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Three talented rap artists –known as Lee, Jazzy and Ricky—came together in the Ruhr Gebiet (the Ruhr region in North-Rhine Westphalia) to form the rap trio, Tic Tac Toe. They first stormed the charts with their hit single “Ich find dich Scheisse” (I Think You’re Shit), in which they lambast shallow, ditzy women who wear “2 Pfund Schminke” (two-pound make-up). It was one of their many great songs on their debut album, Tic Tac Toe.

Yet their popularity was short-lived. It was soon revealed that Lee was not 18 years old, as fans believed, but 22, and that she was a widow who had briefly worked as a prostitute in order to finance her drug habit. This ruined the band’s image as an “honest girl group,” although they figured out how to make the best of the situation by openly discussing drug abuse and prostitution in their second album. Tic Tac Toe was also infamous for speaking their minds, and it was only natural for them to lash out at the “elites.” In their song “Haste was, Biste was” (If You Have Something, You Are Something), another hit from their first album, they tell it like it is.

"Tic Tac Toe was also infamous for speaking their minds, and it was only natural for them to lash out at the 'elites.'"

The lyrics read, “Geld regiert die Welt, das ist das einzigste das zählt, dafür werden Menschen gequählt, Präsidenten gewählt” (Money directs the world, that’s the only thing that counts, for people are tortured, presidents elected). Tic Tac Toe are not sure where the world is going, but they cannot believe that everything revolves around “Kohle” (or “coal,” which is German slang for “money”). When people arrive “oben” (on top), it’s normal for them to be “gelogen und betrogen” (lied to and betrayed). It’s almost guaranteed their best friends will talk badly about them behind their backs. The German expression used to describe this is: “Durch den Dreck gezogen” (something like, “Having one’s name dragged through the dirt”). Indeed, to get on top, people have to walk over some corpses: “über Leichen gehen.” This expression identifies a person who has no scruples and who leaves behind metaphoric corpses in his wake. In this game, say the band, “ohne moos nix los.” This is a German rhyming expression, which means, “Without money, nothing’s happening.” It should be noted, however, that “Moos” (moss) is not really used as a term for money anymore outside of this expression. At any rate, maybe there’s some truth to the moral of this song: “Sei ein egoist weil es das beste für dich ist” (Be egotistical, because it’s best for you).