{"id":1,"date":"2018-02-05T14:57:36","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T14:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/abrew1\/?p=1"},"modified":"2018-05-17T11:21:29","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T10:21:29","slug":"turkishrapmusic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/abrew1\/2018\/02\/05\/turkishrapmusic\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish Rap Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sertlik Kan\u0131nda Var Hayat\u0131n<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

Artist:<\/strong> Sagopa Kajmer<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Country:<\/strong> Turkey 2017<\/span><\/h2>\n

A Chelbi Film<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>A reaction by Rachel, Helen, Dave and Gill. <\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

All of these statements are true reactions to\u00a0Sertlik Kan\u0131nda Var Hayat\u0131n<\/em>\u00a0by people who don’t consider themselves to be professional musicians or ethnomusicologists.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

So… Who is he?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yunus \u00d6zyavuz<\/b>\u00a0or\u00a0 Sagopa Kajmer <\/b>(meaning ancient pyramid)\u00a0was born on 17th August, 1978. He was born and raised in Samsun (a city on the north coast of Turkey) where he graduated from high school. He went on to study Persian Language and Literature in Istanbul but knew that music was his first love, having worked on a local radio station whilst back home in Samsun. Because of this, in 1999, he set up his studio named\u00a0Kuvvetmira (meaning Strength). Alongside this studio he became part of the rap group ‘Unarmed Force’, releasing five studio albums with the group. After seven years of working with the band, Kajmer decided to split and create his own work, and this has been the case ever since. With albums such as ‘Pesimistine Tears’ and ‘Romantizma’,\u00a0Kajmer was rapidly becoming a house-hold name… In Turkey at least. As well as releasing his own albums, Kajmer was still producing and collaborating with other artists, with his sound ever-evolving to suit the needs of his audience. Kajmer himself has said that he has always been influenced by traditional Turkish songs, with his early working even including samples from Anatolian melodies and traditional musics. He later admitted that he had to stop using these sounds due to the aggressive, political messages his songs were beginning to portray. Kajmer’s influences fall from many different genres of art: Omer Hayyam\u00a0,\u00a0Firdevs\u00ee\u00a0and\u00a0Mevlana Cel\u00e2ledd\u00een-i R\u00fbm\u00ee\u00a0‘s but the genre he considers himself as being part of is rap.<\/span><\/p>\n

So… What’s the song?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sertlik Kan\u0131nda Var Hayat\u0131n\u00a0<\/strong>or\u00a0There is Hardness In Your Blood<\/strong>\u00a0is the second song on Sagopa Kajmer’s re-released 2017 version of his 2014 album\u00a0Ahmak Islatan.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>The song doesn’t feature on the original 2014 album but is by far the most popular song on the re-released album.\u00a0 With 25 million hits on Youtube and 4 million streams on Spotify, the song has been incredibly popular not only in Turkey but the world. The song is a politically driven commentary on the street and social inequality in Turkey but uses a boxing ring both in its lyrics and video as a metaphor for such. Kajmer chooses to question society with lyrics such as ‘Ben, ka\u00e7\u0131yorum karakterinin yetmedi\u011fi yerlerden’ (I am running away from places where being good is not enough)\u00a0<\/em>and ‘ben bu so\u011fukkanl\u0131 fedaiyim’ (I am this cold-blooded federation).\u00a0<\/em>He is perhaps underlining the sad reality that everybody is part of the war, whether or not you believe yourself to be. The song provides a commentary alongside a music video which perhaps reflects the failed Turkish uprising which took place in July 2016 using the metaphor of the boxing ring to comment upon the violence and pain that was felt by all.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I thought it was a social commentary\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Rachel Brew\u00a0<\/strong>is a Sociology and Politics student at Sheffield University.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t about the music. This was about the war. This music was completely and utterly informed by its surroundings and I could tell that from just from the video. \u00a0The language, the people, the clothing\u2026 It was influenced by society. No, I didn\u2019t understand the words\u2026 They were Eastern European. Although I didn\u2019t understand the words, I understood the message. It used music as a way to insert a politically driven video into the world. It must be about gang violence, the overwhelming message of the video tells me that street violence is bad but something that cannot be avoided: when you\u2019re in it, you\u2019re in it for life. It\u2019s an interesting piece of music because as someone who is at university and constantly surrounded by different kinds of people and different kinds of music, I can\u2019t help but think that if it was in English it would be incredibly popular. The young love a politically driven social commentary and I really think that\u2019s what is being given to us here.<\/span><\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

25 million views? I\u2019m not shocked. How could I be shocked? Just because we are ignorant western listeners who know nothing about our surroundings, doesn\u2019t mean other people can\u2019t enjoy it. Eminem\u2019s ‘8 Mile’<\/em> comments on things I could never understand as a middle class white female, but I like listening to it because I understand the music. Perhaps that\u2019s where the main problem lies for the west, we don\u2019t want to listen to music because we like the beat or the message in a video\u2026 We want to know what\u2019s being said and connect to it.\u00a0 I personally wouldn\u2019t listen to it again, but that\u2019s not to say I didn\u2019t enjoy it. The sound was great, the words were clearly heartfelt and meant something to him so it\u2019s not him\u2026 It\u2019s me. It wasn\u2019t the kind of music I choose to listen to, I\u2019m not pretentious or picky, I just like the music I like and this was not it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m not particularly sorry I\u2019ve not heard it before\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Jill Edmunds\u00a0<\/strong>is a retired piano teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

I wish I wasn\u2019t so old because I feel as though that hindered my experience of the music. Yes, I really just said I didn\u2019t enjoy it because of my age\u2026 But I\u2019m not particularly sorry I haven\u2019t heard it before. I couldn\u2019t relate to any of the content in the video and I couldn\u2019t understand the words so I found it incredibly difficult to find any enjoyment in the music. I became so focused upon the gun, wondering whether he\u2019d shot anyone… But there was also a focus on the boxing ring and strength, it just seemed to be confused by itself. I wish it had been in English actually because he didn\u2019t speak too fast and if it had been I probably would have understood it, which is rare for me when I listen to rap music\u2026 Let me rephrase; when I\u2019m forced to listen to rap music. I assume you can tell that I didn\u2019t like it then? Not because of where it was from or who it was by, but because I don\u2019t like the genre, I can\u2019t listen to that kind of music because I can’t find enjoyment in it\u2026 It\u2019s really that simple.<\/span><\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Turkey, it makes sense. It had that sound to it. It still doesn\u2019t change my view\u2026 But it gives the video more of a social meaning which I didn\u2019t see before. Kajmer is perhaps a man of the people, talking of their experiences and of their lives. His fame and large number of views give me hope and I wish him luck. It is so important for music to be politically charged in times where people are afraid to speak up.<\/span><\/p>\n

‘You\u2019ve got to try if you want to find music from elsewhere\u2026 And I\u2019ve never bothered\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Helen Brew\u00a0<\/strong>is a Chemistry teacher.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In all honesty, I don\u2019t understand where the appeal lies here. Why do I care so much about this music? Why should I be invested in this music? When I don\u2019t understand either what they\u2019re talking about. Yes, I enjoyed the video, but am I analysing the music or the video? Because I spent my time watching the video, trying to gauge a story from it \u2013 as opposed to enjoying the music itself. The video was well produced yes, someone had become involved in a gang with their life being overwhelmed with gang violence and they were trying to make their life better by boxing. But why do I care? The beat was relatively samey and very little changed rhythmically, which I\u2019m assuming is the norm in rap music and this made it relatively easy to listen to. So yes, I would say I enjoyed the music, I just wish I could understand it, I can\u2019t help it\u2026 It\u2019s one of my pet peeves. The Middle Eastern sound gave it something different, it certainly had the underlying sound of the country, it was definitely inspired by where it was from\u2026 But I have no idea where that is.<\/span><\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

25 million views doesn\u2019t shock me at all. We\u2019re just not very exposed to music from anywhere other than the UK and US in the general diet which we\u2019re fed on the radio. It\u2019s sad, really. I think if I was able to easily access the music, I would probably find some really good stuff to listen to\u2026 Which would also make me feel more cultured\u2026 We have to actively try to find music from elsewhere and in all honesty, I\u2019ve never bothered trying. I cannot gauge the metaphor from the video but that’s not so shocking as I can\u2019t understand the words anyway. To be honest, I want to thank you for introducing me to this, I enjoyed it and when I hear them I enjoy the Middle Eastern sounds, I just never hear them. I\u2019m going to go out today and look for some more of this kind of music. Sagopa Kajmer, get ready for a white, British, middle aged fan because she\u2019s coming your way.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018I would choose a good song and a bad video\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

David Brew <\/strong>has a PhD in Geology and\u00a0is now a coastal Geomorphologist specialising in Coasts and Rivers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Without knowing anything:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019t accepted by people in his past life and tried to make him a criminal again by making him shoot someone, but he didn\u2019t want to and consequently shot one of the gang members\u2026 He then realised he\u2019d shot someone and decided to run away. Was I right? I will never know because I can\u2019t 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\u2019t be particularly popular with people outside of the country as it\u2019s so particular to the countries problems \u2013 I don\u2019t feel invested in this man as I perhaps would if he were English.<\/span><\/p>\n

After being informed:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2026 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\u2026 But I still don\u2019t feel a connection to it\u2026 And I don\u2019t think I ever will, simply because of the language barrier. I guess enjoyment wasn\u2019t the main emotion I felt whilst watching this, I don\u2019t 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.<\/span>
\n
\nFamiliarize\u00a0yourself with some new Turkish rap artists:<\/b><\/p>\n

Ceza<\/a><\/p>\n

Sansar Salvo<\/a><\/p>\n

Norm Ender<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sertlik Kan\u0131nda Var Hayat\u0131n Artist: Sagopa Kajmer Country: Turkey 2017 A Chelbi Film   \u00a0A reaction by Rachel, Helen, Dave and Gill. All of these statements are true reactions to\u00a0Sertlik Kan\u0131nda Var Hayat\u0131n\u00a0by people who don’t consider themselves to be professional musicians or ethnomusicologists.\u00a0 \u00a0 So… Who is he? Yunus \u00d6zyavuz\u00a0or\u00a0 Sagopa Kajmer (meaning ancient … <\/p>\n

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