50 Cent brings his rap music to Ukraine (06/11/06)

50 Cent brings his rap music to Ukraine

by Dmytro Zezyulin
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Ukrainian rap fans welcomed crack dealer-turned-international star 50 Cent at a June 3 concert, shelling out at least $100 each to watch the muscle-bound tough wax about life on the streets of New York City.

Before the outdoor pavilion in the Arena City complex, hundreds of Kyiv youths threw on baggy clothes, tipped their baseball caps sideways and converged on the city's main boulevard, the Khreschatyk, to drink beer, rap and indulge in hip hop culture.

"Homie, wassup!" and "Respect, yo!" were phrases the young teens used to greet each other as they shook hands and hugged, mimicking the gestures of American rappers such as Eminem that they see on Ukrainian music video channels.

The scene didn't startle Kyiv residents, who had seen enough billboard and even text-message advertising to become well aware that an American rap star was soon arriving.

The fur coats, thick diamond-studded necklaces and gold rings of 50 Cent amuse Ukrainian teenagers, many of whom yearn for the romanticized version of street life that consists of quick money, luxury cars, beautiful women and guns.

When asked what appeals to them about 50 Cent, Ukrainian hip hop fans said they were drawn to his music and his image more so than the personal stories of his drug-dealing life and misogynistic lyrics.

"His lexicon isn't normative, particularly towards women," said Nazar Martynenko, a 23-year-old architect. "It doesn't portray him very well as a gentleman. But it doesn't ruin the entire aspect of his work."

Olha Ponomarchuk, a Kyiv DJ, said 50 Cent's music is sexy and igniting. His voice's timbre is pleasant, she said.

"He sings about drugs, sex, criminality," said Ms. Ponomarchuk, 27. " I don't really listen to his music for the words, but more for his rhythms."

50 Cent also won over a fan in Ms. Ponomarchuk's mother, Svitlana, 47, who said his voice is truly masculine and pleasant.

"But I would change a lot in African American culture - the aggression, the drugs and the guns," her mother said. "I know this is a result of many years of degrading black-skinned people. Now they are saying, 'We don't need you, we have our own life.' But they're better off working with their creativity."

Hip hop themes aren't entirely foreign to Ukrainians, many of whom listen to "shanson," a Russian style of music in which singers romantically sing about poor upbringing, a life of crime, the prison culture and life's tragedies.

50 Cent grew up in Queens, N.Y., without his parents, and eventually turned to crack dealing, which landed him in jail.

"The motives behind his lyrics are similar to 'shanson,' " Mr. Martynenko said. "He went through all of that."

Many of those arriving at the Arena City complex in central Kyiv merely came to drink beer and take a look at the muscular dude with many tattoos, and had nothing in common with the life 50 Cent raps about.

"I don't understand his views on the world and don't always agree with him," said Yurii Chushkin, 18. "But knowing his biography and his life, I can understand why he refers to women with insolence."

Ukrainian rap has emerged in the past decade, led by Vkhid u Zminnomu Vzutti, Vova zil Vova and Oleksander Polozhynskyi, who raps about Ukrainian youth, society and culture.

They needn't imitate gangsta rap, Mr. Chushkin said.

"In rap, you need to be talented in rhyming," he said. "But Ukrainians don't need to rap on the same topics as 50 Cent. Rap is the personal music of the performer. Our world is a bit different."

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