Recommendations of the Editorial team
Who in the documentary, which will be released on October 28th “BABO – The Arrest Warrant Story” Expecting a gangster rapper basking in his own fame between champagne bottles and naked women will be disappointed. Instead, the film shows the reality of one of the most dazzling musicians in the hip-hop scene that this country has produced in recent years – vulnerable, contradictory, but uncompromisingly real. It’s about trauma, biography, drug excesses, loss of control, family life and the person behind the myth and the musical genius Arrest Warrant.
“The reality is this,” says arrest warrant at the end of the documentary. A sentence that sticks – simple, but with full force. Arrest warrant has never minced words. In his music he is honest, brutal, excessive. On his song “1999 Pt. 5 (Mainpark Baby)” he raps: “Deepe message in the face, Diggi, enjoy.” That’s exactly what this documentary does. Artist documentaries are tricky; they usually function like image campaigns that smooth out contradictions and organize stories. Things are different with an arrest warrant. This documentary doesn’t want to straighten anything out, explain anything. It simply shows, nothing more and nothing less. That is exactly where her power lies.
Between genius and abyss
The focus here is not on a pop product, but on a person who keeps losing himself. Aykut Anhan – that’s his real name – is the son of Turkish immigrants from Offenbach, grew up between blocks and barriers. A man who destroys himself with the same intensity with which he creates.
This documentary takes us on arrest warrant’s honest journey between genius and abyss. His wife Nina plays a special role in the documentary – she shows a side of Aykut Anhan that has hardly been known before. About Hafti, as his fans affectionately call him, she says bluntly: “His character, something grabbed me.” As the documentary progresses, however, it becomes clear that the arrest warrant is not always the person Aykut Anhan is. For them, “arrest warrants have already destroyed a lot.”
In addition to his brother Capo, who also plays an intimate and special role in the documentary, numerous other voices also have their say: Peter Fox, Moses Pelham, Marteria, Kool Savas, Bausa and many others. Xatar, who played a particularly important role in arrest warrant’s life and died at the beginning of this year, also has his say. “No matter what he does, it always seems like this is the moment when he screws everything up. But the thing is: he does his fucking job brilliantly. And that’s what makes a rock star.”
Memories of Xatar
On stage at the premiere of the Netflix documentary in Berlin on October 24th, arrest warrant speaks publicly for the first time about Xatar and the last few months:
The makers behind the documentary
In conversation with the directors Juan Moreno and Sinan Sevinc it also becomes clear: the idea of radical honesty was clear from the start. They didn’t want a documentary that glorified or softened its protagonists, but wanted to show an honest picture – even if it became complicated and puzzling.
Juan Moreno made a name for himself when he exposed the celebrated reporter Claas Relotius at Spiegel, whose award-winning stories later turned out to be partly fictional. Sinan Sevinc comes from a completely different direction. He is known for his glossy advertising films, including those for the German Football Association. An unusual combination that perhaps works because of this: one person has a journalistic instinct for truth and accuracy, the other has a feeling for visual staging and atmosphere.
Producer Elyas M’Barek about the creation
On the red carpet at the premiere, Elyas M’Barek, who produced the documentary together with Pacco-Luca Nitsche, tells us how the project came about – and which scene he particularly remembers.
Conclusion: Between megalomania and vulnerability
“BABO – The Arrest Warrant Story” is the portrait of a musician who is not a polished entertainer, but rather someone who comes late to a million-dollar deal at Universal, puts the CEO in a headlock and signs the contract while intoxicated with a pen in his mouth. Someone who makes his wife cry because he can’t control himself. He does ten grams of coke because he doesn’t want to live anymore. Who puts in an IV before going on stage. All of these are stories and images from the documentary.
The documentary is a story about survival and does justice to both the artist arrest warrant and the private individual Aykut Anhan. It’s not about the rapper as a brand, but about the person behind the name. About the drama of a life that has always been hinted at in his music: between megalomania and depression, fame and crash, control and loss of control. This documentary is not an attempt to sanctify or condemn an arrest warrant. At times she also holds up a mirror to the viewer for contradictions, self-lies and a greed for authenticity in a world of productions. There remains awe. Not in front of the star, but in front of the person.
“BABO – The Arrest Warrant Story” can be seen on Netflix from October 27th.