How to start rapping in Munich
So! You're a talented fresh-faced MC and you want to rap in Munich?
You have whimsy, charisma and spirit but don't know where to start?
Let this page guide you through your first steps.
This page won't
Get you a bazillion streams on Spotify
Turn you into a rockstar overnight
Teach you how to rap
This page will
Show you what stages to play at & how to apply to them
Give you pages to follow
Help you meet some really cool people
Types of stages
1) Open Stages
Anyone can perform (either advanced sign up, or show up on the day)
Low Barrier of entry, depending on the stage performance slots might not be guaranteed.
Examples: Lost Weekend (Monday evenings)
Indie Munich has generously provided a list of Open Stages in Munich - check it out!
Open Stages are great places to test new material and meet other musicians - who can introduce you to other events (remember: in the underground, a lot of news spreads through word of mouth) and provide collaboration opportunities.
Lost Weekend is especially interesting because it offers an accessible way for rappers to play with a live band (simply rizz up some local musicians and show them your beats). To perform, simply put your name in the bucket - the first 20 names drawn get to play! (If you didn't make it in a particular week, DM them about it and they'll try to get you a slot in the next one).
Lost weekend also books acts for events sometimes... if you put on an extra special performance, it might be worth sending them an email afterwards.
Tip: Get to know musicians outside your genre. You never know when that guitar solo/R&B Hook/Brass Stab will bring your new song to the next level.
We're sorting all the different stages in Munich into three categories -
2) Semi-Open Stages
Because Freestyling/Open Mics are ingrained in Hip-Hop culture, many rap events with booked acts will start or end with an open mic event - either a DJ will play some beats and local MCs will pass the mic around, or rappers can pass their own beats to the DJ and perform a few tracks.
Example: Peace Camp (The last Friday of most months, hosted by Bushbayer) usually starts (and sometimes ends) with the DJ playing beats for anyone to rap over.
Semi-Open Stages are a great chance to show your skills to other musicians and especially the host - show up, slaughter the open mic (but don't be a mic hog!) and then strike up a conversation with the host vis-a-vis you getting a booked slot at the gig.
Many of the smaller Semi-Open stages in Munich run on a very tight budget.
Hence, it's very difficult for them to justify booking artists that don't draw a crowd. I've talked to venues that shut down events because they weren't regularly pulling enough people.
If you can get about 10 people to come to a gig, that's generally enough to regularly get booked at Semi-Open Stages in Munich. You can start with your local friends, family members (thank you for your support, dad) and musicians you meet at other open mics.
Generally speaking, getting around 10 people to come to your gigs is looked upon favourably.
A core tenent: be social
Having 2-3 well-connected friends in the local scene will do more for you
than this website ever could. Talk to people at events, engage with their music,
support musicians you enjoy.
New events are springing up every week, and a lot of the most current information spreads through word of mouth or in group chats.
3) Booked Shows
These are events where the complete lineup is booked - sometimes months - in advance.
Your newcomer contests, bar gigs and town festivals typically fall under this category.
Newcomer contests sometimes offer additional opportunities for artist development - eg. Feierwerks Running for the Best contest offers free workshops for its participants.
Because there isn't an open-mic section to impress the host, your online presence is way more important for getting gigs like these.
You should have:
1) Songs on streaming services
2) An active insta page
3) Ideally a web page!
4) Concert Footage
5) A Press Kit with Photos & an introductory text
6) An artist email account
From there, it's all about finding events and sending applications - expect lots of rejections at first, but the yeses you do get can often lead to more opportunities.
Feierwerks info pool has an extensive (if partially outdated) list of Festivals around Germany.
And there you have it! Get out there and share your music with the world.
Specific Organisers/Events We recommend
So we've covered Lost Weekends Monday Open Stage,
Peace Camp and Running for the Best
Some other cool events:
DJs are playing at the Trambar in Bahnwärter Thiel every thursday. Once a week they have a large Beatmaker Session where lots of local MCs show up as well - a great chance to meet people, show off your freestyle skills, or play your own beats (DM them to apply for a slot!)
Format: Open Stage (Rapping) Booked Show (Beatmakers)
Lea-Won organizes a really fun event called Rap-Text Roulette -
You put your lyrics in a bucket, someone else reads them to the crowd, and then you perform them! The Event puts a special emphasis on lyricism and the connection with the audience feels very personal.
Format: Semi-Open Stage (Cypher at the start and end, if you want to be part of the Roulette you should DM Lea-Won in advance).
I've been at several Bless the Mic shows (Hosted by Munich Slam) at the Glockenbachwerkstatt, and it's always a blast.
Bless the Mic is mainly a Poetry contest, but they book one rapper for each show to perform songs to bring up the energy level between poetry acts.
Some of the poetry I heard there was amazing!
Rappers are also compensated quite well as far as smaller music events go
(Last I checked they pay 130 bucks for an evening).
Format: Booked, DM/Email Munich Slam to apply
