Ikkimel is increasingly moving the crowds as a headliner. Here she appears at the Open Air Frauenfeld 2025.Image: chmedia/andrea stalder
interview
The German rapper Ikkimel is a feminist icon for many, a provocation for others. In the interview she talks about her hatred of straight men and misogynistic women – and why she is becoming more and more uncompromising.
Jun 7, 2026, 6:44 amJune 7, 2026, 6:55 a.m
Mark Schoder / ch media
The controversial old feminist Alice Schwarzer has undergone a change: First Schwarzer found her “impossible” as a cunt rapper, now she defends her. How does it feel Having converted Alice Schwarzer?
Ikkimel: It brought a lot of takes that I don’t think is that great. That’s why I don’t care much.
How did you come to feminism?
It wasn’t that great for me when I was at school. But at university I read a lot of feminist literature. And in the rap business, the rapper Young FSK18 had a huge influence on me. She showed me that there is a lot of ambition behind women’s fight against the patriarchy because we want to get better and get our music out there. But we don’t take anything away from each other.
The term “heterofatalism” is trending online: the idea that more and more women experience relationships with men as disappointment, danger or emotional labor. Can you do something with the term?
Yes very. When I look at my aunt or something, I notice: The older generation of women had to take on the care work and keep the whole system running unpaid. So I understand the anger towards this system. And I can understand that many women are now demanding that straight men develop their emotional skills. This is a central point.
Can you explain that?
From an early age we have to prove ourselves in the world and develop emotional competence. We don’t get anything thrown at us. The boys aren’t taught that yet. There is some catching up to do.
At this point some women wave their hand and say: “We have explained often enough what we want. Now men have to take action.”
I understand that. That’s the case with me too. If I’m dating someone and notice that they’re not getting it, then I’ll quickly leave. I reject the role of teacher or mother and am not there to explain anything to men. I’m not making any compromises for the man and I’m not giving him another chance and then another. At some point I say: learn yourself or you won’t keep up. Fair enough, right?
Ikkimel’s art shoots against the patriarchy.Image: chmedia/mark schoder
In one song you rap that you actually only like gay men. Is that really the case?
I like enlightened, smart, loving men. I’ve often had better experiences with gay men because many of them experience similar prejudices as women. But of course there are also gay men and women who are misogynistic.
Do you have a specific situation in mind in which you thought: This is exactly why straight men annoy me?
Among my employees, men often have more confidence than women. We women hide our skills too much. We can say more specifically what we can and cannot do. I really value this in my private and work life: recognizing your own weaknesses. Men, on the other hand, overestimate themselves and say: “I can do it all, I’ll do it all.” Then they often appear self-confident and overcompetent, but cannot always keep their promises.
Berlin woman with a steep climb
Ikkimel’s actual name is Melina Gaby Strauss and was born in 1997. The rapper from Berlin-Tempelhof studied German philology, social and cultural anthropology and linguistics. After her father’s death, she started her music career during the corona pandemic. With provocative lyrics, feminist messages and her self-proclaimed “pussy style,” she became one of the most striking voices in German-speaking rap. After the first releases from 2022, her debut album Fotze was released in 2025. The current album Poppstar rose to number 1 in the German charts in 2026. (msc)
Why does female defensiveness trigger so much aggression in some men, and why does it frighten other women?
If you’ve lived with privilege all your life and then suddenly women come along and no longer say “please please” in order to have the same privileges, then it annoys you. Because then men quickly feel as if something is being taken away from them, even though women only want the same thing. The point of pleading has been passed. You notice that in the crowd I move: it feels more like a fight and can no longer be viewed only on the humor level.
Rather?
The women want to defend themselves and shoot against it.
Misogyny used to seem rather dull and flashy. Today we see a mix of right-wing ideology, fitness masculinity, Tradwife desire, Andrew Tate violent language and the preaching of evangelicals. Why is this alliance so powerful?
The younger generations are longing for conservative role models again. So much information hits them every day. Information about something that they cannot change and that unsettles them. That’s why they’re looking for support, for example in a nationality that they can be proud of again. You don’t want to be ashamed of anything anymore. Or draw value from religion. They clearly want to put themselves in drawers again and don’t like the liberated so much. This can quickly go to extremes and is unfortunately associated with a lot of hatred and exclusion.
Ikkimel’s art repulses many. Ultimately, she wants to promote respect and peace.Image: chmedia/zvg
You are a hate figure for many on the right.
It makes me proud to be this hate figure. My approach seems harsh to many, but in the end everyone knows that I want to do something good for our society. The most important good is peaceful coexistence.
Are you afraid of the rise of reactionary forces?
Yes, but that has little to do with my art. Exclusion and disrespect, hatred and agitation – that is generally intimidating. But I’m proud that I can get people to think in a different direction. And that I can express an opinion.
If the tone in Germany and Switzerland has become even rougher in ten years, what kind of Ikkimel will we experience?
Probably a more uncompromising one. But I don’t want to rage constantly either, and I’m showing that with my new album. I need that for myself too, to have these sweet moments. When I’m angry, I never want to forget why I actually do art and what I love about the world.
If you think about young women who are 16 or 17 today, do you think they are growing up more freely than your generation?
Nope. Today, young people are growing up more educated than my generation, especially when it comes to feminism. But freer? I do not believe that. Things are becoming more and more conservative and freedoms are being taken away more and more. A Muslim woman or a gay man in Berlin is not particularly free. I feel that in my surroundings. People are radicalizing. People in my team are also harassed and persecuted. I’m afraid it’s getting more extreme and worse at the moment.
Are you becoming equally radicalized?
I too have become more and more uncompromising, yes. If any heterosexual talks shit and behaves aggressively, he’ll be thrown out. In the past, people would have turned a blind eye and said: “That’s just how he is.” We are past this point. I will never move to the right. I am left-wing, always have been. This goes hand in hand with moral values that I want to see realized for our society. And I am not moving away from what I want for peaceful coexistence. But that doesn’t mean everyone has to put on a thong and walk around topless. But it would be nice if there was a basic respect for other people. (schweiztoday.ch)