Prof. Heidi Süß

Between block romance and seminar rooms – Prof. Dr. Heidi Süß explores how rap reflects society
Rap is more than music – it is an expression, a stage, and a mirror of social realities. Hardly anyone in Germany illuminates this perspective as thoroughly and accessibly as Prof. Dr. Heidi Süß. Born in Weiden in the Upper Palatinate in 1986 and raised on hip-hop, her work combines scientific analysis with cultural accessibility. Her focus: the political, social, and gender-specific dynamics in German-language hip-hop – in short, images of masculinity in rap.

Süß studied applied linguistics, political science, and media studies in Hildesheim, where she completed her master's degree with a thesis on German gangsta rap. She dedicated her doctorate in the interdisciplinary graduate program “Gender & Education” to a topic that has long since entered the social mainstream: the staging of masculinity in German rap.

Today, Heidi Süß is a professor of social work at the International University of Applied Sciences in Braunschweig. Her career as a researcher previously took her to Magdeburg-Stendal and Trier, among other places, where she researched racism in rap and taught media sociology seminars on masculinity, intersectionality, and pop culture. Together with PD Dr. Marc Dietrich, she founded the Berlin Institute for Pop Culture and Rap Research in 2023—a place for critical pop culture analysis with a clear cultural-political agenda.

With publications such as Rap & Geschlecht (Rap & Gender) and Rap. Politisch. Rechts? (Rap. Political. Right?) (both Beltz Juventa), Süß is now one of the most prominent voices in German-language rap and pop culture research. Her contributions combine academic rigor with social relevance—for example, in the study Rap & Rassismus (Rap & Racism) or in her educational work as a lecturer, speaker, and trainer.

Whether on panels, in lectures, or with boxing gloves, Süß gets up close and personal. She is active in the scene as a trainer in the boxing department at the Berlin club SC Lurich 02. Her goal is not only to analyze rap culture, but also to critically accompany it—as a medium of self-empowerment, but also as a projection screen for power relations, racism, and sexism.

Further information:
www.heidisuess.de
Berlin Institute for Pop Culture and Rap Research