Back 2 Tape: on the trail of hip-hop in Europe

Samy Deluxe, Namika, Moses Pelham, Curse, Duan Wasi, Scotty76 and Roger von Blumentopf were all part of Back to Tape and guided the audience through the beginnings of their careers in a multi-part guest article series on the Porsche Newsroom. The 90-minute documentary about the world's largest urban youth culture celebrated its world premiere in the summer of 2018 in Stuttgart and won numerous international communication awards, including the German Prize for Online Communication (DPOK) and Handelsblatt’s ECON Award.

Back to Tape becomes “Back 2 Tape”

Now hip-hop expert Niko Hüls continues his journey – this time throughout Europe in the Porsche Cayenne S Coupé. He will stop off at major European cities that have been culturally illuminated by the four central elements of hip-hop: rap, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti. The result, Back 2 Tape will receive its premiere in Hamburg on 16 April 2020. Porsche Newsroom met protagonist Niko Hüls for an interview. You can read about the first details of the renewed cooperation between the music journalist and sports car manufacturer.

Niko, Back to Tape now becomes "Back 2 Tape". How did the revival of the collaboration between Backspin and Porsche come about?

Back to Tape is definitely one of my favourite projects I’ve done so far. My road trip through Germany discovering the country’s hip-hop roots was very special because it was different from everything I've done before. The focus was on neither concerts nor new albums, but people and their stories: their past, as well as their view of hip-hop. By the time we had the successful Back to Tape premiere, it was clear that our journey was not over. So we decided to hit the road again to open the next chapter of hip-hop history.

Can you tell us where this latest road trip has taken you?

I would like to keep the tension up a bit longer and not give all the details about it yet. But I've been on the road in Spain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Great Britain. If you follow us on social media, you will see one or two clues as to where we went.

Which artists were part of your journey?

Over the coming weeks we will introduce all of Back 2 Tape’s protagonists until the premiere in Hamburg on social media, here on Porsche Newsroom and on Backspin.de. In total, I met 15 international artists. It makes me proud that they all understood our message and wanted to be part of this adventure.

What is that message exactly?

Hip-hop has the power to connect people - regardless of country or origin - and to convey values. That is also the reason why we focused even more on the relationship between the artists, their respective cities and beyond in Back 2 Tape. How has graffiti influenced individual neighborhoods? What values does hip-hop convey in Europe and how are borders playfully overcome despite different disciplines and language barriers? What influence does language have on an entire genre? And what role does youth culture play in the development of metropolises in Europe? At the same time, we whet the appetite to discover the urban cultures of each city and to move off the beaten tourist tracks in Europe.