This thesis examines how contemporary German rappers of color offer decolonial critiques of definitions of nation, the cultural canon and German identity. Finding the traditional definitions insufficient for their multiracial, multiethnic and multinational identities, they propose more inclusive definitions of nation, canon and Germanness. Despite being marginalized, these rappers claim aspects of a Germany that resists them, and carve out a place in the national narrative. This movement from marginalization to speaking for the nation is the unique turn the subaltern in German hip-hop makes. The study analyzes songs, music videos and interviews with Samy Deluxe, Eko Fresh and Blumio to show how they use three distinct strategies — contesting constructions of canon and national identity through verse, practicing decolonial and sarcastic love and mapping hyperlocality — to accomplish the aims of critiquing and offering new definitions. With these strategies the rappers demonstrate that hip-hop not only is a poetic force that gives voice to Germans of color, but also has a place as an art form in canonical German culture. Hip-hop in Germany does the singular work of giving voice to Germans of color and elevates these voices to places of cultural authority.
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