A rap and skate party was held at Mia Skate Park in Zeytinburnu on Saturday, June 30th. What made this event special was the participation of rappers from all over Turkey, who added color to the day.

MY SIXTH ARTICLE: “RAP FESTIVAL”

I arrived at the party around 10, which started at 9. Looking around, all I saw were baggy pants, Adidas shoes, and skaters. On the other side of the park, DJ Mic-Check was getting the crowd going with his scratches and then setting the trend with his diverse tracks. From MOP to McLyte, and from McLyte to Public Enemy, the changing styles and old-school and new-school songs were truly worth listening to.

Skate competitions were the first activity of the day. Skaters aged 13-20 demonstrated their tricks one by one, and finally, the finalists qualified to compete in the finals the following day (Sunday). I was surprised because I didn't know skateboarding was so widespread in Turkey, and I watched these young people's tricks with great interest. Two doctors would get up every time a skater fell, but after seeing that nothing serious happened, they would sit down.

Four hours had passed, and it was time for the concerts to begin. The audience, who had been waiting for this moment for so long, slowly began to move to the front of the stage. The first to take the stage was Sihir from North Berlin. Looking around, I was very happy, but also very sad. On one hand, this beautiful organization, on the other hand, the handful of hip-hop artists gathered. So few people in such a large area was truly a sad sight. Sihir, who was the first to perform, really had a difficult task. People didn't even know who this guy was and didn't know what to expect. Sihir, who had quite a strong flow, performed songs from his new underground EP and didn't forget to take a jab at SOS. He was accompanied by MC Kanun.

After the magic faded from the stage, it was DJ Mic-Check (Silahsiz Kuvvet) and Duman's turn. The two artists I was most looking forward to had taken the stage, and everyone was ready to go wild. Duman got the crowd dancing with their crazy (!) moves and their signature Dumanyak-Style. Singing a few songs from their new album, Duman gave hope for the future and, with the insane backing tracks prepared by Mic-Check, got the crowd bouncing around.

About an hour later, the stage belonged to Yener. Wearing a "Kuva-i-izmir" t-shirt, Yener performed well-known songs like "Liseli Genc" and "Tore." She also sang songs from her new album, captivating the audience with her flowing vocals.

Thirty minutes after Yener, Hedef-12 took the stage. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this group. But once Hedef-12's concert started, the crowd went wild. Hedef-12 delivered a really solid live performance and completely won the hearts of the crowd. The small number of hip-hop fans gathered at Mia Skate Park jumped on each other and sang along to Hedef-12's songs. I was amazed because they gave such a great live show, and it was their first concert! If they focused a little more on rap (for example, using turntables and creating a more solid beat), Hedef-12 could become a really strong group.

After Target-12, it was Nefret's turn. After Duman and Silahsiz Kuvvet, Nefret was the band I was most looking forward to. First, Nefret performed songs from their first album, then from their second album, "Anahtar". Even though I hadn't heard those songs, they were all very solid and showed how much Nefret had improved in a year. Ceza's flows were excellent, and Fuchs also gave a strong performance.

Perhaps the best part of the day was when, after Nefret's concert ended, Ceza invited everyone who performed that day onto the stage and challenged them to freestyle. Sihir, Duman, Yener, Hedef-12, and Nefret each freestyled one by one, electrifying the crowd and showing something we might only see once in our lives.

Many thanks to everyone who organized today, and hopefully it will be organized again next year. The most important factor for this is advertising. This year we saw that this doesn't work online. If posters and banners are put up around Istanbul, I'm sure more people will come...

Always Turkcerap,
Mc Super B