… Read Full Bio ↴Ruhrpott AG (RAG) was a German hip hop group formed 1996 in Bochum.
RAG first found recognition in the German hip hop scene in 1998, with the album Unter Tage. The second and final album Pottential followed in 2001. RAG's music was characterised by profound, poetical lyrics containing numerous similes, and by relatively restrained, often heavy and melancholic beats.
Ruhrpott is local slang for the heavily industrialised Ruhr Area of northwest Germany, and the abbreviation AG (Aktiengesellschaft) is equivalent to "plc".
Formation
RAG arose from two earlier (and still active) hip hop collectives in the Ruhr Area: Filo Joes (with the two MCs Pahel and Galla) and Raid (MC Aphroe and DJ Mr. Wiz). Mr. Wiz is from Oberhausen, rather than directly from Bochum, and Aphroe is originally from Herne. Both groups have been active in the hip hop scene since the early 1990s.
Raid and Filo Joes encountered each other at jams and other events – they discovered they were linked by a similar mentality, and decided to make music together under the name "Ruhrpott AG". One of their earliest recordings (although not actually released until it appeared on their second album) was the original version of Tief im Westen: a stream of emotions, associations, similes and metaphors concerning the band's native region, the "Ruhrpott", painting a multi-layered and often contradictory but nevertheless affectionate picture.
After two albums the members of RAG went their separate ways in 2003. Pahel and Galla released solo albums on different labels (entitled Natur des Menschen and Swing Kid respectively), while Aphroe, who has stated on his MySpace that there will not be a third RAG album, is also pursuing a solo career. His first solo album 90 was released in 2012.
Galla died in 2011 at the age of 38 after suffering from cerebral infarction.
Lyrics and music
RAG's lyrics and beats, particularly on Unter Tage, conveyed a fairly heavy and melancholic mood, with the band members expressing their feelings about their lives in the Ruhr Area. Their complex use of language, dense with imagery, excurred at times into fantasy. They frequently used metaphors, often relating to their self-knowledge and also their place in the world, for example in the hip hop industry. The second album, Pottential, expanded their range from the early heavy, dreamlike style towards a harder-edged, more concrete lyrical approach in which the storytelling was not always shrouded in indirect imagery.
Examples of this are Nackte Stadt and Pro & Contra (both from the second album). Nackte Stadt is a collage of thoughts and feelings from various city-dwellers, who are all connected by a web of relationships that none of them can see in full. Pro & Contra, another song with a noticeably harder sound than Unter Tage, is a wordplay which builds sentences through the association of words beginning with the syllables pro and kon.
Former members
Galla
Aphroe
Pahel
Mr. Wiz
Fallen
RAG Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stain in your face, air in your vein, another empty place. now them all feels the same.
You got me on your back, this time is for real. got you on the rack.
Show no mercy, feel the fist of pain. i'll give you tragedy. now them all feels the same.
Every step i take turn out to be another mistake.
I deserve a reward for all of this.
My fallen rage
My fallen rage
Falls over you before i'll kill you too.
Suffer more suffer, that's not enough. bleed for me sucker.
Try to judge me now, cry out it loud. you're dead anyhow,
Face your end so calm and proud.
Every step i take turn out to be another mistake.
I deserve a reward for all of this.
My fallen rage
Falls over you for all the things you do.
My fallen rage
Falls over you before i'll kill you too.
My fallen rage
Falls over you for all the things you do.
My fallen rage
Falls over you before i'll kill you too.
The lyrics to RAG's song "Fallen" depict a person's intense anger and bitterness towards someone who has caused them pain and frustration. The first verse describes the subject as a "thorn in the flesh" and "pain in the ass," which suggests that this person is constantly causing problems and irritation. The second half of the verse describes the subject's impact as a "stain in your face" and "air in your vein," which implies that this person is toxic and draining. The chorus expresses the singer's intense desire for revenge, as they repeat the phrase "my fallen rage falls over you" multiple times, emphasizing their need to make the subject suffer for the pain they have caused.
The second verse continues this theme of revenge and punishment, with the singer urging the subject to "bleed for me sucker" and declaring that they are already "dead anyhow." The final lines of the verse suggest that the singer is taking a sadistic pleasure in watching the subject face their own mortality: "face your end so calm and proud." The repeating phrase "every step I take turns out to be another mistake" suggests that the singer may be consumed by their own anger and destructive impulses.
Overall, the lyrics to "Fallen" paint a picture of intense anger and bitterness towards someone who has caused the singer pain, frustration, and irritation. The singer desires revenge and punishment, and takes pleasure in the suffering of the subject.
Line by Line Meaning
Thorn in a flesh, pain in your ass. more is your less.
You are facing difficulties that cause pain and trouble, and the more you try to get things done, the harder it becomes.
Stain in your face, air in your vein, another empty place. now them all feels the same.
You feel empty and unfulfilled, as though something is missing from your life, and you can't escape the feeling.
You got me on your back, this time is for real. got you on the rack.
You have become a burden to someone, and they are determined to make you pay for it by entrapping and punishing you.
Show no mercy, feel the fist of pain. i'll give you tragedy. now them all feels the same.
The person causing you harm is merciless and enjoys inflicting pain, and as a result, all situations start to seem equally tragic and hopeless.
Every step i take turn out to be another mistake.
No matter what you do, you seem to make things worse, turning each action into an error.
I deserve a reward for all of this.
Despite experiencing so much pain and hardship, you believe that you deserve recompense.
My fallen rage
Falls over you for all the things you do.
The anger and frustration you feel start to consume you, causing your rage to surge and overtake everything around you, especially the person responsible for your suffering.
Suffer more suffer, that's not enough. bleed for me sucker.
The person causing harm is not satisfied with what they have done so far and wants to cause even more pain, demanding even more suffering from you.
Try to judge me now, cry out it loud. you're dead anyhow,
You challenge your oppressor to face judgement for their actions, knowing that they will ultimately face the consequences of their choices.
Face your end so calm and proud.
Even when faced with a difficult or tragic end, you choose to face it with dignity and pride, refusing to give up or give in.
My fallen rage
Falls over you before i'll kill you too.
Your anger and frustration threaten to consume and destroy not only your oppressor but also yourself.
Contributed by Lauren L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@blaisemanfredi5035
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