by “Old School G” Greg Schick

If you are even marginally familiar with German hip hop, then you’ve probably heard Hawkeye and didn’t know it. He’s been producing for some big names in Germany since the mid-90s. Check the resume: Curse, Ferris MC, Spax, Stress & Trauma, ItaloReno. And more recently he’s done work with Grand Agent and Canibus. Definietly not a lightweight.

My first encounter with Hawkeye was through Curse’s Widerstand EP where he did two of the three tracks. Of course, I didn’t really know him until recently when he bought some records off my site.

He started off as a b-boy and developed into a producer, but his talents run wide: DJ, radio personality and print journalist (including Wax Poetics).

Since age nine, Hawkeye has immersed himself in Germany’s hip hop culture. He’s been a participant in nearly every facet starting with b-boying and a short stint writing graf.

But Hawkeye aspired to make music, and in 1989, at age 15, he started making pause tapes and formed his band Walking Endustries. By age 20, he was the resident DJ at club Das Fish in Hannover. In the years since then, he has toured all over Germany - Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Cologne, Munich - continuing to DJ shows. In 1995, he opened his own recording studio (not bad for age 21), and releases Walking Endustries first vinyl in 1997.

Not content to just spin the music, Hawkeye wrote about hip hop for Intro Musik Magazine from 1994 to 1997. Continuing to hone his journalistic talents, he and partner Demar hosted a local (Hannover) radio show in the late 90s called “Da Flava”. (Demar actually still runs the show on Wednesday’s 4 PM ET, see www.radio-flora.de, MP3 stream under: http://212.48.125.69:8760/listen.pls). Hawkeye transitioned into television in 2001 with the hip hop show “Supreme” and then in 2002 with “Mixery Raw Deluxe”. He continues to write a monthly column for the German hip hop magazine Juice, as well as make contributions to music magazines such as Wax Poetics (USA), Jazzthing (Germany), Lodown (Germany), Backspin (Germany), Word (Switzerland and The Message (Austria).

Since 1997, he has never stopped making his own music, for himself or for a who’s who of German hip hop. His production credits include German heavyweights such as Curse, Ferris MC, Spax, Flowin’ Immo as well as some recent production for American artists Canibus and Grand Agent.

His latest project is bringing “Mixery Raw Deluxe” to the Internet with music videos, interviews and lots of information on German hip hop and hip hop culture. Check out mad flavor at www.mixeryrawdeluxe.tv.

How did you get into hip hop? What attracted you to it?

I was born into a family that didn’t listen to German radio. We heard BFBS (British Forces Broadcast System), the station for the British soldiers in northern Germany. Additionally, my brother is 13 years older than me and he listened to all the disco and funk stuff that was around in the 70s. So at the end of the 70s, when Sugarhill Gang became big, it also became big in Europe. I was 5 years old then, and I remember hearing it, and also “Rap-O Clap-O” (by Joe Bataan, Salsoul Records (Brazil), 1980). That track was only big in Europe, but the mixture of disco and rap stick in my brain.

Then came Grandmaster Flash around 1983. When I was 9, I started breaking because I wanted to move like Mr. Robot. He was a dancer from New York and is only known by the old school b-boys in Germany because a German youth magazine called Bravo made him big by putting him on the cover. They even made a motion picture with him (Break Dance Sensation ‘84 aka Dance Music, directed by Vittorio De Sisti, 1984). He was a nice electric boogie dancer and I wanted to dance like him. Downrocking was never my thing, I was more into toprocking. From that, I grew into the whole culture.

After 1986 came a huge gap media-wise because, for them, the hype was over and they turned to something else. But some kids like myself, we couldn’t stop. I guess I had no choice. It chose me, not the other way around.

What has been your favorite project you have worked on?

The stuff I’m doing right now and the stuff I’ll do for the next 30 years. Right now I’m finishing the first 7″ of my funk band Imperial Breed. The tracks will be called “On The Run” and “Horny Pipin’ Bats”. I hated live recordings when I was totally into sample-based productions. My problem was that every time I heard a newly recorded instrument, it sounded too clean, it was not warm. But then I read an article from Gabriel Roth of Desco, Daptone Sharon Jones fame, in a British magazine called Big Daddy. There he wrote an article called “How to Record a Funk 45″ and he gave the most fantastic advice that I ever read about recording. Since then, I have a totally new approach when it comes to live recordings. It is no problem to let your instruments sound like old fucked up samples, you just have to throw away anything that you have learned from the music instrument industry. The 7″ will be released on DJ Olskis’ Melting Pot Music. Check www.mpmsite.com. I had some previous releases which were sample based, all up tempo and funky breakbeat-like. I’m still doing hip hop productions, too, and those will be released on another label out of New York called Milkcrate Records. That stuff will come in the next 12 months.

Imperial Breed - Horny Pipin Bats

I’m also working as a music journalist and the next big thing will be bringing my old TV show (Mixery Raw Deluxe) the net. It will be under www.mixeryrawdeluxe.tv. We are not online yet, but in the next two months we will launch the site. It will feature a brand new show every week and we already have interviews with people like Premier, Large Pro, Gotan Projekt, Sharon Jones, Lefties Soul Connection, Keb Darge and T-Kid. German, Austrian and Swiss rappers will be featured too and the big dudes like Jay-Z, Kanye West or 50 Cent will also be a part of the show.

What artists would you love to work with?

DJ Too Tuff, Tone Love, Ice Dog and LA Kid from Tuff Crew, Phill Most Chill, Grandmaster Caz, Busy Bee, Rakim, Q-Tip, Jay Z, Jeru, Tim Dog, Ultramagnetic MCs, Nine, Sean Price, Eminem, Big Daddy Kane, Abnorm and the Handroids, Marva Whitney and millions more.

Describe the hip hop scene in Germany for someone who’s never been there.

American people always say that our scene reminds them on their own scene 10 years ago. In Germany, the connection between graffiti, b-boying and the music is still tighter than in the U.S., but it’s dividing more and more, which means it will all be watered down soon.

What upcoming projects can we watch for?

Beside all that I mentioned above, I’m looking for a publisher for a book that I’m planning, I’m planning an 80s new school rap party here in Hamburg and several other projects which are in my head right now.

Discography:

1996 - Walking Endustries - Relaxation II - The Era of Mental Hip Hop
1997 - “Innenseite” (track from Cram Innenseite)
1998 - “No Gimmickz” (track from Spax Privat (Style Fetisch))
1999 - “Bonzenbro$ Superhit” (track from Ferris MC Asimetrie)
2000 - “B-Boyism” (from Spax single “B-Boyism”)
2001 - “Innenseite Tobitob Interpretation” (track from Cram 24H)
2001 - “Ich Rap Nicht Mehr” (track from Curse Von Innen Nach Aussen)
2002 - “Ratschlag” (track from MB1000 Auf Platte)
2002 - “Till The Last Day” (track from RDNAllstars Rockin Da North, Finland)
2002 - “Rock The Place” (track from Battle of the Year 2002)
2003 - “Makee” (track from Miss Kitten Radio Caroline Volume 1)
2003 - “Mingling Goes to Church” and “Who Programmed Us Anyways?” (tracks from Grand Agent Fish Outta Water)
2003 - “W*A*S” and “Seid Froh” (from Curse Widerstand)
2003 - “Ich Rap Nicht Mehr” (from Curse Vom Feinsten)
2003 - “Nur Eine Chance” (track from Spax Engel Und Ratten)
2003 - “W*A*S” (from Italo Reno & Germany Big Minden)
2003 - “Ready 2 Rock Hindi” (from Battle of the Year 2003)
2004 - “Chicken Sphinx” and “Monkey Hustle” (from Battle of the Year 2004)
2005 - “Ich Wüßte Gerne feat. Curse & ItaloReno” (from Stress & Trauma Big Minden II)
2005 - “You Gotta Feed Da Funk” (from Battle of the Year 2005)

Artist and Label Web Sites:

Premium Blend - www.premium-blend.de
Hawkeye on MySpace - www.myspace.com/wwwhawkeyedj
Mixery Raw Deluxe - www.mixeryrawdeluxe.tv