Articles tagged with: Turkmen on the Turntables
Editor’s note: A fake Hip Hop concert announcement on the Turkmenet reveals something about the character of Turkmenistan’s young generation, and the complexity of hope, fantasy, and reality, reports neweurasia’s Annasoltan. “[I]f there’s a positive message to take away from this sad Valentine’s Day ‘gift’, it’s that the general response to the announcement indicates something of the real freedom that young Turkmen desires for their country,” she writes.
In a chat room in the Turkmenet, a Turkmen netizen announced a Hip Hop concert in Ashgabat for today to commemorate Valentine’s Day. The concert was supposedly going to host all the major stars of this young music and social movement. In the end, though, it turned out to be just a bad joke.
The cover art for Zumer Chas' latest album, featuring RuDe. Image courtesy of the Darkroom Posse FaceBook fan club.
Editor’s note: Turkmenistan may be second only to North Korea in its self-imposed isolation, but this hasn’t stopped the global phenomenon of “urban culture”, especially in the form of Hip Hop. neweurasia’s Annasoltan explores how Hip Hop can thrive — or die — in a totalitarian police state. Read her previous entries in this post series, including exclusive remarks from Zumer Chas of Darkroom Posse, here. Also, read Chris Schuepp’s 2008 guest post on underground pop music in Turkmenistan here.
Given the meteoric rise in popularity of Hip Hop in Turkmenistan, what approach are the Turkmen authorities taking toward the music form and the restive youth subculture it represents?
Image from Darkroom Posse's Facebook fan club.
Editor’s note: Turkmenistan may be second only to North Korea in its self-imposed isolation, but this hasn’t stopped the global phenomenon of “urban culture”, especially in the form of Hip Hop. neweurasia’s Annasoltan has some exclusive comments from the biggest name in Turkmen rapping — Zumer Chas of Darkroom Posse. Read her previous entry in this post series here and here. Also, read Chris Schuepp’s 2008 guest post on underground pop music in Turkmenistan here.
Okay, for those of you who don’t know, the music form “Hip Hop” or “Rap” originated in 1970s Bronx, New York City, and has since spread across the world. That’s a lot because it’s more than music, but a whole lifestyle. Some (American) names you’ve probably definitely heard of: Eminem, Queen Latifah, Sugar Hill Gang, Salt’n'Pepper, 2Pac, Snoop Dog, NWA, etc. etc. But unless you’re in Turkey or Turkmenistan, I bet you’ve never heard of Zumer Chas.
Zumer is the biggest name from the Turkmen Hip Hop group Darkroom Posse, the most popular Turkmen Hip Hop operation of our time to reach stardom. For example, in 2008 when Zumer gave a concert together with RuDe, 1600 people came — a remarkable number. I caught up with him recently to ask him his thoughts about why the music form is spreading in Turkmenistan, and what it means to be a rapper in this country.
Editor’s note: Turkmenistan may be second only to North Korea in its self-imposed isolation, but this hasn’t stopped the global phenomenon of “urban culture”, especially in the form of Hip Hop, from arriving there, writes neweurasia’s Annasoltan. Read her previous entry in this post series here.
Due to its sexually explicit lyrics, tendency to glorify violence, and promote radical political views, Hip Hop has long been a subject of controversy in the West. However, precisely because of its gangland origins and lo-tech requirements, Hip Hop has also long been indefatigably grass roots.
So, it’s initially hard to imagine its sudden bloom in such a closed and strictly controlled country as Turkmenistan. After all, this a country where, as part of an extensive personality cult, the official state media broadcasts only songs in praise of the country’s leadership.
But the rigidities of Turkmen media culture are precisely why Hip Hop is suddenly popular: Turkmenistan’s youth are finding refuge in their own subculture and seeking new forms of expression.
Turkmen rap songs are gaining speedy popularity among the Turkmen youth. New rap websites are popping up left and right.
“Palestine”, a song about Palestinian children killed by Israeli security forces by Zumerchas of the rap group Darkroom Posse, has been rapidly making the rounds among listeners. Darkroom Posse has toured in Turkey and includes rappers from Turkmenistan, Russia, Canada, and the United States.
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