We conducted an interview with Radikal, who has worked with powerful names like Sirhot and Walkie-d from Digitalmix, about his upcoming album and his views on Turkish rap… SnooP Ra: Radikal, first of all, welcome to our interview, can you tell us a little about yourself?
SnooP Ra: Radical, first of all, welcome to our interview. Could you tell us a little about yourself?

Radikal: Welcome. I was born in Istanbul, I'm 22 years old, and Radikal was the name I first used when I started my rap career; I've never changed my name. I started listening to rap in 1998, about a year later, in late '98 or '99, I think, I made my first demo. Of course, that was amateurish. Later, I produced many albums, also amateurish, but I never let anyone listen to any of them. Only when my work started to satisfy me did I start sharing my music with people around me. And now, with all the experience I've gained from those days until today, I'm here with you.

SnooP Ra: It's great that you started after you gained confidence. Usually, people start out of enthusiasm and then give up when they don't get support. Do you think starting rap is that easy? What kind of difficulties did you overcome?

Radikal: I think a person should first learn patience, then comes talent, of course, nobody can become a pro in a year. But without realizing this, many people start rapping with phrases like "I can do it, I'm good, I'm like this and that," and they rush to upload their first demo to the internet. I think this is the biggest mistake in this business because a person should improve themselves, learn from their mistakes, and at least identify the mistakes they hear in each demo, then correct them in the next one to create cleaner work. But since the day I started in this business, I've seen that everyone is driven by the desire to be the best and to be recognized as soon as possible. Because of this, many of my brothers and friends whom I know and helped have disappeared from this market. Maybe there were very talented people among them, but wrong steps always lead to the gallows and bring one closer to their own end. If I were to try and describe the difficulties I faced here, no one would believe me, and they'd think I was trying to exploit emotions, because the new generation doesn't even experience 5% of these difficulties. Most of them start directly in this field by getting help from others – beat recording, mixing, studio work, etc. Of course, this is an exception. Those who can't get help at least try to make something by hearing things from others. I just want to give one example; I'll never forget that I spent months searching for a beat and couldn't find one, and I know I cried with joy when I finally found my first piece of music.

SnooP Ra: Yes, patience is important. Successful people like to work hard. For example, you work with Walkie-D. How did your collaboration with him begin?

Radikal: Sirhot contacted me via my cell phone and invited me to DigitalMix. On my first day there, he introduced me to Walkie. At that time, my recording process was progressing through difficult stages. He suggested that I do my recordings in his home studio, which I gladly accepted.

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SnooP Ra: Of course, not everyone gets the chance, except for good MCs. What level of work were you doing with Sirhot or Walkie-D on, and what kind of album were you making? Could you tell us a little about it?

Radikal: As I said, there are talented people among them, and they will definitely be noticed one day, if not by Sirhot Walkie, then by other producers. We have a solo album project with Walkie, and we are still working on it, but before that, we had decided on a 6-track EP under the name "C rh Neutral," but we abandoned that because it took up too much of our time and interfered with the solo album. However, we have decided to shoot a music video for the song "C rh Neutral," and we will definitely present it to you before the solo album.

SnooP Ra: Can you give us some information about the album? Is there a release date? What kind of album are Turkish rap fans expecting?

Radikal: I can say that this album was prepared in a very professional environment. We have tracks prepared with live instrumentals. The subject of each track is definitely dealt with in different themes, and I have my own style that will definitely not bore people, and I believe that I have fully emphasized this style in this album and will emphasize it in future tracks as well. I can say that Turkish rap lovers will get their fill of scratching in my solo album, led by Walkie. We also have collaboration attempts and projects with world-famous MCs and groups from Turkey and abroad, but it would be wrong to mention them now, but we will definitely share information when it is fully finalized.

SnooP Ra: I'm happy for you, especially about scratching. If something like that happens, it would be great because it's starting to become less common in Turkish rap; nobody uses it in their songs anymore. For example, they'll have a chance to listen to the song "Sitem" at the end of the interview... How did the song "Sitem" come about?

Radikal: After I conceived the style in my head, I shared this unique idea with Walkie, and he responded positively. Then we came up with different beats and samples that could suit this style. We recorded many demos, thinking about what we had done and what we could do. When I first heard this beat, I said, "This is it!" I wrote the lyrics without wasting any time, then I recorded it, and this is the resulting track. I hope it doesn't disappoint the listeners.

SnooP Ra: Okay, let's delve a bit deeper into rap. Where do you see Turkish rap? Well, of course, diss tracks. Old friends are now dissing each other?

Radikal: If we were to rank Turkish rap by country, it would probably be in the top 4. Because our language is very suitable for rap. If we consider 94-95, it was probably the golden age of Turkish rap. When I see on any website or on CDs I receive that Radikal dissed so-and-so, said this or that, I immediately shut down the conversation. I don't like such things. I neither download them nor waste my time listening to such nonsense. Everyone should mind their own business, stop attacking others, produce quality work, and earn respect.

SnooP Ra: So, what would you do if the diss came from an old friend?

Radikal: I would be upset. I'm a very emotional person; I wouldn't want to retaliate and hurt him, nor would I want to make him look ridiculous by rhyming his weaknesses and portraying them to others.

SnooP Ra: For example, if someone named Radikal is making an album and they come to you asking for a feature, do you have any conditions? Or who do you work with?

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Radikal: My golden rules are respect and style. If an MC doesn't have their own style, I have no business with them. They can't get anywhere by imitating others, and I don't think their album will be successful either. The only audience that would buy and listen to that album would be the audience listening to the style they're imitating.

SnooP Ra: Everyone is releasing albums, but you have so many resources and support that most people don't have. Why don't you release a lot more albums?

Radikal: Thank God we have the means, the luxury of doing whatever we want whenever we want. But I've never been the type to constantly strive to make albums so people will listen to me and recognize me. I've never chased after publicity throughout my life. If I decide to make an album or a single track, I'll say, "Okay, this is definitely going to happen, it's going to be presented to the public," and I'll make it and release it. Those who know me know how many bad tracks I have. Or those who know me online, let them show me just one track of mine that's been trashed, including my past work. I trust myself; I've never released tracks online just for the sake of it. Besides, lately, people's albums are being trashed on forums; there are excuses for good albums and bad ones. So what should we do? Should we close the forum and not accept comments? Or should we open the forum, read the pages full of insults against our good work, and just laugh it off?

SnooP Ra: Most MCs are now pressing albums and selling them online, so what are your thoughts on that? They're not bothering with getting the official stamp/label for their albums.

Radikal: I think such a decision can be made depending on the quality of the work. You can make an extremely high-quality album, spend money, and want to make money from it, you can add value to the album and present it to people; those who want it will buy it, and those who don't won't. But it's also possible to think the opposite: you're a band with a large network, your advertisements are everywhere on websites, and you think, "Okay, we're a well-known band, whatever we do will be bought." Of course, there are albums made and presented with this mindset, and these are noticeably different in terms of quality. As for making albums with official labels, they can't do that alone because it's not easy, believe me. When they are faced with musical terms, mixing techniques, and musical rules they've never seen or known before, or when they are questioned by the company owners about their work, they can't even answer.

SnooP Ra: What do you say about the divisions in rap? This exists in many cities, even I live in Ankara!

Radikal:99 In the 2000s, Kadıköy and Bakırköy were compared to America's East Side and West Side; it was some kind of imitation, I don't know what to call it, but there was something like that. Now, there's division in every city, it's unbelievable. I have a friend from Zonguldak, can you believe it? Even there, there are divisions, and Zonguldak hasn't even made its voice heard yet. Mersin is the same, Izmir is divided, Ankara is divided, and Istanbul... well, I don't even need to mention it. But I think the main theme of this is jealousy and the desire to be in the spotlight. I ask a guy if he knows an MC from his city, and he either replies, "Fuck it, is he even a man?" or he says, "He's terrible," and trashes him. This desire to always be in the spotlight will multiply this seed, and I don't believe there will be peace or that we will continue with rap with support. There will always be a feeling of hatred inside us.

SnooP Ra: Competition is a good thing for development, but I think rap isn't quite ready for this division. If we divide now, we won't gain anything! Which foreign rap artists do you listen to? East West 😀

Radikal: You're talking about competition, right? Well, competition is a good thing, but wouldn't it be better if, when one person sees the other's mistakes and shortcomings, they pointed them out and warned them? Wouldn't that be great? Strength comes from unity. I have my idols in rap: Iam, and of course Freeman, NTM, 113 Degrees, Psy4 de la Rime, Akh, Fonky Family, Faf Larage, Medina, Lunatic, Hostile Brasco from the 2006 album. Lately, Keny Arkana, and of course, female MCs... I could go on and on. Gangsta rap.

SnooP Ra: You mentioned you do production, specifically beatmaking. Can you tell us a little about that?

Radikal: Making music is actually a great pleasure for me. Besides being a vocalist, making and producing music gives me great pleasure. I previously produced Çelşi's album and shot two music videos for it, which were broadcast on Dream TV. One of them is a collaboration with me, "Dramatize." I also made a lot of music for Mahzen's albums. Recently, I was a beatmaker for Sendrom's album, a young talent from Izmir. He'll release it soon. I also made a beat for Gölgeli, my brother of 10 years who is continuing his education in Ukraine and is one of the biggest talents to emerge from Zonguldak. He will make his voice heard on SND soon. I made many beats for the Lymposium group from Çanakkale; they have already completed their albums. And finally, my door is open to MCs who need beats and are truly talented. They can send me their demos, and I can provide them with beats free of charge, as long as they are talented and successful. I have endless respect for them.

SnooP Ra: Thank you very much for the Radikal interview... I wish you success. Finally, let's hear your thoughts.

Radikal: Suikast.de is a very important site in my rap life, I owe a lot to each and every one of you, we are true brothers and sisters without lies or deceit, I love you all. My final message to Turkish rap listeners: be vigilant, the world is full of filth spreading seeds of evil, protect yourselves from them, don't give up on rap, don't waste your time doing this for nothing, don't be divided, support each other. With respect to everyone.