Diversidad

1.Before Diversidad, had you collaborated with foreign artists? If you have, which artists, which project?
No I haven’t! At least not from countries that speak different language than mine. I’ve had collabos with artists from region (Bosna&Hercegovina, Srbia), but they’re not too foreign to be called foreign.

2.Have you already performed abroad? in Europe? Where?
Huh… again my answer is no… I’ve performed many many times in nearby countries from Slovenia to Macedonia and it was awesome.

3.If you have, what’s your best / worst memory while performing abroad?
Thankfully, only good memories come from all the shows I’ve performed on. I guess when doing a solo concert in front of more than a thousand fans qualifies immediately as best, but lots of stuff happened off stage that will be remembered for years to come. To name a few – first time in Skopje (Macedonia) where they treated us as kings, being stopped for a beer on the borderline crossing in Slovenia by a customs officer who wanted to share his excitement to meet us… huh… too much great memories… I love this game!!

4.What would be your dream collaboration if you could pick a European artist to record a track with?
Hard to tell… to many to pick… I guess that would be Gentleman, Seeed, Roots Manuva, Bjork, Diversidad crew (oh, damn, I did that already!)…

5.Where have you always dreamed to perform at and why (in Europe: festivals, venue, cities, countries, random place??)
I love doing shows anywhere and everywhere. No particular city or festival. As long as the vibe is good and the crowd is hungry – I want to do it!

6.For the fans who don’t understand your lyrics, can you briefly describe what you usually rap/sing about?
My lyrics are mostly socially engaged and about life. I don’t write “I this, I that” lyrics and I hate bragging. It’s more on how I view the world that surrounds me and my opinions on stuff I see when living in this crazy era.

7.Which city are you from? What do you like/hate most about your city?
I’m from Zagreb. That’s capital city of Croatia. I love my city and at the same time I hate it. It’s small enough to feel comfortable but too big to be able to live stress-free. It’s a city where drinking espresso/machiatto is a must and time stops for a coffe break, and that I love, but it’s also a city of expensive taxi transport and crooked government and that I despise.

8.What are the coolest hip hop places to hang out in your city (bar, restaurants, clubs, venues, other…)?
The hottest would definitely be on Blackout parties in Aquarius club, hosted by DJ Phat Phillie!!

9.What’s your favorite place in Europe and why?
I love Paris. It’s not a regular romantic/love/inspiration/blahblah tourist story. I dig its underground train system and the way people on the streets behave. I felt everyone’s polite and ready to help stranger, and it is a city where I enjoy wandering around most. I also love Budapest, Sarajevo, Madrid and Belgrade. Those cities had “something”. Some x-factor that you feel but cannot describe.

10.In about 5 words how do you describe the urban culture in your country?
Five word… only five? Growing, surviving, vibrant, interesting, independent.

11.Could you give the English translation to about 3 or 4 key words from the hip hop culture in your own language/slang ?
rhyme – rima
drunk as muthafucka – pijan ko dupe
to kill a rhyme/verse/rap – razvalit rimu
wack mc – idiot/kreten/budala/seljačina

12.What does Diversidad represent for you?
Diversidad is a step further in my experience! It’s a melting pot of cultures with one culture that joins us all – hip hop. I had a chance to see how would I stand next to very experienced MCs from different parts of Europe, and to see if I would differ in my views on music. Sort of a test for me as a musician. That’s from the point of personal experience. An on the public side, it’s a great initiative to expand the culture and show the people that no matter what language is spoken we’re still a big family that breathes the same air and dreams a common dream. A great one!

13.What was your motivation in participating in Diversidad?
Hehe… you don’t think about it – you just want to do it! From the first idea it was great opportunity to meet people and do something very few people have tried to. The idea is brilliant by itself, and when you add a great organization to it, it is just something every mc wants to try. As I mentioned earlier, my personal motivation was to test my skills against very best European MCs. Maybe I failed, maybe I did good. Fans will tell.

14.What’s your best and worst memory from the album recording session in Brussels?
It’s all packed with best memories. The studio, the crew, partying in the hotel rooms… everything!!!
Unfortunately my worst memory was that I couldn’t relax. I came to Brussels with my head full of troubles since we (Elemental) were in the finishing stage of our fifth album and those deadlines from home were bugging me, so I had to do a lot of my work on my laptop. That killed me…

15.Did you know any of the other artists from the Diversidad selection before getting to the Brussels studio in March?
I knew Frenkie from Bosnia. He’s a good friend of mine. And also, naturally, I knew Remi since she’s my best friend and we’re in the same group (Elemental). But the other ones I didn’t know them personally.

16.How do you imagine your music career in 5 years from now?
I hope it will be bigger than now. But if it stays the same as it is now, I won’t be disappointed. From the moment when I decided that music is going to be what I do in life, many many years ago, it kept rising and getting better. It’s nice to be able to tell that things are going good after you give much effort into it. I’ve put my heart into music and it’s been good to me. So in 5 years from now if I do my best, I hope it will be even better.

17.How many cds have you released so far and what are they called?
I’ve done five albums with my group Elemental. Their names are:
•    Moj, njegov i njen svijet
•    Tempo velegrada / Demiurg
•    Male stvari
•    Pod pritiskom
•    Vertigo

Since I’m also working as a producer, I’ve released 17 albums for other artists, of which on 8 I’ve done the production work for all the songs on album. It’s varying styles from hip-hop to rock.

18.Any awards or anything you’re particularly proud of in your music career so far?
I have won the “Porin” award twice. It’s the most respected Croatian national discographers award. First it was for production work on Edo Maajka’s album in 2003 and the second one was for Elemental’s “Pod pritiskom” album in 2009. Also, an album I worked on as part of the production team, of artist Edo Maajka won five “Indeksi” awards in Bosnia and Hercegovina. And most importantly I was awarded with son Jakov in 2006 – now a healthy intelligent loud four-year-old kid that I adore!