Experimental Georgia Hip Hop Showcased in Sadaa Review: Top Notch and Innovative
In the heart of the Caucasus region, a change is underway, and it's echoing in the form of music. This change is best represented by the album "Sadaa" by KayaKata, a three-member group consisting of Maxime Machaidze, Zurab Jishkariani, and Nikoloz Sabanadze.
Released on August 18, 2019, "Sadaa" consists of 11 tracks and lasts approximately 38 minutes. The album is divided into three acts, each with its own atmosphere, creating a surreal, experimental journey rooted in Tbilisi but reaching far beyond.
"Hood Tennis," a favourite track on the album, features HAWA, a Berlin-born, Guinea-raised female rapper. The lyrical content of "Hood Tennis" centres around themes like chaos and survival, altered states and escapism, as well as existential questions. HAWA's verse in the song focuses on power and self-assertion, addressing money, loyalty, betrayal, and dominance in relationships and rivalries.
The album also features six guest artists in total, including four other Georgian rap artists, a Japanese electronic musician, and HAWA. "Massaia" and "Kaya Mango" are two favourite tracks on the album that are pure KayaKata without any feature artists.
Hip hop isn't new to Georgia, with the genre starting to blow up in the 2000s. One of the pioneers in the scene was Lexseni, whose boom-bap hip hop style was popular in the mid-2000s. However, boom-bap is no longer the dominant style in modern day Georgian hip hop, as evidenced by the experimental sounds and themes in "Sadaa."
The album was nominated for the European Independent Album of the Year Award, but there is no publicly available information about artists from Tbilisi who were nominated for this award in 2019 for their album "Sadaa."
Independent journalism in the region is under threat, and a newsroom is being built by a community of readers to respond to this challenge. It's important to support independent artists like KayaKata, whose music is not only a reflection of the current state of Georgian hip hop but also a beacon of creativity and innovation.
You can listen to "Sadaa" on Spotify and experience the unique blend of object-based sound design, psychedelic synth sounds, and thought-provoking lyrics for yourself.
