Advanced Chemistry to Sookee: 30ish years of German rap

Founded in Heidelberg in 1987 - and celebrating a rounder anniversary year - Advanced Chemistry interrogated the notion of homogeneous German identity over old-school beats. With ancestral roots in Haiti, Ghana and Italy, the trio challenged the post-reunification right with the 1992 single "Fremd in Eigenem Land" (Stranger in One's Own Country): "Not an immigrant / and nevertheless a foreigner."

Understanding that four white men had no claim to the experience of excluded populations, Die Fantastischen Vier - not, members swear, named after Marvel's mutants - went with goofy. Fanta 4's first recorded song, "Jetzt geht's ab" (Here It Goes), appeared on the 1991 German hip-hop sampler "Krauts With Attitude." Still active, the graying group continues to seek new ways to make its fans laugh.

Continuing the tradition of less-than-earnest hip-hop, the cinematic Fettes Brot (Fat Bread in the direct translation, but also slang for Excellent Hash) filmed a spaghetti Western for the video of its breakthrough 1996 single, "Jein" - of course, the German language has a single word for the phrase "yes and no." After taking a year or so off, the group reformed in late 2012 and the yuks go on.

Fortunately, German hip-hop is not exclusively the domain of irreverent white men, beloved though they may be. Discovered at a 1995 rap competition in the Ruhr area's postindustrial ruins, Tic Tac Toe reached No. 3 on the German charts with their self-titled debut a year later. A representative track was "Ich finde dich Scheisse" (I Think You're Crap).

Gifted with the goofiness of early German acts, Zugezogen Maskulin mixes politics with humor to sometimes jarring effect. In last year's "Ratatat im Bataclan," the duo sought to remind listeners that the 2015 attacks in Paris were an aberration but that such violence has become a reality for children trapped in war zones. The track also features a shout-out to rapper Testo's ex.

If genres have their male monarchs - think Elvis for rock, Michael Jackson for pop - then, set to release his 10th album this fall, Eko Fresh has earned the crown he has given himself. And, what's more, "König von Deutschland" (King of Germany) will feature some of the bigger names from several decades of US hip-hop: Tupac's allied Outlawz, Silkk the Shocker and even ODB's son Young Dirty Bastard.

Sookee has given herself the crown of neither king nor queen in her quest for racial, gender and LGBTQ+ equality. Her music fills dance floors but also works in the headphones of lone listeners isolated by male-dominated heteronormative societies - or music scenes. Sookee and her "Bitches Butches Dykes & Divas" may be the voices who take the legacy of German hip-hop to a more inclusive future.