Since the age of five or six when my dad started making me mix CDs for my portable CD player, I have been passionate about music. I am constantly reading blogs about music, listening to podcasts about music, and talking about music to my friends and family. While I tend to be drawn to the pop-punk and post-hardcore genre, a vastly different genre is one that had a very strong influence on my life and has arguably helped shape who I am and what my life goals are today.
I discovered the German Rap genre in my Freshman year of high school, the first year I began studying the language. It sounded similar to English rap but was somehow so much cooler because it was in my target language. Through listening to various artists in the genre, I quickly developed a vast vocabulary, learned slang terms that teachers would never have taught me, and even connected to a couple (now lifelong) friends with whom I shared my discovery.
Since I discovered the German rap scene, I have been obsessed with finding new artists and discovering their different styles. The first artist I heard is a man that goes by the stage name Cro. What is interesting about this artist is that he performs wearing a panda mask and only posts on social media while wearing the mask.
The identity of Cro is unknown, which is something I find very interesting. He is a very popular musical artist, yet he can go grocery shopping or out in public without being recognized. There is a running “Ich bin Cro” joke among his fans, meaning that many people claim to be the unmasked rapper (“I am Cro”).
One of my favorite songs from Cro off of his third studio album is called “Noch da”, but my absolute favorite song from him is called “Meine Gang” off of his second album but it is very explicit so watch at your own risk.
Through listening to Cro as well as many other artists, I discovered my passion for foreign language, namely German. I have planned much of my life around that passion as far as my hopes, dreams, and future career. I hope to one day be able to meet Cro and explain to him how his music helped me to discover my passion.
Laura The Explora 