Stylish German rap track as a character theme in a famous Japanese beat 'em up (Street Fighter 6 - Ed's Theme)

[Master Mi]

I just came across it recently when a good friend told me that the Street Fighter series now also has a German character called Ed (who's been around since at least Street Fighter 5, though).

And when I recently happened to listen to Ed's soundtrack theme with the real title "König oder Feigling" (it means "King or Coward") you will hear directly in the fight, it really knocked my socks off a bit, as it reached my expectant bunny knight ears in the form of a really stylish German rap track (a genre that is enjoying great popularity in this country these days).

Here's a version of the soundtrack with English subtitles:
 

Really charming groove, good messages, snappy rhymes and lush punchlines that keep building up, especially after the first part - plus the excellent electric guitar lines in the background.
The skillful mix of rap and rock has a bit of a pretty cool Run-D.M.C. vibe.

Basically a really good soundtrack that literally invites you to a workout, a spontaneous street fight or a more metaphorical battle against the adversities of life.

The soundtrack was sung by Blumio, a Japanese rapper who grew up in Germany.

The content of the soundtrack seems to be about both the life of the rapper and the life of the German character Ed.
According to the story, Ed was abducted as a child or teenager by the criminal organization Shadaloo (or "Shadowlaw"), which deals in biochemical psycho-drugs and recruits many of the strongest fighters in the world, and was brought on the organization's course with these psycho-drugs and experiments, which apparently took away part of his soul in exchange for special powers based on "Psycho Power".

He was prophesied that he would lose his ego or soul when he reached adulthood.
And due to his superior fighting skills, he was destined to become the new heir to the throne of this organization, or at least his physical shell.

Yet...
The small spark of soul and willpower he still has left seems to be fighting back and fighting a completely new battle, the fate of which is still written in the stars.

...

It is also interesting in this context that the Shadaloo organization was modelled on the Nazis or the fascist movement in general.

Apart from a siegrune or a lightning bolt that appears in the skull logo of the Shadaloo organization, which is decorated with eagle wings, the Nazis also used various psychedelic drugs such as Pervitin (see "Panzerschokolade" or "tank chocolate") or methamphetamine to break people's wills and souls and turn them into performance-enhanced, disinhibited, but nevertheless obedient, brainwashed, unresisting fighting machines always ready for action (in the long term at the expense of their health and ultimately their lives) in line with their much more champagne-sipping and less combative leaders.

Presumably the higher-ranking or "chosen" Nazis saw themselves as the leaders of an elite Roman state with a few leashed Celtic berserk warriors in the front row, who could be put into a fighting frenzy at the push of a button through appropriate propaganda, fear, hard punishments and psychedelic drugs and sent into any war without any bigger restance to be able to make use of the treasures and resources of other countries in a completely imperialistic manner.

However, these elitist wannabes, many of whom came from high society or were at least their bootlickers, have probably forgotten something important that characterized the culture of the Celts and indigenous peoples in general.

After all, a bioelectric form of energy called life force, which has many different names depending on the culture, can also - or in particular - put people into a state of ecstasy, bliss, joy and raging fighting spirit in a completely natural way.

And apart from these artificial drugs, to which rather weak and small-minded people are susceptible, life force is also able to unleash one's own soul, which literally invites one to follow one's true nature or natural instincts against all odds ...
... perhaps remotely comparable to an untamed wild animal that also bites the hands of those who try to control it and keep it on a short leash for their own purposes.

...

I have no idea whether, according to the Japanese game developers, this might also be a subliminal plot motif for the character Ed (who is perhaps trying to break out of the organization's control and go his own way), precisely because many Japanese developers of video games, films and anime often make such subliminal 'n' pretty witty allusions.

But apart from the really good and meaningful message of always going your own way despite all adversity and following your true convictions, the soundtrack, especially in terms of composition ideas, is quite the banger. ))

Edited March 25 by Master Mi

[AshleyXR]

 

On 2/18/2025 at 6:30 PM, Master Mi said:

I just came across it recently when a good friend told me that the Street Fighter series now also has a German character called Ed (who's been around since at least Street Fighter 5, though).

And when I recently happened to listen to Ed's soundtrack theme with the real title "König oder Feigling" (it means "King or Coward") you will hear directly in the fight, it really knocked my socks off a bit, as it reached my expectant bunny knight ears in the form of a really stylish German rap track (a genre that is enjoying great popularity in this country these days).

Here's a version of the soundtrack with English subtitles:
 

Really charming groove, good messages, snappy rhymes and lush punchlines that keep building up, especially after the first part - plus the excellent electric guitar lines in the background.
The skillful mix of rap and rock has a bit of a pretty cool Run-D.M.C. vibe.

Basically a really good soundtrack that literally invites you to a workout, a spontaneous street fight or a more metaphorical battle against the adversities of life.

The soundtrack was sung by Blumio, a Japanese rapper who grew up in Germany.

The content of the soundtrack seems to be about both the life of the rapper and the life of the German character Ed.
According to the story, Ed was abducted as a child or teenager by the criminal organization Shadaloo (or "Shadowlaw"), which deals in biochemical psycho-drugs and recruits many of the strongest fighters in the world, and was brought on the organization's course with these psycho-drugs and experiments, which apparently took away part of his soul in exchange for special powers based on "Psycho Power".

He was prophesied that he would lose his ego or soul when he reached adulthood.
And due to his superior fighting skills, he was destined to become the new heir to the throne of this organization, or at least his physical shell.

Yet...
The small spark of soul and willpower he still has left seems to be fighting back and fighting a completely new battle, the fate of which is still written in the stars.

...

It is also interesting in this context that the Shadaloo organization was modelled on the Nazis or the fascist movement in general.

Apart from a siegrune or a lightning bolt that appears in the skull logo of the Shadaloo organization, which is decorated with eagle wings, the Nazis also used various psychedelic drugs such as Pervitin (see "Panzerschokolade" or "tank chocolate") or methamphetamine to break people's wills and souls and turn them into performance-enhanced, disinhibited, but nevertheless obedient, brainwashed, unresisting fighting machines always ready for action (in the long term at the expense of their health and ultimately their lives) in line with their much more champagne-sipping and less combative leaders.

Presumably the higher-ranking or "chosen" Nazis saw themselves as the leaders of an elite Roman state with a few leashed Celtic berserk warriors in the front row, who could be put into a fighting frenzy at the push of a button through appropriate propaganda, fear, hard punishments and psychedelic drugs and sent into any war without any bigger restance to be able to make use of the treasures and resources of other countries in a completely imperialistic manner.

However, these elitist wannabes, many of whom came from high society or were at least their bootlickers, have probably forgotten something important that characterized the culture of the Celts and indigenous peoples in general.

After all, a bioelectric form of energy called life force, which has many different names depending on the culture, can also - or in particular - put people into a state of ecstasy, bliss, joy and raging fighting spirit in a completely natural way.

And apart from these artificial drugs, to which rather weak and small-minded people are susceptible, life force is also able to unleash one's own soul, which literally invites one to follow one's true nature or natural instincts against all odds ...
... perhaps remotely comparable to an untamed wild animal that also bites the hands of those who try to control it and keep it on a short leash for their own purposes.

...

I have no idea whether, according to the Japanese game developers, this might also be a subliminal plot motif for the character Ed (who is perhaps trying to break out of the organization's control and go his own way), precisely because many Japanese developers of video games, films and anime often make such subliminal 'n' pretty witty allusions.

But apart from the really good and meaningful message of always going your own way despite all adversity and following your true convictions, the soundtrack, especially in terms of composition ideas, is quite the banger. ))

no yeah this theme rocks actually!

i didnt bother listening to much of sf6's ost since it didnt interest me that much but this theme stands out compared to the others in my opinion from what i've heard. maybe i should go back and listen again. i think music wise my favourite part would have to be the rhythm guitar. the groove for it works really well in hand with the song!

i think its also neat how the song really does act as a theme for Ed as a character, like you said since even the beginning kind of wraps back to when he was abducted when it says "as if the core had been taken out of me at some point", unless thats just me looking into it too much lol

Edited March 30 by AshleyXR

[Master Mi]

@AshleyXR

Yeah, pretty much the perfect beat to knock the teeth out of drunken hooligans, fascists, their greedy capitalist sponsors and merchants of war.
Though their connections are not limited to a few countries, it rather seems to be a global phenomenon, depending on where the big money of the rich 'n' greedy people flows - quite similar to the Shadaloo organization, which also spins their webs or "fasciae" secretly around the globe.

I'm really not happy to have to live in an era of continuous downfall again, especially when I think that my birthright to grow up in a socialist society was literally taken away from me by some greedy sons of bitches.

But as a martial artist who grew up with Japanese full-contact karate, I somehow still have hope that, in the worst case scenario, I won't have to stand completely alone with such often cowardly, opportunistic followers of Western German and European beer and schnitzel patriots.

Since many Arabs, especially devout Muslims, have come here, I have the feeling that the tide has turned somewhat, that fascists will no longer have such an easy time terrorizing people here and that the newer generation of neo-Nazis in particular are really getting knocked out in the respective neighbourhoods.

For me, it was really impressive to experience the down-to-earth, straightforward, virtuous and warm-hearted nature of the Muslim people on the one hand - and on the other, the impetuous fighting spirit, pride and sense of justice when they encounter disrespectful, unjust and malicious people.

Sometimes just one of them can be some sort of a Saiyan-like one-man invasion or a small Saladin army in itself.

I followed some media reports where, for example, an Arab teenager was racially insulted by an adult German, who then even wanted to get violent, but the Arab teenager only gave him about three punches, the consequences of which killed the adult within a short time.

Certainly questionable from a moral point of view, but truly impressive in terms of fighting force.

You will rarely see hardcore hooligans and neo-Nazis fool around in a Muslim hood, and they won't even dare to terrorize the people there for too long.
Because they'll easily get engulfed in the flames of the battle they tried to start there, learning the hard way through massive pain, loss and humiliation as a just punishment for disrespectful behavior.

As I have occasionally dealt with Muslims and refugees from the Arab world in my job and have often talked to them, I have noticed that some of them are also active in martial arts and often have a really good education, not to mention the many natural beauties among the really cute oriental ladies.

...

Kinda chaotic but interesting times and strokes of fate these days.

...

But back to the "real" (digital) Street Fighter series.

I also think that Street Fighter 6 doesn't have too many memorable soundtracks besides Ed's theme "König oder Feigling".

But I strongly believe that it's quite hard and annoying for the composers to make new remixes of the iconic character themes one after another for every new Street Fighter game.
Sometimes you really have to try out new soundtracks, new styles and music genres to evolve as a composer and enjoy the variety of new attempts.

This doesn't always meet the taste of most fans.
But sometimes it works out quite well.

I remember that the developers of the Street Fighter series had a similar approach with completely new character themes in Street Fighter Alpha 3 for Playstation (still own this game).

And this game had at least a few pretty nice new tunes, for example Ryu's theme "The Road":
 

 

Edited Saturday at 11:28 PM by Master Mi