SND: DJ ÇAĞDAŞ, LET'S GET TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BIT FIRST…

DJ MES: I was born in Bornova, Izmir in 1982. I completed my primary, middle and high school education in Bornova and I am currently a second-year student in Plastics Engineering at Ege University.

SND: WHEN DID YOU GET INTRODUCED TO RAP MUSIC?

DJ MES: I was introduced to rap music in 1995 through Run-DMC and GrandmasterFlash. I listened to and researched various rap styles for a long time. Initially, I was listening to EastCoast. Or rather...
I was able to reach them, and in 1998-1999 I said hello to rap music. I recorded my first lyrics in '98 and my first song in '99. In 2000, Alper Tunga and I founded Cephe 35 under the umbrella of Kuva-i-Zmir. Due to some problems, I parted ways with Alper in 2002, and in 2001, we launched the Cashflow Label project with Volkan. We have produced many songs to date. In our very amateur days, we were featured in compilation albums like Hip Hop Menu 2 – Turkish Rap Base – Turkish Rap. As time went on, I became a listener of West and Dirty South and started making work in that style. And I started working with MCs whose style was similar to mine. Among the most prominent of these were Hakanmc, who left Kuvaizmir, and MCE, who left 24/7, whom we added to our roster. In 2003, we also welcomed our close friend Esir from Bornova to the Cashflow family, and the family expanded. WITHIN THIS FAMILY, HAKANMC – VOLKAN AND I FORMED A SEPARATE GROUP UNDER THE NAME DENGE AND STARTED PREPARING THE ALBUM TO BRING IT TO LIFE. BUT BEFORE THAT, WE COMPLETED OUR OWN SOLO ALBUM, DJ ÇAĞDAŞ & VOLKAN (HİLELİZARLAR), AND RELEASED IT WITH KOD MUSIC.
WE AGREED. THE EXACT RELEASE DATE OF THE ALBUM ISN'T KNOWN YET, BUT I THINK IT WILL BE ON SHELVES IN SPRING, MAYBE EVEN EARLIER.

SND: WHAT STYLE DO YOU THINK YOUR RAP AND INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC ARE CLOSE TO?

DJ MES: MY STYLE OF RAP IS MESTCOAST 🙂 IN TERMS OF SOUND, I MAKE BEATS IN THE STYLE OF EASTCOAST AND SOUTHWEST GANGSTER, AND I ENJOY MAKING THEM. IT'S PARTLY RELATED TO THE RAP I LISTEN TO, BUT I ALSO DO WESTCOAST AND HORERCORE. IT DEPENDS ON MY MOOD AT THE TIME. IF I'M IN A BAD MOOD, I GENERALLY MAKE EASTCOAST BEATS. IF I'M RELAXED, I MAKE WESTCOAST AND SOUTHCOAST BEATS. BUT WHATEVER I DO, I CREATE MY SOUNDS WITHOUT EVER LOSING MY "UNDERGROUND SPIRIT".

SND: AS A RAP LISTENER, WHO SHOULD YOU LISTEN TO?

DJ MES: I'm a very selective listener. I'm mostly interested in underground bands, but I won't name them here because it might not mean much to the site's users since none of them are famous. However, there are some very respected bands from the underground scene that I really like. I generally listen to Down South and West Coast underground styles. Crimebo$$, Tela, DJsqueeky, Indo G, Alkathraz Ridaz, Spice1, David Banner, BoneCrusher, and Ying Yang Twins are among my favorite rappers.

SND: SO, ARE THERE ANY ARTISTS FROM Türkiye THAT YOU LISTEN TO OR LIKE?

DJ MES: OF COURSE THERE ARE, BUT THEIR NUMBER IS VERY SMALL. BUT I'M ALREADY WORKING WITH PEOPLE I LOVE IN Türkiye AND I'M VERY HAPPY ABOUT THAT, MOST IMPORTANTLY. AS A PRODUCER, I FEEL LUCKY. FIRST AND FOREMOST, MY BROTHER AND BEST FRIEND VOLKAN, WITH WHOM I FOUNDED CASHFLOW RECORDS… HAKANMC, OUR LITTLE ONE WHO CHANGES CITIES EVERY MONTH AND WHOSE ORIGIN I CAN'T GUESS, AND ONE OF THE MOST SPECIAL PEOPLE FOR ME, THE MASTER OF HORERCORE, kafiye[MCE], MY CRAZY FRIEND BOMBAMK :) WHOSE VOICE GETS ME HYPED THE MOMENT I HEAR IT. My friend whom I raised and whose future I see as very bright, the only man who pushes me into sadness with rap music is Çilekeş Yener, and finally, when I think of Freestyle, the first name that comes to my mind is Chuck D's Izmir version :)) Kerem… Besides these, Stereocem, Erci-E and Crack are names I like.

SND: COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE IN CASHFLOW RECORDS?

DJ MES: CASHFLOW IS NOT JUST A GROUP OR A CREW, IT'S A RAP FAMILY. IN THIS FORMATION, EVERYONE IS FREE, BUT WE ALL KNOW EACH OTHER. FOR EXAMPLE; I KNOW WHAT MCE IS DOING, AND HE KNOWS WHAT I'M DOING. WE ARE NOT DISCONNECTED FROM EACH OTHER, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE ALL VERY CLOSE FRIENDS. FRIENDSHIP COMES FIRST IN CASHFLOW. THOSE WHO KNOW ME KNOW VERY WELL THAT I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR MY FRIEND WITHOUT HESITATION, BUT IF FRIENDSHIP ENDS, EVERYTHING ENDS ON THIS SIDE OF THE WORLD. SO, CASHFLOW HOUSE CONSISTS OF THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE; I am DJ Çağdaş, along with Volkan, Hakanmc, MCE, Esir, and Bomba MK. Besides these, we also work with Kerem and Lab168. I also try to support Alper Tunga as much as I can; he was my first...
LET NO ONE THINK THAT MY TEAM MEMBER HAS FORGOTTEN HIM…

SND: HOW KNOW THE IZMIR RAP SCENE, AND WHY DO YOU USE SO MANY ELEMENTS OF IZMIR AND BORNOVA IN YOUR SONGS?

DJ MES: 🙂 I love Izmir very much, I hope Izmir loves me too. As for the scene in Izmir, there are some really cool places and some really bad ones. That's the case everywhere, but generally, the Izmir crowd is very good, I like them. There are some really solid rappers in Izmir, but they all keep to themselves. My usual spot is Bornova. I was born in Bornova, started rapping here, and grew up here, that's why I use Bornova's name so much.

SND: A LITTLE BIT FROM THEIR UPCOMING ALBUM "RIGGED DICE".
WILL HE MENTION IT?

DJ MES: I could say a lot about this album, but I don't want to elaborate too much. I have a lot of confidence in it. I believe Volkan and I put a lot of effort into it. The album features collaborations with names like Hakanmc-Yener, Bombamk-MCE, and Kerem. The biggest feature of the album is its rich sound that will satisfy every type of rap listener. I have a lot of confidence in my beats. I think this album will produce some big rap hits, but ultimately, the listeners will make the right decision. As you know... TASTES AND PREFERENCES ARE NOT TO BE DEBATED. THIS ALBUM WILL SATISFY BOTH UNDERGROUND RAP LISTENERS AND THOSE WHO PREFER MORE CONVENTIONAL MUSIC. NO ONE SHOULD DOUBT THAT.

SND: WHAT'S YOUR COMMENT ON THE RAP ALBUMS RELEASED IN THE LAST 2 YEARS?

DJ MES: In the last two years, Ceza and Miccheck have produced some solid work. Besides them, I liked Modelxl, who came out recently. I don't pay attention to the others.

SND: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE BOOK WRITTEN BY JONTÜRK?

DJ MES: JONTÜRK IS GOING DOWN THE WRONG PATH. HE'S NOT THE ONE TO WRITE THE BOOK ON HIP HOP... AND PLEASE, HE SHOULD ALSO GET OVER THE ANATOLIAN RAP THINGS. THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD DO ANATOLIAN RAP ARE WELL-KNOWN. I THINK JONTÜRK IS THE LAST PERSON WHO SHOULD BE DOING IT...

SND: WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT 'OGEDAY,' WHICH HAS BEEN APPEARING ON MANY TV CHANNELS LATELY?

DJ MES: NO NEED FOR FURTHER WORDS… I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HIS STYLE. NEITHER RAP NOR POP?… AFTER ALL, HE'S ODAGEY BUDAGEY. HE SHOULD GO PLAY HOP SCOTCH…

SND: COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR NEW PROJECTS?

DJ MES: There's a project called "DENGE (CASHFLOW)" which is a collaboration between me, Hakan, and Volkan. I have my solo album, and later MCE has his solo album. If things go well, there will also be a compilation album.

SND: CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR SOLO ALBUM? HOW MANY TRACKS ARE THERE? WHO ARE YOUR FEATURES ON THE ALBUM?

DJ MES: ALL THE INSTRUMENTAL WORK FOR THE ALBUM IS FINISHED. THE TRACKS ARE CURRENTLY IN THE RECORDING AND LYRICS STAGE. AS FOR THE FEATURES, VOLKAN, HAKANMC, STERYOCEM, MCE, KEREM, BOMBAMK, YENER, STATİK, MELEZ AND A FEW OTHERS.
A SURPRISE NAME. THE ALBUM IS AGAIN RICH, BUT ALSO FEATURES SOME UNDERGROUND SOUNDS. THAT'S MY JOB, ANYWAY – PROFESSIONAL WORK DONE WITH AN AMATEUR SPIRIT.

SND: WHO HAVE YOU SUPPORTED SO FAR? WHO HAVE YOU WORKED WITH?

DJ MES: I've worked with or made beats for many artists including HAKANMC, VOLKAN, MCE, ESİR, KEREM, ALPERTUNGA, YENER, SUICASTEAM (BOMBAMK), EMİR AKA SF, MELEZ, DUMANYAK, MCİZ, FREEZİLL, DARBE TEŞEBBÜS, LAB168, MADDKAVE, LİL ALEE, UMUT ERTEK, FİDEL, and many more that I can't remember right now. I'm currently supporting new groups, and you'll hear about them soon.

SND: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT OUR WEBSITE?

DJ MES: I've been visiting SUİKAST.DE for years. I wish them continued success on this path…

SND: IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO TELL US?

DJ MES: I SEND MY GREETINGS TO THE ENTIRE RAP COMMUNITY. PEACE TO EVERYONE WHO DOES THIS JOB PROPERLY OR TRIES TO DO IT PROPERLY…!