“I’m unbelievably astonished/ the swag is so polished/ but I really can’t call It,” a group of high school friends trade lines in the freestyle cypher. This is just a small fragment of the numerous freestyle rapping sessions with my friends that were once the epitome of my youth past times. Being a part of that experience is magical. Flipping through your brain for connections and words in rapid momentum. One line builds off of the next and the energy of the room rises as the seemingly effortless command of words takes a hold of a crowd. It’s a spectacle that must be experienced in person, no video or description does it justice. It’s one thing that still amazes me to this day, the universal love of hip-hop. From literally every corner of the world, at any given moment, there are people blasting hip-hop from a speaker or headphones. Many times falling in love with the genre for the very first time and joyfully sharing it with any person they can get to listen.
Information on international hip-hop has multiplied in recent years. Rap is a worldwide phenomenon and it has spread to nearly every corner of the globe. This is exemplified in the mainstream media coverage of it on multiple publications and websites. One of the most notable is the 2019 Vice series on foreign gangster rap called ‘Gangster Rap International.’ The show is produced by Vice’s music sub-shoot company, Noisey, and has produced multiple episodes over the past couple of years.
My time spent in Germany is the most recent time the power of hip-hop shook me to my core and reinspired my worldview. And let me tell you, the people love their music there. One of the coolest artists I came across in my time in Deutschland was not German at all. Instead, a retired military veteran that settled down in the country and has lived there for the past 21 years. Le’Vell Zimmermann, also known by his artist name Commander Ashtar, is a 41-year-old hip-hop artist with an amazing ear for talent and impeccably smooth flows. He is currently living in Wiesbaden, Germany, and was a beacon of light in my time overseas.
I had only been in Germany for about a week and adjusting to the slight cultural differences and changes in daily life consumed my focus. Walking down the streets felt cold and rigid. People didn’t smile and wave. They keep their head down and quickly maneuvered to their grocery store visits and barbershop appointments. Unfazed by the silly American social cues I sought out for validation. The unique architecture from house to house jumped out at me and seemed remarkable in juxtaposition with the bland simplicity that plagues small-town America. As I arrived at a house party, which I had been spontaneously invited to a few days prior, I was excited to see a deeper peek into the cultural layers of a foreign country.
Entering the door of the swanky 3rd-floor apartment, a beautiful combination of smells immediately invaded my nose. A variety of incense and candles flickered through the apartment and poignant hints of marijuana and personal perfumes danced through the air.
“This is a spiritual household, please feel welcomed, and thank you for coming,” said Amon Ra, one of the homeowners of the apartment.
He informed my friend and I that each room in the apartment had a different “vibe” and to make sure to explore them all. There were upscale mixed cocktails available in the small kitchen towards the front of the apartment and the walls were lined with beautiful works of art. Eastern religion-inspired chakra paintings, neon splattered canvases and unique pieces of creativity of all different sorts.
We began our adventure in the biggest room of the apartment, a beautiful loft with a pool table and a breathtaking balcony overlooking the quaint German neighborhood. This was clearly the room for energy, and hip-hop and Latin music blared through a set of speakers as a variety of sweaty bodies freely danced to the rapid drums and bass.
The next room was the smoking room, an extremely dark room with a low-sitting couch and a small bookshelf. The only light emanating was from a small color-changing lamp placed in the middle of the room. The smokers of the party had all gathered along the couch or found standing room, all passing back and forth a variety of joints and vaporizers. As the smoking traveled from person to person, the conversation flowed like water. People began passionately talking about new music they were listening to on one side of the room, while the other side traded personal travel anecdotes.
“Amsterdam was one of the coolest places I have ever been to,” said one of the women at the party in a thick polish accent.
“The public transportation is amazing there,” someone retorted. “I got a bust pass for like seven Euros while I was there.”
As we pulled ourselves out of the vortex of that room, we were seemingly dragged into the final room of the apartment by a magnetic force. As I knocked on the door and opened it, Zimmerman greeted me with a welcoming smile and immediately said to come on in. I quickly introduced myself and took a seat near the corner of the room. Wearing a blue tank top that read UBSC and sporting a set of large framed glasses, he spoke softly. The entire room was focused on his presence, so it was easy to hear his greeting before he turned his attention back to the previous conversation. His energy was very inviting, and his room was one of the most interesting portals I had ever walked into.
Beautiful antiques and statues littered the room, so much so that there was not much space to sit. There were so many different nick-knacks and things to look at that it was hard to focus. Beautiful gold necklaces, watches of every shape and color, African symbolism, Indian symbolism, and a bunch of other stuff I couldn’t even identify. It was a hip-hop party in what felt like a 60-year-old’s library study. Zimmerman and a few of his friends were playing music they recorded the previous night and discussing plans to shoot a music video for it.
I began looking at the bookshelf in the back of the room and instantly recognized multiple books that have been extremely important to my life. The Bhagavad Gita being one and Food of the Gods being another. These two being on the shelf gave me the confidence to sit down and really dive into some of the conversations happening. In between song ideas and music collaboration, deep metaphysical talks swirled around the room like cosmic energy.
Talking with Zimmerman throughout the night, he explained that he had been slowly building the foundations of his skillset and perfecting his craft in hip-hop. “I am a healer, but I’m also an emcee,” Zimmerman said. “This craft is evolving, and I feel the magnum opus of the craft is words and the architecture of sentences. Becoming an orator is something I have come to aspire for, but I intend to walk the middle path. Not necessarily be KRS-One but, also not necessarily be Jay-Z, somewhere in the middle.”
“It doesn’t matter where you are at, it’s where you’re at internally. I should be able to live wherever I want to live, and if life is intelligent, it will work. I maintained my integrity by doing what I love and success found me. When you know you are the manifestation of the creator, you tap-dance for no one.”
-Commander Ashtar
Hip-hop is creative outlet that originally started in New York, but has since overtaken the world as major driving force of influence. The art of hip-hop has been a fluid arc of creativity since its inception. From the early days of boom-bap and KRS-One to the current wave of autotune and trap influences, the space for unbridled creativity has always been there. But, a constant through all this creativity is the foundation of the art form being the word. Rory PQ, a hip-hop historian, recalls this transformation of the word in an article for Icon Collective. “The early rhythmic chants of the 1970s progressed into metaphorical lyrics exploring a range of subjects. Artists also performed the lyrics over a more complex, multi-layered instrumental arrangement. Artists such as Melle Mel, KRS-One, Rakim, Chuck D, and Warp 9 were pivotal in advancing hip hop lyrics and the art of rapping.”
Zimmerman and I began discussing his life trajectory and how this American emcee ended up in a small German city like Wiesbaden. While it is only a short drive to the hub of Frankfurt, it’s a unique choice to settle down in.
“It doesn’t matter where you are at, it’s where you’re at internally,” Zimmerman said. “I should be able to live wherever I want to live, and if life is intelligent, it will work. I maintained my integrity by doing what I love and success found me. When you know you are the manifestation of the creator, you tap-dance for no one.”
His choice to settle down in Europe was a very conscious decision and not one that just came about by happenstance. He has lived in the music mecca of Los Angles and networked in the big city of New York, but something was different about being in Germany.
“Coming over to Europe for the first time was peaceful and inspiring,” Zimmerman said, taking a break to talk to me after spending an hour or so reading tarot cards for several beautiful women that came passing through the room.
“You get a chance to hear yourself, from the inside. Back home, things move fast. But here, I could really be in silence and not have to worry about somebody robbing me or any of those types of things. So, when you aren’t using that energy anymore, it’s liberating and has been priceless in my evolution as an artist.”
While networking in his newfound home of Wiesbaden, Zimmerman helped found a small collective of artists that go by the name of Universal Brothers and Sisters Circle. It first started through a friendship with fellow emcee Amon Ra. The two artists began brainstorming ways to combine their interests in hip-hop and showcase their talent through creative outlets. As the ideas began percolating, the energy surrounding the group was magnetic and quickly drew a variety of people from the surrounding area. Soon after, producers, emcees, artists and photographers all found themselves pulled into the gravitational force of the group.
Some of the artists and content creators within UBSC include Angel Gonzales (Airbrush Artist), Arjay Belatero (Emcee/ Artist), Richard Porter (Video/ Photography), Rashawn Smith (Airbrush/Emcee), Louis Wilson (Emcee), Charles Robinson (Organizer), Cory (Organizer/promoter/ Emcee), Hector Planas (DJ), Larry Maybin (Illustrator/ Artist) and Born 13 (Poer/Emcee/Dancer).
During my time in Germany, I got to meet and speak with many of these artists and creators, all of which are talented and unique in their creative offerings. The bubble of creativity surrounding UBSC is growing large and the amount of content they are creating is impressive. They have assembled enough collaboration to write, produce and mix their own songs, and to shoot, edit and plan their own music videos. Not to mention, they throw some of the hottest parties in the German state of Hessen.
While I had to leave for Romania shortly after connecting with Zimmerman and the UBSC crew, the party they threw astonished me and really opened my eyes to the power of hip-hop and positive energy. Nothing felt forced around the UBSC crew and the unfiltered vision of life was invigorating for the soul. While I went away and traveled through some of the gorgeous countryside’s of Romania, Zimmerman and the crew maintained a steady presence in the Wiesbaden and Frankfurt area. They started throwing parties again as the COVID-19 restrictions started lifting and the momentum of their movement continued to grow.
In early 2022 the universe graced me with another chance run-in with Zimmerman, and immediately we kicked it off with great conversation again. This led to a new friendship that allowed me an even deeper look at the reality Zimmerman was orchestrating. I found myself mingling in high-rise condos in the big city of Frankfurt and meeting unique local artists from the German music scene. The three cities of Wiesbaden, Mainz and Frankfurt are a hub of activity. Mainz is a college town, known for late-night parties and young people. Wiesbaden is the uppity rich person city, filled with a bit older and wealthier crowd. And Frankfurt, the big city in the area that houses the hub of entertainment and upscale nightlife. Zimmerman seemingly knew everyone in all these cities and would pop back in forth between each at will. Depending on the vibe for the night, a short commute can get you to a multitude of cool things to do in any of these interesting German cities.
In my own time in Germany and Romania, the youth were very in tune with modern hip-hop culture and were fans of many of the same artists as their American counterparts. The kids dressed similarly to the popular fads in today’s hip-hop culture and the influence of American rap was prevalent in their day-to-day lives.
Looking back at my foreign travels, what sticks out the most is the world’s immense love for hip-hop. It was amazing how easy it is to connect with people from anywhere in the world with the help of music. Culture may have slight differences from country to country, but the power of music transcends borders. This came full circle at the international Best Combat Camera competition I was recently a part of. Two of the teams were from Israel and I spent a good amount of time with them throughout the week’s events. They too were heavily influenced by American hip-hop culture. On one specific incident, I walked into the barracks room to all of them singing aloud to Kenrick Lamar’s latest song “Silent Hill.”
“Pushing these Bitches off me like ugh,” the young 19-year-old boys screamed as they danced around the room wildly.
All I could think was wow, “they are from the completely opposite side of the globe and are singing the same song as me right now.”
Introspection Section 
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