Rap music makes inroads into Ukraine with Kyiv concert (01/11/98)

Rap music makes inroads into Ukraine with Kyiv concert

by Zenon Zawada
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - As the music of the late rapper Tupac Shakur blasted throughout the halls of the Kyiv Institute of Building and Engineering on a Thursday afternoon, high school and college-aged Ukrainians shuffled about dressed in baggy jeans, American sports jerseys and puffy ski parkas, past a stone-faced "babusia" (grandmother) manning her desk at the front of the auditorium.

As testament to Ukrainian youth's intrigue and near-obsession with American culture, the goateed youngsters were setting up on December 11, 1997, for what was Kyiv's first exclusive rap concert ever: "Funkie Kiev '97." The concert, which actually seemed more like a jam session, was organized on a strictly grass-roots level by a Kyiv rehearsal studio and a group called U Chornykh Yest Chustvo Ritma Rekaddz (Blacks Have a Sense of Rhythm Rekkadz [Records]). Almost all the 15 participating groups finance themselves individually, and for many of them, this was their first opportunity to perform.

Ukrainian rap is in an infantile stage, which was obvious at the concert. Almost all of the 100 or so audience members were of high school or college-age, and most of them came because they knew someone performing. Throughout the show, performers and audience members mingled, listened and danced in a drunken haze, in what became less and less a concert, and more of a high school jam.

The hub of Ukrainian rap is currently in Kharkiv, directly influenced by Moscow and St. Petersburg, where rap has taken off. But the potential for somewhat serious rap in the rest of Ukraine was apparent at the show, which featured Ukraine's most popular and successful rap group Vkhid U Zminommu Vzutti (Entrance with Shoes Changed), as well as Kyiv-based upstarts Green Chestnut Clan and Cross-Tribe.

The performers all take their music very seriously, and have an intense appreciation of the Afro-American culture that inspired them. Many performers cited acclaimed groups like Public Enemy, Wu Tang Clan and Cypress Hill as significant influences on their music, and have a sharper knowledge of rap than your average American.

"I like West Coast beats and melodies, but East Coast lyrics," said Volodymyr Korbut, or West Side Dogg of Cross-Tribe, who is a student at Solomon International University in Kyiv.

Denver, 20, of Cross Tribe, said the history of African Americans is why he is particularly fond of their culture.

"Black Americans waged a strong battle for their freedom," said Denver, a student at the State Institute of Culture in Kyiv. "They hoped that everything would be OK and that came about. We live in Ukraine, and we also hope that everything will be okay."

The result of such cultural melding is that the music presented by the rappers has a Ukrainian flavor, with clear Afro-American influences. Most of the rappers chose English-derived performing names, like Krey Zee, Ned K or Hamma Killa Man; some groups performing called themselves LSD and Big Swell. But the groups sang in Russian and Ukrainian, and several groups included Ukrainian influences in their music. One group, called Sertifikat Vidpovidnosty (Certificate of Conformity), used a traditional Ukrainian flute melody throughout one of its songs.

"Because we are Ukrainians, we feel we don't have to imitate Americans," said Anatolii Sokol, or Falcon, a student at Bohomolets Medical University in Kyiv. "We should have something of our own. We try to use some of our traditional instruments, whether it's a flute or a bandura - some Ukrainian melody."

Many of the rappers have a solid command of English and even its black slang, using words like "sell out" or "indo-chronic." Rap slang terms in Ukrainian have even sprung up among the rap culture in Kyiv. "Chytaty" is to rap, and a "tusovka" is a rap posse. Some might wonder why these post-Soviet youngsters have chosen rap and Afro-American culture to admire and adopt, but for many of them, it's more than just the typical Ukrainian infatuation with anything American.

"We're tired of typical Ukrainian songs about love, lost love and nothing else," said West Side Dogg. "This music is an opportunity to communicate meaning."

Victoria Tutchenko, or Vika of Cross-Tribe, 23, was among the few female rappers performing and said she is particularly fond of black music for it's uniqueness.

"When I listen to black music, I get goose bumps," Vika said. "Their music is honest and straightforward."

The rappers all said that being part of the rap culture of Kyiv is not easy, whether its hearing criticism from parents or peers, about the way they sing to the way they dress.

"Our music is very aggressive, and some Ukrainians don't like that," said West Side Dogg. Another rapper, who performs as Danny Gunn of Green Chestnut Clan, said about wearing rap culture clothing, "When you walk down the street ... you get people's glances and stares all the time."

But the biggest challenge Ukraine's young rappers cited is finding financial support, to record and produce songs. To work in a studio, the rappers pay to use it by the hour, which can range from $10 to $30. Samplers and computers are hard to come by when you are a student without any source of serious income.

The concert itself had no financial sponsors, which was apparent as technical difficulties abounded, even interrupting and limiting several performances. "There aren't any people interested in investing in rap," said West Side Dogg.

So what did the stone-faced babusia think of that music blasting out of the auditorium?

"There's no melody, only words, and it's very loud!" said Tamara Fedorivna. "But every generation has its own music."

While some wouldn't mind if rap in Ukraine died a quick death, Kyiv's posse of rappers is working to make it a part of the Ukrainian culture.

"If people begin to think, then [rap] will have a future (in Ukraine)," said West Side Dogg. "We're trying to make people think - think about what they're doing."