Chris Toppa ADD
Chris Toppa, alias Christian Hankammer (* 1991 in Haan), is a german based Reggae musician. From 2003 until 2008 he could gain his first studio and stage experience as the bassist of the band of his elder brother, Stephan, which is called "Unrivaled". In 2007 he founded his first own rockband, "Bonestrip", where he acted as the lead singer. In the course of his youth he got more and more interested in reggae, because he got inspired by the spiritual content and the positive message of this kind of music. After "Bonestrip" had broken up, he applied himself to the production of a singer-/songwriter album, called "Harvest Time", which was published under the name "Chris Toppa" in the beginning of 2010 the first time. In March 2010 he founded the band "Toppaman" and since that time he performs together with the drummer Jan Szarny and the bassist Tim Dierich. In the end of 2010 they recorded the album "Coloured World", which was published in April 2011. The sound of the sixteen songs combines reggae, rock and emotional ballads together while the lyrics are written in English, Spanish and German.
After his school career Toppa travelled to Jamaica to get to know about the roots of reggae music. There he met Cassafaya who invited him to live at his home in Kingston, the capital city concerning reggae music. During this time they wrote the song "Give thanks for life", which was later recorded in the legendary 'Anchor Studio'. The song attracted enormous feedback at the radiostation around Kingston. The host of the traditional Sting Festival was inspired by the duo as well and booked them for the show in 2011.
With his lyrics Chris Toppa calls the attention to current problems of our time and critizises immorality, ignorance and godlessness in our society. He appeals for a more conscious way of life and tries to encourage the people to campaign for a fairer world.
Quote:
"Even if I don't feel appendent to a certain religion, I can figure out a true and common source in many of them, but I think, that no religion can be regarded as the absolute. It's rather a guideline, which can make you find a connection to God. I believe in the energy of the all-embracing love, which is manifested in us and every other creature and gave us the life on this earth. All human beings, no matter where they come from, crave for experiencing love. But it's up to us, if we want to understand, that what we do is responsible for what happens to us. If we act full of love, we'll retrieve the same lovely vibration. If we act full of animosity and malice, we will get to feel the same in other situations of our life. It's the law of balance, which seeks love and justice and which is present in everyone and everything people do. If everyone would live with this in mind, to treat all other creatures like oneself would like to be treaten, we wouldn't face all the violence and wars any longer, but instead form a world, in which everyone tries to behave as most considerately as he can and tries to live in harmony with nature and everyone. Wouldn't we have the paradise on earth this way?"
