Where does Moses fit into this? The right answer would be: Somewhere in between, doing his part to alter that perception without betraying the fundamentals of his genre. The man who has played a leading role in establishing an unpolished, very direct language in the genre, has lyrically developed over the years, from a more confrontational attitude towards an emotional, even fragile poetic language. “I started rapping when I was 16 years old,” Moses explains. “I think I didn’t see the artistic value of it in the beginning, I just wanted to express myself and it was about getting attention and thumping the table. But that has changed over time.”
Today, Moses is closing in on half a decade on this planet (“I’m deep in the second half,” he laughs). Then, after quoting Goethe to us (another Frankfurt writer), he describes how much a poem by Al-Ma’arri, a blind Arabian poet, has touched him. In “I no longer steal from Nature”, Al-Ma’arri describes his vegan way of life (only that there wasn’t a word for it back then).
“For injustice is the worst of crimes,” Moses cites the writer, born in the year 973 near Aleppo. “That hit home for me. I was so touched and it was all so obvious. Injustice is one of the main drivers in my work,” Moses explains. “When you always think you’re being treated unfairly, you’re either very into the idea of justice or you’re taking yourself too seriously. In my case, it’s probably both,” he laughs and goes on: “But at the end of the day, I’m not okay with things that are unfair. That starts in my music and transcends into other aspects of my life. If you’re treating me unfairly, I’ll react accordingly. Same goes for treating others unfairly. I’m not having it.”