger Song des Jahres ("Hamburg Song of the Year") - De fofftig Penns, "Löppt".
Personnel
* Riemelmeester Malde - rapping, vocals, synthesiser
* Kommodige Jaykopp - drum machine, laptop, rapping, vocals
* Plietsche Torbän - rapping, vocals, megaphone
* Simoin - producer, keyboards, accordion
Partial discography
*2010"Platt" (single, BoingBoingRecords)
*2012"Loops" (single, Random Mode Records)
*2013''Dialektro'' (album, Welcome Home Music)
*2013"Löppt" (single). Charted in Germany for one week at No. 87.
*2014''Een Vun De Fofftig Penns'' (EP, Welcome Home Music)
*2015"Dasha 'n Ding" (single, Welcome Home Music)
*2016"An de Noordseeküste" feat. (single, Welcome Home Music)
[The tune at the beginning is the folk song "]The Wild Rover
"The Wild Rover" (Roud 1173) is a very popular and well-travelled folk song. Many territories have laid claim to have the original version.
History
In 2015 the English Folk Song and Dance periodical "Folk Music Journal" vol 10 No 5 had an artic ...
".
References
External links
* Official website.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fofftig Penns, De
Musical groups established in 2009
German hip hop groups
Participants in the Bundesvision Song Contest
Musicians from Bremen