Rappers cause a sensation Otto's "Friesenjung" storms the charts

It's a minor music sensation: the song "Friesenjung" by Otto Waalkes from 1993 makes it to number one in the singles charts as a sample. A long way to go via social media.

"Am a Frisian boy. I'm a little Frisian boy. And I live behind the dyke."

Otto starts his 1993 album "Die CD - Das Allerbeste" with these lyrics. The title track is based on the melody of Sting's "Englishman in New York".

30 years later, "Friesenjung" makes an astonishing comeback in the official German singles charts. Specifically, that means: number one.

In mid-May, Berlin rapper Ski Aggu posts several videos on the social media platform TikTok. These were the first snippets of his "Friesenjung" dance version, which he had recorded together with his Dutch colleague Joost Klein.

TikTok makes the song popular again

The musician from Berlin-Wilmersdorf, whose real name is August Jean Diederich, publicly asks Waalkes to give him the go-ahead for his cult hit. A short time later, the East Frisian opened an account on TikTok with his well-known "Holladahiti" and the collaboration began.

"It's a common marketing strategy for artists to publish short, catchy snippets of a new song on the TikTok platform in advance. This makes the song popular and encourages fans to interact," explains David Stammer from the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg.

The young users accompany their videos on TikTok, which are usually only a few seconds long and often sketches or dance routines, with songs that they can select from a list.

They cut out a snippet that matches their clip. "Friesenjung" appears in over 23,000 videos so far and is distributed accordingly.

Otto Waalkes: "I feel very flattered"

"I think wine is delicious. I'm not a connoisseur, but I am a gourmet", is one such pithy line from "Friesenjung" that has been shared en masse.

Otto Waalkes, who celebrates his 75th birthday on July 22, is popular with children and young people anyway. Thanks to the viral hit, his success has taken on yet another dimension.

"I feel very flattered, because for me every parody is the most honest form of worship," Waalkes told the German Press Agency. He feels very comfortable on social media. "I can cope with TikTok, I'm not that old after all."

Around 370,000 fans already follow the comedian on the platform. And the trend is rising. "It's a great example of how the target groups of younger and older artists are mixing - because Ski Aggu and Joost Klein are benefiting from Otto's popularity at the same time," says music expert Stammer.

"Party Sahne" became a hit

Ski Aggu, who appears in public with oversized ski goggles and a mullet hairstyle, has been cleverly promoting his party rap on the social platforms Instagram and TikTok for years. The 19-year-old already had a hit last year with "Party Sahne", which made it to number 32 in the charts.

Like Otto, Dutchman Joost Klein is a "Friesenjung" and is also known as a Youtuber in his home country in addition to his music.

The two rappers have definitely struck a chord with young people with their number one hit. The two-and-a-half-minute party song is reminiscent of the Dutch gabber techno of the nineties, with a fast beat and catchy lyrics. The iconic Otto refrain is mechanically altered.

However, this huge success would probably not have happened before the age of TikTok. "Pieces of music are no longer static and are 'just' listened to: users on TikTok and other platforms remix songs, turn them into faster or slower versions and use them to underscore a certain mood or idea," explains Stammer.

"This is an opportunity for artists with well-known songs in their catalogs to reach new target groups in a new context."

In the footsteps of flatmate Udo Lindenberg

Udo Lindenberg has also tapped into a new target group this year - with his duet with the popular rapper Apache 207. The 77-year-old is something of a victim of the success of "Friesenjung".

After all, "Komet", which has been at number one in the charts almost without interruption since February, would only need one more week at the top position to break the record held by pop hit singer Matthias Reim. His former flatmate Waalkes has prevented him from doing so - at least for the time being.

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