“We are the new Germany“: that is what the successful rapper Bushido says about Germans with a migration background. The German-Tunisian, born in Bonn and raised in Berlin, addresses his call for respectful co-existence to his fans, politicians and the public alike. He makes a valuable contribution to the mutual understanding of social groups with different cultural roots. The Bambi 2011 in the Integration category goes to Bushido.

The jury’s reasons: “He is the most successful rap artist in Germany as well as an outstanding example of successful integration: Bushido, the son of a German mother and a Tunisian father, grew up in a tough social environment and managed to make it to the very top. He has conquered the charts with his insistent rap music and often provocative lyrics. His CDs have won various national and international awards. Bushido has become an interlocutor and adviser for politicians. His voice is heard by not only millions of fans but in the media, too. A welcome guest on chat shows and interviewee, he proclaims the self-image of many Germans with a migration background: ‘It doesn’t matter where our fathers come from, we are German’. Bushido is anti violence and pro respectful co-existence in a multicultural society.”

Bushido, born Anis Mohamed Youssef Ferchichi in 1978, grew up in Berlin-Tempelhof the son of a Tunisian father and a German mother. His parents separated early on. He attended secondary school, doing an advanced course in German, but left school before completing his studies. As a teenager he fell foul of the law: when a court gave him the choice of training to be a painter or serving a sentence in youth custody he opted for the former. In 2000 he brought out his first rap record and afterwards adopted the stage-name “Bushido”, which “means the way of the warrior” in Japanese. In 2004 he set up his own production company ersguterjunge. In 2007 he promoted the “Don’t look the other way” campaign against violence in German schools.

For more information see the Press release on Burda.de.
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