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  Murat & Jose Interview
interview 0376 added
02.03.06 words:
Lady Cook
technical:
QED
Although French Hip Hop has definitely made inroads into the U.K. scene,
we still don’t hear much from the rest of Europe. From listening to the
YoYoCuts album it is immediately apparent that these guys really know
how to spit, even if us non-Slovenian speakers can’t understand the
lyrics. I interviewed RDYO’s MC’s Murat and Jose to find out more about
the inspirations behind this ambitious project:
Introduce yourselves, who you are and what is Slovenia like to be coming
from?
 MURAT: I'm Murat, an MC, a beatboxer, and a member of RDYO crew. I think
ever since we joined EU a few years ago more and more people know about
Slovenia. It's a nice little country. Come visit it and see it for
yourselves.
JOSE: We are two, a bit older, students finishing our studies. I’ve
lived in Slovenia since my birth, because my mother is Slovene but my
father is from Burundi, Africa. Slovenia is interesting for me in that
way, that we experienced the change of the political system from
communism to democracy and capitalism. We can clearly see the good and
the bad of both.
What is the Hip Hop scene like in Slovenia, is Hip Hop popular?
MURAT: It is quite popular amongst younger generation. The scene is not
so big. There's a lot of people doing music on their own but there's not
many official releases. Only about four a year I think. We still don't
have a proper urban radio station and there's only a handful hip-hop
events every month in Ljubljana (the capital). We at RDYO are doing our
best, trying to promote hip hop by our own releases, mixtapes, club
events and by bringing foreign hip hop artists over. We've had quite a
few, actually - from Scratch Perverts and Lewis Parker, to Ghostface,
Guru of Gangstarr and Jeru The Damaja, from Little Brother to Afu-Ra and
Ugly Duckling.
JOSE: Hip Hop is I think quite popular, but there is no strong Hip Hop
scene. There are a few of us who try to make Slovene Hip Hop in Slovene
way, not Slovene Hip Hop in American way.
“...We do tracks with deeper messages but we'll also well do
uptempo party songs or simply word-play songs and stuff like that...”
Had you heard much U.K hip hop before you met Buttercuts?
MURAT: I have. A few years back we've been producing our own weekly
radio show - Radyoyo, and we also played quite a bit of UK hip hop.
Nowadays I listen to BBC 1xtra where I get my daily dose of UK hip hop
and a while back I also met this guy Al from Manchester on
okayplayer.com and he too sends me some UK music from time to time.
JOSE: Personally, not much, I’m only familiar with the well-known
artists.
I see that the beats the Buttercuts MC's rhymed over were from your
debut album, tell me more about this album.
MURAT: Our debut album is called "V besedi je moc" which means In The
Word Is The Power. It was released in 2002 in T3S Muzik. The album
features deep songs as well as party songs; it's a well-balanced album.
The production is done by ourselves alongside Klasick - a production
unit which is also part of RDYO crew. The album sold around 6000 copies,
which is exceptionally good for a country this small (Slovenia only has
under 2 million habitants). The biggest track from the album was called
"Od ljudi za ljudi" which features Tomi M., the lead singer of the
biggest Slovenian rock group Siddharta. On Yoyocuts, the same
instrumental of this track is used on "Martyrs".
Who or what are you influenced by when making music?
 MURAT: Just things that happen to us or to people around us really. The
things we think about a lot or sometimes we're just having fun on a mic.
JOSE: I'm influenced by the things that are going on around me. By
people's way of thinking what is important in life and by life in
general.
As I can't understand your lyrics (language barrier!), could you explain
a bit what you are saying, in for example Tle Nekje, are your lyrics
messages or party party, or a mixture?
MURAT: Our lyrics are probably a mixture of both. We do tracks with
deeper messages but we'll also well do uptempo party songs or simply
word-play songs and stuff like that. "Tle nekje" is about different
perspectives of looking at somebody's life. We all have troubled lives
but we got to find the beauty of our lives by ourselves.
Where do you want to go with this CD?
MURAT: I don't know really. I just hope that people will check it out
and will be able to get over the language barrier. Hope they will just
feel the vibe of the tracks and enjoy listening to it as much as we
enjoyed making it. The feedback from the UK so far has been great, so I
keep my hopes up. Also, I hope we can encourage more artists from
different countries to try and do something similar. I'd like to see
more collaborations happening between different cultures and languages.
JOSE: All places where people are interested in that kind of experiment.
Are there any other U.K acts you would like to work with?
MURAT: There are other UK artists that I like, sure. But to work with
someone you both have to feel the right energy. I have a lot of respect
for Foreign Beggars, but I also like Ty, Roots Manuva, Doc Brown...
JOSE: ...All cooperation’s happen spontaneously.
“...I just hope that people will check it out and will be able
to get over the language barrier...”
Was there any major differences in the way you work as a group and the
way Buttercuts work?
MURAT: I enjoyed their way of writing tracks on the spot. It also
inspired me to do it. I never did that before. I think we all inspired
each other with our different approaches to making music.
JOSE: Yes. They brought a lot of creativity in the studio. It happened
for the first time that me and Murat wrote lyrics for a song in the same
night as it was recorded.
The CD was supported by the Kultura Republika Slovenijka, is this the
cultural dept of your government, how did this support happen?
MURAT: It was supported by Ministrstvo za kulturo republike Slovenije
which is the Slovenian Ministry of Culture as well as the Ljubljana City
Council.. We applied for a grant and - for the very first time ever -
got the funding. Truth be told, we'd probably never do a project like
this if it weren't for the given grant - just because of the whole
financial problems that come along with a project like this.
I liked the vocalist, Semo?, on Changes 2, is he someone you work with
regularly?
 MURAT: Yes. He's featured on three songs on our album and is also a
standard part of our live show bringing another dimension to the show.
Please shout out your friends, any albums we can still buy? any
forthcoming gigs?
MURAT & JOSE: Big up RDYO and Buttercuts crew and all the people who
support our music! Check our album 'V besedi je moc' and 'Miksmash'
mixtape by our DJ FU, which I'm also hosting. Also check for Joe
Driscoll, The Pistachios and other Buttercuts releases coming real soon.
And make sure to come to the YoyoCuts UK release party on 3rd March to
Rhythm Factory in London! Peace!
Many thanks to Tina for organising this interview.
Now you know where they’re coming from, get hold of a copy of the
YoYoCuts album to hear what they sound like…
- Lady
Cook
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