My title is Ilya, I’m 20 years outdated and I come from Pavlograd, which is close to one of many largest cities in Ukraine, on the Dnipro river. I began stepping into rap music in 2014, and in 2019, I moved to Kharkiv to work as an editor at rap.ua, the most important portal in Ukraine devoted to hip-hop and the hip-hop way of life.
Earlier than Russia attacked Ukraine, our cultural fields have been very intently linked: artists toured freely in our nation, their music was extra standard than ours due to the large cash the Russians invested in advertising, whereas our hip-hop was virtually ignored, mistakenly believing that Russia was higher.
However Ukrainians lastly paid consideration to their very own music and realised that it was not solely not worse than Russian music, however typically higher. Russian music and tradition haven’t any place in Ukraine any extra, and our scene is experiencing a rebirth proper now. Personally I spoke Russian all my life and listened to Russian music like the remainder of the nation. Now I solely converse my native Ukrainian and hearken to Ukrainian music, which surprises me each day.
Pic: Glava94
Uncomfortable Info
In 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea and began the battle in Donbas, the cultural shift that’s taking place now didn’t happen. In truth, within the years 2014-22, an enormous variety of Ukrainian artists moved to Moscow and constructed their careers in Russia, as a result of working for a Ukrainian viewers wouldn’t convey the identical attain, cash and recognition as in Russia. As unusual as it might be for us now, again then in 2014 the realisation that we needed to cease any contacts, together with cultural ones, didn’t occur.
All by means of these eight years Russian artists toured in Ukraine. Ukrainian artists toured in Russia, with an enormous variety of artists specializing in the Russian market; just because there may be a longtime business and large cash. Russian rappers who often got here to Ukraine with concert events packed live performance halls as Ukrainian audiences have been fanatic about them. The viewers numbers for Ukrainian rappers would, again then, by no means come near the viewers for his or her Russian counterparts.
Now the scenario has began to vary, however sadly, tracks by Russian artists are nonetheless often within the prime of the Ukrainian charts. Within the October Apple Music Chart High 100 Ukraine, for instance, within the first 50 now we have artists from Russia corresponding to INSTASAMKA and Молодой Платон. Earlier this month they have been within the prime 20 (however this example is all the time altering). Personally, I feel it’s unacceptable to hearken to the music of people who find themselves our enemies as an alternative of trying to find and listening to Ukrainian artists. Solely a whole rejection of Russian music will assist our scene to turn out to be impartial, sturdy and fascinating.
Happily, this course of has already began and there’s no doubt that in a few years there might be no Russian music in Ukrainians’ headphones. Just because now we have no different selection: the entire nation has deserted every little thing Russian, and this could apply to music. The bodily existence of Russian music in Ukraine is changing into inconceivable, anyway. Throughout this battle a regulation was launched which prohibits the copy of Russian music wherever.
I don’t assume that giving up Russian music would make our music worse. Most Ukrainians don’t need to hearken to Russian music anymore, after all – as I’ve proven – there are various individuals who proceed to take action, however the pattern can’t be modified. Now everybody who has continued to work with Russia and for the Russian market has given it up because the twenty fourth of February, as a result of we now need nothing to do with the nation and the individuals who allowed Putin to return to energy. Secondly, as a result of the cultural dominance of Russian artists should cease; we should construct our personal tradition, separate from Russia’s.
“East – West, Dwelling Finest”
Sadly I, like many individuals, know the historical past of western rap higher than I do Ukrainian. It’s simply extra fascinating to me as a result of it turned the most well-liked music on the planet and the western method (lyrics, kinds) is the place I discovered the meanings near me. And I’ve solely lately begun to dive deeper and in additional element, into the formation of the style in Ukraine. And there are lots of people like me. What stunned me essentially the most and confirmed me what sincere Ukrainian music can and needs to be have been Palindrom, Gonya and TYSK.
I stated in my first article that the music business in my nation has undergone most likely the most important revolution and rebirth within the historical past of impartial Ukraine. Processes that would have lasted for many years have taken place in simply months and are nonetheless going sturdy. Now, I feel, now we have a brand new nation and will have a brand new music business.
The difficulty of language could be very controversial in our nation. Essentially the most noticeable pattern amongst artists in current months is the swap from Russian to Ukrainian lyrics. There are an unbelievable variety of such artists in our nation, who’ve been making music in Russian all their careers and switched to Ukrainian after the battle started. Up to now, when it got here to rap, the most well-liked hip-hop artists in Ukraine used to make tracks completely in Russian, as a result of they needed to seize Russian audiences. A lot of them didn’t emphasise their nationality and Ukrainian identification, which led many listeners to assume that artists corresponding to Lil Morty have been Russians. It was merely not worthwhile, financially, to rap in Ukrainian, as a result of the attain of songs in Ukrainian couldn’t be in contrast with songs in Russian.
Regardless of the outbreak of battle and the transition of artists to Ukrainian due to their reluctance to create within the language of the occupants, there are nonetheless standard rappers who proceed to make music completely in Russian. For instance, вышел покурить.
That is possibly as a result of the Russian labels and advertising have been historically very sturdy, and in our nation there are virtually no labels or advertising constructions which have the identical energy. In truth now we have only a few labels. Russia had the cash and financial system to speculate closely within the music business and promote artists. One instance is Gazgolder, the most important label in Russia. A share of the label is owned by a Russian legal, Evgeny Antimonia (in Russia folks from the legal world are very influential, have some huge cash and connections with the federal government). The label can also be rumoured to cooperate with the state (however there isn’t a official info out there). They’ve some huge cash to advertise the artists. For instance a label artist, T-Fest – a Ukrainian from Chernivtsi – loved enormous reputation.
The label has solely 4 artists, which is nothing like the handfuls of individuals signed to Russian labels. Among the hottest Ukrainian artists – AlyonaAlyona and the winners of Eurovision 2022 Kalush Orchestra – are signed to ENKO. To check, the Russian rapper Basta had invested a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} invested in his work, however the funds for AlyonaAlyona’s promo is restricted to a most of tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.
Because the starting of the battle this has modified; regardless of the Russian advertising in music and the massive cash that took over the business in Ukraine, now Ukrainians refuse Russian music it doesn’t matter what. On the thirty first October, 2022 an digital petition appeared on the web site of the Ukrainian president’s workplace. The petition requires “contacting the streaming firms to create a mechanism that ensures the blocking of Russian content material on the territory of Ukraine”. Every such petition needs to be thought of by the president, if it collects 25 thousand votes. And inside a day, 8,000 out of 25,000 votes have been forged. It appears to me to be an ideal instance of the general public temper that rejects something Russian, particularly music, as a lot as potential.
When folks began to change to Ukrainian music, many individuals, like me, found that our music just isn’t worse than Russian and sometimes significantly better. I take into account this an ideal victory as a result of the creation of music within the native language is without doubt one of the most essential steps to create a novel and genuine music scene in any nation. This step has already been taken, however now we have a democratic nation, and our artists additionally make plenty of music in Russian; as a result of there may be an extremely giant Russian-speaking viewers in Ukraine. I feel that it’s inconceivable to utterly reject the Russian language now, however I consider that after some time there might be no Russian music in Ukraine. I’m not towards Russian language, as I actually am a Russian speaker, however now and for the close to future at the least, it’s inevitable: there might be no Russian music in Ukraine any extra. Folks don’t need to affiliate themselves with an aggressor nation in any means, and the identical goes for the language in music. Usually, I’m satisfied that to construct a robust Ukrainian scene music have to be within the native language of our nation – Ukrainian.
New Ukrainian Rap, Solid from Freedom
It is because every little thing has modified because the begin of the battle; there was a message and an concept. The thought of uniqueness and originality, that now we have our personal nation and other people and that we, regardless of every little thing, have all the time been and can all the time be free and can say what we wish. Our freedom, lifestyle and need to be a free nation is now clearly mirrored within the music.
The artists copying Western and Russian musicians don’t create something new and I feel over time they gained’t be listened to, as a result of once you copy somebody, it’s unlikely to get higher than they did. Sure, you can say that every one standard music is predicated on inheritance, however the actually nice artists are those that combine the legacy of their idols and add one thing of their very own to it – the Ukrainian mentality has plenty of its personal chips that would work in a compilation of already present rap canons. An instance is the rapper Difficult Nicki, who reads in English and strongly imitates the sound and method of American artists. Considered one of his hits, ‘Experience for Ukraine’ has obtained 2.7 million listens. The query is whether or not it suits into the Ukrainian context and whether or not it may be known as an genuine Ukrainian rap.
In fact, rap was born within the USA and has its personal legal guidelines and canons. A rapper from any nation has to return to the supply materials a method or one other. So in any case, artists will look to American rappers as that’s the place the style originated. For instance, telling the reality within the lyrics is the principle function of rap music, which has made it standard everywhere in the world. It doesn’t matter what nation you’re from, you continue to follow the canons of the unique, in any other case you cannot name it hip-hop, and hip-hop is a tradition, it has its personal kind, and already in Ukraine rappers add one thing Ukrainian into the established rap canon and experiment with sound, and so forth.
So it’s completely regular that Ukrainian rappers look as much as Western rappers as a result of they invented this tradition.
However watching, emphasising one thing and being impressed doesn’t imply simply copying a Western artist, altering solely the language of the music. I don’t actually need a Ukrainian Younger Thug or A$AP Rocky in our nation as a result of why ought to folks hearken to an tailored sound after they can hearken to the unique?
Anyway, the narratives broadcast by Western and Russian artists don’t match the Ukrainian actuality in any respect. Within the West, the principle pattern is rap about luxurious, cash and an extremely wealthy life; this concept can also be current in Russian rap. However right here this mannequin doesn’t work, as a result of there’s no cash within the nation, and an individual gained’t correlate himself to an artist. With us, although, it’s a unique means, it’s extra real looking, there’s no bragging about cash and luxurious, as a result of nobody would consider an artist, as a result of everybody understands that he can’t have cash. Three nice examples I haven’t talked about but are Гоня , nemo322, and XXV кадр.
Then again it is a plus, as a result of we will invent one thing of our personal. For instance, one in all Ukraine’s principal underground bands, Glava 94, doesn’t use established themes of “cash, pussy, weed” of their songs, however speaks of true Ukrainian realities, thus incomes respect from their fan base.
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