Nils Wehowsky, better known by his stage name Finch, has expressed regret over some of his most violent lyrics from his early battle‑rap days. “Those were lines from my battle‑rap era that were obviously too harsh” he told the German magazine “Spiegel”.
The 35‑year‑old first rose to prominence under the alias Finch Asozial. His work, which often contained misogynistic content and glorification of violence, drew criticism from groups such as Terre de Femmes. “People uploaded videos and called me a sexist and a son‑of‑a‑bitch. All for making art” he recalls.
Today, Wehowsky acknowledges that women who heard those songs felt attacked by a sexist. “I didn’t think that far ahead at the time” he said. Finn has since dropped the Asozial moniker and no longer raps lines such as “A woman remains an object forever”.
Finch is one of eastern Germany’s most well‑known and commercially successful rappers. He garners roughly 3.5 million monthly streams on Spotify and recently won the “1Live Krone” as “Best Live Act”. A few months ago, a viral video surfaced in which he threw a fan off his concert stage for allegedly “touching women” according to Finch. He explained that his actions were not about “free will” but about a clear stance: “If I see that, we step in. Period. I don’t tolerate that at my shows”. Wehowsky added, “Anyone who truly touches women has no place in my world”.