New Netflix production highlights Germany’s Kurdish hip-hop scene and identity
Rosa Burç, a Ph.D. researcher at the Center on Social Movement Studies (COSMOS) at Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, Italy, said there had been a recent rise in Kurdish rappers in Germany who explicitly identify as Kurds.
“It is very interesting that these artists identify as Kurdish, but I never saw a very specific regional focus,” Burç told Kurdistan 24.
Most of these Kurdish stars are from different parts of the Greater Kurdistan, but “represent a unified Kurdish identity,” she said, “and they have become quite significant figures in the rap scene.”
Burç said the success of Kurdish rap artists has led to a greater acceptance of Kurdish identity.
“For instance, Azad has become very successful and is a landmark in the whole hip-hop scene, and he clearly identifies as Kurdish.”
Moreover, she added that this is the first time a Kurdish female director living in the diaspora has produced a series for Netflix, where the Kurdish diaspora identity in Germany is the focal point.
“It’s something unique. This is the first Netflix production where we can see the reality and the Kurdish identity that has been systematically neglected in art and poetry,” Burç told Kurdistan 24.
She reminded that the Kurdish language has often been banned or neglected in some places, such as Turkey.
“You can see that Kurdish actors in the series use their Kurmanji mother tongue to communicate. This is very unique. There is no other Netflix production that promotes Kurdish in such a way.”
As a result of this production, the Kurds who have often been marginalized in Germany have been given a voice in a big production such as Netflix, Burç added.
“Soleen Yusef has done a great job [with] the representation of the Kurdish society.”
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany