https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2296-9587
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ABSTRACT
Turkish rap music has dominated the scene since 2017. This transformation occurred very quickly. Turkish rap was pioneered by alienated Turkish immigrants in Germany. Initially, it served as a tool for self-expression and dissent from an underground position. Although political rap gained popularity for a short period during the Gezi protests, today’s rappers are turning into influencers rather than protestors and harming rap’s ability of social expression. This research focuses on Turkish rap music’s integration with the current capitalist industries by using the perspectives of both cultural studies and political economy through interviews with industry professionals and historical analysis.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Joker, “Parola,” Basemode Records.
2 Kaya, “Aesthetics of Diaspora,” 46.
3 Clarke et al., “Subcultures, Cultures and Class,” 14.
4 Lüküslü, “Saygı Talebi Olarak Hip-Hop,” 217.
5 Solomon, “Listening to İstanbul,” 62.
6 Mişe, “Politics of Rap,” 5.
7 Frith, “The Popular Music Industry,” 27.
8 Hesmondhalgh, The Cultural Industries, 61.
9 Rose, Black Noise, 21.
10 Ards, “Organizing the Hip Hop Generation,” 321.
11 Martinez, “Popular Culture as Oppositional Culture,” and Stapleton, “Margins to Mainstream.”
12 Dimitriadis, “Hip-Hop,” 421.
13 Rose, Black Noise, 56.
14 Light, “Salary or Reality,” 140.
15 Hebdige, Subculture, 94.
16 Rose, Black Noise, 58.
17 Dimitriadis, “Hip-Hop,” 421.
18 Lusane, “Rap, Race and Politics.”
19 Sullivan, “Rap and Race,” 607.
20 Blair, “Commercialization of Rap,” 32.
21 Solomon, “Berlin–Frankfurt–Istanbul,” 306.
22 Kaya, “Aesthetics of Diaspora,” 47.
23 Ibid.; Çınar, “Cartel.”
24 Lüküslü, “Saygı Talebi Olarak Hip-Hop,” 211.
25 Ibid., 210, and Solomon, “Berlin–Frankfurt–Istanbul,” 318.
26 “Ceza: Rapstar dönüm noktası oldu.”
27 Kozanoğlu and Cabas, “Türk Pop Müziği Tarihi.”
28 Solomon, “Living Underground Is Tough,” 5.
29 Demiröz, personal communication, 2019.
30 Lüküslü, “Saygı Talebi Olarak Hip-Hop,” 213.
31 Musically, Country Profile: Turkey.
32 We Are Social, Digital 2019 Turkey Report.
33 Barış Akpolat, quoted in Sharpe, “Turkish Rapper Ezhel.”
34 Sharpe, “Turkish Rapper Ezhel.”
35 Kaluža, “The Reality of Trap,” 24.
36 Patır, personal communication, 2019.
37 Mişe, “Politics of Rap,” 115–19.
38 Hammaş, personal communication, 2019.
39 Çıkıntı, personal communication, 2019.
40 Adorno, “Müziğin Fetiş Niteliği,” 2018.
41 Rose, “Orality and Technology,” 43.
42 Aga B, personal communication, 2019.
43 Morgan, “Revenue, Access, and Engagement,” 5.
44 Spade, personal communication, 2019.
45 Yüksel, personal communication, 2019.
46 “Ceza: Hırsızlık Yapmadım, Reklamda Oynadım.”
47 Solomon, “Living Underground Is Tough,” 6.
48 Lüküslü, “Saygı Talebi Olarak Hip-Hop,” 208.
49 Kaya, “Aesthetics of Diaspora,” 44.
50 ‘Gezi Park protests’ is the common name that is being used to define the demonstrations that occurred in the summer of 2013 in Turkey. Starting in Taksim as an ecological protest against the upcoming demolishment of Gezi Park, the demonstrations spread nationwide after excessive use of police violence. Protestors targeted the ruling party AKP's authoritarian government, the increased oppression towards the opposition and violations of human rights such as freedom of speech.
51 Dağ, Rebel Music.
52 “Ağaçkakan.”
53 Meriç, “Yerli Müzik.”
54 Soprano, Mary Jane.
55 Uraz, Parmaklıklar Ardında.
56 Shaheed, Report of Cultural Rights.
57 Spade, personal communication, 2019.
58 Lüküslü, Aparkat.
59 Dyson, quoted in Lusane, “Rap, Race and Politics,” 54.
60 Tatlıcı and Hamsici, Burası Bağcılar.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Duru Su Kadıoğlu
Duru Su Kadıoğlu is a graduate student in Media and Communication Studies at Galatasaray University. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Bahçeşehir University.
Ceren Sözeri Özdal
Ceren Sözeri Özdal is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communications of Galatasaray University. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Galatasaray University. She received her Ph.D. from Marmara University. She has published on the political economy of the media, media policies, freedom of the press, ethical issues, and discrimination and hate speech in traditional and online media in Turkey. She has been the Ethical Journalism Network's Turkey representative since 2015 and is a columnist for Evrensel daily.