In a tiny recording studio, I am interviewing one of the most exciting acts of the upcoming Chaika Festival – hip-hop band Tanok Na Maidani Kongo (A Dance on Congo Square).
The scene buzzes with activity.
Sitting on the floor amid empty boxes, the interview is frequently interrupted by friends of the band – who plop down and join the discussion.
“In the beginning there was a word. Then there were many words, and those who could say more words than the others were called rappers,” Fozzy said.
Fozzy’s statement is much like TNMK’s songs – playful, frivolous and seemingly stupid. But the songs are full of covert messages.
TNMK’s songs are especially appealing to teen-agers because the group takes verses from Ukrainian literature, taught in secondary school, and combines it with popular folk melodies and hip-hop slang.
“We play Ukrahop – Ukrainian hip-hop, with all the Ukrainian components – salo, samogon,” Fozzy says.
What makes this unusual is that TNMK comes from Kharkiv, one of Ukraine’s most Russian-speaking cities. But Kharkiv is also known as the cradle of Ukrainian hip-hop, which many say is due to TNMK and its leader Fagot, who helped promote the genre.
From 1994 to 1996, Fagot – the name means “bassoon in Russian” – produced Ukraine’s first TV program devoted to rap titled, “Rap-Oboima.” The twice-monthly program was broadcasted all over Ukraine on two state channels.
It was during that time that Fagot met Fozzy at a casino where both worked as croupiers. By that time Fozzy had been performing with rock band Novye Doma (New Houses) for five years.
In 1996, Fozzy wrote “Congo Square Dance,” dedicated to Congo Square, a former slave market in New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz. The band eventually decided to rename itself after that place.
From its inception, the band has had a difficult time being taken seriously. The city of Kharkiv occasionally tried to censor the band’s lyrics and antics.
But things changed when the band won first place at the prestigious all-Ukrainian festival competition “Chervona Ruta,” where its single “Zroby Meni Hip-Hop” (Make Hip-Hop For Me) was honored as the smash song of the festival in 1997.
In addition to Fozzy and Fagot, TNMK’s lineup includes singer Dilya, guitarist Yaroslav Mudry, base guitarist Kotya and two Kyivans – DJ Tonique and drummer Vitold.
The band recently recorded “Neformat.” As with all of TNMK’s albums, “Neformat” contains monologues, anecdotes and greetings, in addition to songs.
“For me, an album is not just a bunch of songs. They must somehow be connected, as in a book, where different chapters are tied to one plot,” Fagot says. “We would call the album ‘Zhopa’ (Ass), but Auktsyon already has an album of the same name,” Fozzy said. “So we chose, ‘Neformat’ (Non-format), which refers to the likelihood that this album’s songs won’t be aired and become popular.”
The album title reflects the band’s pessimism toward Ukrainian show business.
“Moscow finds our songs appealing – a competitive commodity – but Ukrainian radio stations consider them not worthy of airtime,” Fozzy said.
More often than not, Ukrainian radio stations will refuse to play TNMK’s songs. Once the band’s songs climb the music charts in Russia, local Ukrainian stations will allot them airtime, Fozzy predicts.
TNMK’s will perform at the Chaika Festival on May 26-27 at Chaika field.
