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Rapper Bushido in the Berlin Regional Court (on January 13, 2021): "You forgot that you all have contracts with me"
Photo: Olaf Wagner / imago images / Olaf Wagner
It was the beginning of March 2018 when the Berlin clan boss invited to a kind of rapper crisis summit.
Arafat Abou-Chaker brought together the rappers Samra, Shindy, AK Ausserkontrolle, Ali Bumaye and Laas Unltd.
around.
They all had an exclusive artist contract with Bushido.
On that day, the artists should learn that Bushido wants to part with clan boss Abou-Chaker on business.
At least that's what he assumed, says Anis Ferchichi alias Bushido on Monday in front of the Berlin Regional Court.
Instead, he witnessed a drama.
Bushido's impression was that Abou-Chaker had long since informed the men and turned them against him.
Since September 2017 Bushido and the clan boss have been fighting a war of roses.
Abou-Chaker was officially considered Bushido's manager.
But now he portrays the collaboration with Abou-Chaker as a pact with the devil, it was never voluntary.
Bushido wanted the separation and turned to the police.
Now he and his family are under police protection - and Arafat Abou-Chaker has had to answer to court for deprivation of liberty, insult, attempted serious blackmail, dangerous bodily harm and coercion since August 2020.
Three of his brothers are also indicted.
Bushido is a joint plaintiff and the most important witness in the process.
"You say what Arafat told you to do"
Arafat Abou-Chaker gave a "pseudo-like speech" that March day.
"A few things" had happened between him and Bushido in the past few months.
Then one rapper after the other accused Bushido.
Ali Bumaye: "You let us all down." AK Ausserkontrolle: "You fucked us all." Laas Unltd .: "That's not cool of you. You let us all down." Bushido says he made it clear that he could see through her acting.
"You say what Arafat told you to do."
Ali Bumaye insulted Samra as a traitor because Samra wanted to continue working with Bushido.
"Bushido is a legend for me," said Samra.
Abou-Chaker was freaked out.
“He yelled at Samra and waved scissors in front of his face.” Bushido says in court: “The end of the story was the division of the troops: Samra to Bushido;
Laas, Shindy, Ali Bumaye and AK Ausserkontrolle were Team Arafat. "
Bushido intervened.
"You forgot that you have all the contracts with me." Abou-Chaker made demands and threatened him that he would get nothing if he did not agree.
Bushido had insisted that at least Samra stay with him and that he be compensated for the termination of his contract with Shindy.
He calls Shindy a "top artist" with "seven-figure sales a year" that he didn't want to let go.
In contrast to Ali Bumaye (»no cock screams«), AK Ausserkontrolle (»a good artist, but already much too independent«) and Laas Unltd.
("Laas will never have musical success in his life").
The judge asks about the current status. "Do you still have artists from back then under contract?" No, says Bushido.
The contract with Samra was also terminated in 2019.
There's a record of the rapper summit.
Abou-Chaker secretly recorded it with his cell phone.
Its defense attorney asks whether Bushido agrees to have the conversation played in the courtroom.
It is also in Bushido’s sense that the judges get “an authentic impression” of the conversation.
Bushido laughs.
"Thank you for your benevolent advice, that's very friendly." He'll think about it until the next day of the trial, he says - and yet it sounds like he's doing the devil to agree to the liquidation in court.
"This is a blank check"
A few days later, on March 21, 2018, Bushido met Arafat Abou-Chaker for the last time.
This time in Abou-Chaker's villa in Kleinmachnow, Brandenburg.
Bushido's earlier offer to pay him a total of 1.8 million euros for his freedom over the next three years is said to have already rejected Abou-Chaker.
Now Bushido has brought with him a dissolution agreement that contained a blank instead of the 1.8 million.
"What is that?" Asked Abou-Chaker.
"That's a blank check." Abou-Chaker should have named a sum.
"My pain threshold could have been around 2.4 million euros," says Bushido.
That's how he discussed it with his wife at the time.
But Abou-Chaker hadn't agreed that Bushido only wanted to pay three more years.
He wanted to continue to share in all income - "for life".
"Nah, I won't," said Bushido: "After three years I don't want to have anything to do with you." They would have argued again.
Abou-Chaker finally offered Bushido to buy his villa in Kleinmachnow and his share of their joint property from him.
Abou-Chaker spoke of a good four million euros, the actual value being almost 15 million euros.
Abou-Chaker then wanted to deduct the four million or so from Bushido's debts.
"Then you don't have to pay me that much anymore," Abou-Chaker said.
Bushido says he didn't even know what kind of debts Abou-Chaker was talking about.
more on the subject
Icon: Spiegel PlusBushido as a witness in the Abou Chaker process: "I know of at least one gun" By Wiebke Ramm, Berlin
Bushido as a witness in the Abou Chaker trial: "Then let's see what kind of gangsta rapper you are" Von Wiebke Ramm
Trial and raid against clan chief: Arafat Abou-Chaker senses a plot by Wiebke Ramm
Bushido as a witness in the Abou-Chaker trial: "It broke through the middle like a toothpick" By Wiebke Ramm, Berlin
There was again no agreement.
Bushido says that on March 21, 2018, he finally drew the line.
"Now I'm fed up," he thought.
From Abou-Chaker's villa he drove straight to a lawyer.
“If I part with Arafat on business, what do I have to pay?” He was blown away by her answer: “Nothing at all.” If he adhered to the termination conditions in Abou-Chaker's management contract, Abou-Chaker would have no legal rights to any payments.
"I almost fell off my chair." It was only then that he realized that he had been kneeling to Abou-Chaker for nothing all these months.
He just had to have had the courage much sooner to tell him he wasn't getting a cent.
The presiding judge is surprised that Bushido dared to go to Abou-Chaker all by himself that day after the clan chief reportedly locked up the rapper, threatened him, hit him with a bottle and attacked him with a chair.
"I would have been afraid," says the judge.
Bushido says he trusted the State Criminal Police Office (LKA).
Finally, the police knew about the incident in January.
Abou-Chaker received a visit from the LKA.
He was therefore "absolutely sure" that the police would continue to keep an eye on Abou-Chaker.
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