{"id":38675,"date":"2020-11-25T14:09:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T13:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/?p=38675"},"modified":"2021-01-04T12:09:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T11:09:14","slug":"central-asian-rap-in-10-tracks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novastan.org\/en\/kazakhstan\/central-asian-rap-in-10-tracks\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Asian rap in 10 tracks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hip hop, which appeared in America in the 1970s, has long since become a worldwide phenomenon adapting and evolving in each new environment. Central Asia is no exception, as a quick overview of rap music from the region reveals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was originally published on Novastan’s German website<\/a><\/strong> in 2018<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Spotify<\/a>, hip hop is the most popular music genre in the world. Although most of Central Asia is not yet covered by the Swedish streaming service, it does have very active and increasingly professional rap scenes. Some of these even enjoy great commercial success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is especially true for Kazakhstan, home to the largest music industry<\/a> in the region. Kyrgyz rap has equally found its way to the forefront of local pop culture. In Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, state control over the cultural sector is stronger, pushing local rap scenes either into conformity or to the margins. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Central Asia\u2019s widespread multilingualism is reflected in its rap. Russian-speaking artists still have the largest audience, yet most Central Asian rappers favour their national languages. But Central Asia\u2019s rap scenes also differ in terms of their themes and social setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an entry point, here are ten remarkable songs from all five Central Asian countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.     Skriptonit \u2013 Style (Kazakhstan\/Russia, 2015)<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne brother to my left, one to my right, I don\u2019t call this “koresh”<\/em> [Russian slang for a close friend] \u2013 because I’m from Pavlodar, if you<\/em> remember\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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