Turkish Rap Music

‘I would choose a good song and a bad video’

David Brew has a PhD in Geology and is now a coastal Geomorphologist specialising in Coasts and Rivers.

Without knowing anything:

The video which I gauged from the song was really quite intriguing, I simply wish I could have understood the words to solidify what I assumed I was watching. A man who used to the a criminal found his salvation in boxing, but this wasn’t accepted by people in his past life and tried to make him a criminal again by making him shoot someone, but he didn’t want to and consequently shot one of the gang members… He then realised he’d shot someone and decided to run away. Was I right? I will never know because I can’t find any answers in the lyrics. Admittedly, I liked the beat of the song but it did become monotonous and I began to lose interest in the music itself, instead paying attention to the video. The video was incredibly powerful and moving, I want to congratulate whoever created it because it was visually stunning and as someone who became reliant on it, I was thankful. This Russian hip hop can’t be particularly popular with people outside of the country as it’s so particular to the countries problems – I don’t feel invested in this man as I perhaps would if he were English.

After being informed:

I can think of two reasons for its popularity: this kind of music is popular in Turkey or people outside the country can relate to the content of the video… Neither of which I can understand. I know absolutely nothing of Turkish music but I do know a little of Turkish politics and perhaps Kajmer is making a comment about the uprisings of 2016 using the street as a metaphor? This is simply a suggestion but the video indicates of a politically driven message. Before being informed of this information, I simply assumed the song told a story of bespoke good and bad but placed it into a gang related context, now I see it is much more politically driven… But I still don’t feel a connection to it… And I don’t think I ever will, simply because of the language barrier. I guess enjoyment wasn’t the main emotion I felt whilst watching this, I don’t think I liked the music particularly, rap is not the music I choose to listen to in my personal life. I would choose a good song and a bad video any day of the week.