Recenzija Albuma: Valid – Peach Brandy

Nevjerovatno je koliko glazba spaja ljude i koliko ona može daleko otputovati. Sjećam se još kao klinac kad sam po prvi put došao u doticaj s hip-hopom, doći do informacija a kamoli nabaviti nešto novo i fresh je bilo gotovo pa nemoguće. Internet još nije postojao, barem ne kod nas, a mali grad kao mali grad, ono što je imao u ponudi bio je teški minimalizam.
No ipak, komadići muzike i informacija nekako su pronalazili svoj put do mene pa sam veoma brzo shvatio da komercijala nije ono što me radi i da trebam kopati dublje u underground, tako dolazeći do fenomenalnih underrated boom bapova i do najopskurnijih eksperimentalnih rap izdanja. Naravno, dolaskom interneta sve je to znatno olakšano, ali se pojavom ADSL konekcije otvorio jedan cijeli novi svijet što je rezultiralo time da se hip-hop još više zacementirao na glazbenim ljestvicama na samom vrhu. Worldwide.

Odjednom nam se toliko daleki svijet činio tako blizu i sve postaje jako dostupno, a ljudi su čak mogli ponekad stupiti u direktni kontakt s artistima, poput mene koji je na najrandom način ušao u priču s njujorškim reperom Outloudom iz grupe Blahzay Blahzay – “We got people all the way in Croatia listening to Blahzay? That’s sick, homie!”
Hrvatska, kao i cijela bivša Jugoslavija, oduvijek je bila iznimno glazbeno potkovana u gotovo svim pravcima; od funka i jazza, rocka i metala, elektronike pa i hip-hopa u gotovo njegovim najmlađim danima, a zahvaljujući Blackout Hip Hopu Hrvatska je u najvećem rap hajpu i na domaćem tlu imala prilike doživjeti nastupe neke od najvećih hip-hop zvijezda. Među tim artistima trebao se naći i 2Pac još davne 1994. godine, ali to je već priča za sebe. Poanta jest, oduvijek smo bili glazbeno povezani sa svijetom, prije i nakon tehnološkog čuda nazvanog internet, a naši su ljudi kvalitetom stekli respektabilnu reputaciju među stranim kolegama. Muzika spaja ljude, kako kaže stara narodna, baš kao i rakija.

Time dolazimo do Valida, američkog repera srpskih korijena koji je savršen primjer internacionalne povezanosti u vidu glazbe. Iako rođen u Detroitu, njegovi roditelji su srpski imigranti te je kao takav oduvijek poštovao svoje nasljeđe. Nakon više projekata kroz godine, u suradnji s Blackoutom i Valternativom, Valid je 2020. izbacio konceptualan projekt simboličnog imena “The Plum Brandy EP” kojim, generalno rečeno, slavi kulturu istočne Europe. Takav projekt nije mogao biti polovično odrađen, pa je za tu svrhu okupljen broj balkanskih producenata koji su regionalnim semplovima EP-u dali taj yugo šmek, dok je suradnja sa Strukom i Smoke Mardeljanom na singlu “Paper” ono što je Valida primarno približila domaćoj hip-hop raji.

Prvenstveno zbog poznanstva i suradnje s hip-hop legendom DJ Head-om, Valid je, ukratko rečeno, stupio u kontakt s Ma Dukes, majkom pokojnog J Dille, koja je u stalnom kontaktu s našim Vladom Stojanovićem. Povezivajući njih dvojicu, stvoreno prijateljstvo je uključilo i Phat Phillie-a što je naposljetku, nakon popriličnog hajpa oko Validovog albuma “Mihajlo” iz 2019-e, dovelo do ideje i same realizacije “The Plum Brandy EP-a“. Nakon uspješne objave tog projekta, Valid se odlučio za daljnji pothvat a to je uraditi konceptualan album u istom rangu što je upravo ovaj, “Peach Brandy”, koji je danas glavna tema. Kažem ti, rakija connecting people, buraz.

Iako svi mi na razne načine već godinama doživljavamo ‘amerikanizaciju’, prije svega kroz glazbu i kinematografiju, isto tako smo svjesni da su američka kultura i stil života dosta drugačiji od naše svakodnevnice. Upravo zato je zanimljivo analizirati stavove Amerikanca na njegove balkanske korijene, a sam album pruža osvrt na obje strane. Bivajući odgajan na ulicama Detroita kreiralo se bezbroj priča i anegdota, pogotovo kao potomak imigranata koji se svojski trudi probiti u ovoj hip-hop igri, a opet zadržati originalnost u procesu. Analizirajući njegovu karijeru i rast, slobodno se može reći da Valid posjeduje ono nešto drugačije.

Usprkos tome da je sva produkcija urađena sa strane beat makera s ex-Yu prostora, cijeli album ima baš ‘američki’ prizvuk. Naravno, kako sam već spomenuo, svi instrumentali se baziraju na semplovima domaćih filmova i glazbe što je na momente vrlo uočljivo, ali ipak, da na prvo slušanje ne znaš pozadinu nastanka albuma rekao bi da je ovo stopostotno američki album. E sad, nekome će se to svidjeti dok nekome neće, ali ono što je mene, ustvari, fasciniralo jest činjenica da sam zvučno očekivao, da kažem, ‘balkanskiju’ produkciju kojoj će se Valid prilagoditi, a u stvarnosti produkcija je približena Validu i njegovom biotopu.

To sve ima smisla jer, iako je album inspiriran našom regijom, što je lijepo iskazano singlom “May 6th” koji priča o Đurđevdanu i generalno našim područjima, s druge strane, pjesmom “Nine To Five” bavi se temom njegove svakodnevnice odlaska na posao u SAD-u, istovremeno nalazeći dovoljno energije i volje baviti se muzikom, dok gostujući Stretch Money priča priču s druge strane medalje a to je prisjećanje na njegovu prošlost ilegalnih radnji kako bi preživio. Tu je još nedavni single kao ljubavni duet “Never Question” na kojoj gostuje detroitska pjevačica Neisha Nashe, pa i reprezent traka “Stara Škola” koja je okupila sjajne MC-eve iz svake od republika bivše države. Dakle, samo se po singlovima može zaključiti da “Peach Brandy” pruža zbilja veliku lepezu raznih tema u koje je potrebno samo uroniti, a album definitivno nije plitak, što ga čini odličnim nastavkom na “The Plum Brandy EP” projekt. Valid to i dodatno objašnjava:

“[…] Ovaj put je to malo drugačije. To nije EP – to je album. I tu je mnogo općenitih poruka. Mnogo pjesama sadrže suptilne poruke o tome da ne možeš kontrolirati što se događa oko tebe, ali možeš kontrolirati kako ćeš reagirati na stvari te da možeš samo odlučiti cijeniti taj trenutak i prihvatiti život kakav jest.”

Vraćajući se na sam početak ovog teksta – muzika spaja ljude, a zahvaljujući modernim tehnologijama i glazbenim entuzijastima, povezati naše ljude s onima preko bare je mnogo lakše nego ikada. Radi toga, dobili smo sjajan album i odu našim rodnim zavičajima koji su mali raj na zemlji iako, usprkos raznim nedaćama, toga često nismo ni svjesni. Možemo se pohvaliti prelijepom prirodom, bogatom poviješću i kulturom, znanstvenim i sportskim uspjesima, kao i socijalizacijom na dugosatnim kavama kakvu svijet nije vidio. Uz sve to, posjedujemo enorman broj kvalitetnih umjetnika u raznim sferama, pa tako i glazbenim, a zahvaljujući Validu, Blackoutu i Valternativi ujedinili smo se još jednom i pokazali svijetu da ovaj komad Europe može parirati svakome.

No, Balkanci k’o Balkanci, teška smo publika tako da vjerujem da će se naći pokoja zamjerka na album, ali objektivno ovo je odličan projekt i definitivno treba mu dati šansu. Valid, kao produkt detroitskih ulica, uz mentorstvo DJ Head-a, uzdigao se pri sam vrh američkog Srednjeg Zapada, a Detroit Metro Times ga opisuje kao nešto “najbolje od modernog hip-hopa što je ovaj grad imao prilike čuti”. Lirički skill je neosporiv, a i osjetno je da je Valid u ovaj projekt stavio komad svog balkanskog duha. Stoga se nadam da će domaća publika prihvatiti album jer to zaslužuje, te da će našu scenu približiti Amerima jer mi to zaslužujemo.

Album će premijerno biti dostupan za preslušavanje od petka, 26.07., u 6 ujutro po Srednjoeuropskom vremenu što ćemo vas, naravno, na vrijeme i obavijestiti. Također, Valid će uz DJ Head-a nastupati na ovogodišnjoj ediciji Preach The Rič festivala u Martinskoj, tako da ćete imati priliku čuti album i uživo, so don’t miss out!

Breskovača. Aj uzdravlje!

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ENG:

It’s amazing how much music brings people together and how far it can travel. I remember as a kid when I came into contact with hip-hop for the first time, getting information, let alone getting something new and fresh, was almost impossible. The Internet didn’t exist yet, at least not here, and a small town being a small town, what it had to offer was heavy minimalism.
But still, pieces of music and information somehow found their way to me, so very quickly I realized that commercial music isn’t what works for me and that I should dig deeper into the underground, thus reaching phenomenal underrated boom bap and the most obscure experimental rap releases. Of course, with the arrival of the Internet, all of this was made much easier, but with the arrival of the ADSL connection, a whole new world opened up, which resulted in hip-hop cementing itself even more at the top of the music charts. Worldwide.

Suddenly, the world so far away seemed so close to us and everything became very accessible, and people were even sometimes able to get in direct contact with artists, like me, who in the most random way got into the conversation with the New York rapper Outloud from the group Blahzay Blahzay – “We got people all the way in Croatia listening to Blahzay? That’s sick, homie!”
Croatia, like the whole of former Yugoslavia, has always been exceptionally musical in almost all directions, from funk and jazz, rock and metal, electronic music, and even hip-hop in almost his youngest days, and thanks to Blackout Hip Hop Croatia had the opportunity to experience live performances of some of the largest hip-hop stars in the biggest rap hype on home soil. 2Pac should’ve been among those artists back in 1994, but that’s a story in itself. The point is, we have always been musically connected to the world, before and after the technological miracle called the Internet, and our people have gained a respectable reputation among foreign colleagues for their quality. Music brings people together, as the old saying goes, just like rakija.

This brings us to Valid, an American rapper with Serbian roots who is a perfect example of international connection in the form of music. Although born in Detroit, his parents are Serbian immigrants, and as such, he has always respected his heritage. After several projects over the years, in collaboration with Blackout and Valternativa, in 2020 Valid released a conceptual project with the symbolic name “The Plum Brandy EP”, celebrating the culture of Eastern Europe, generally speaking. Such a project couldn’t be done half-way, so for this purpose a number of Balkan producers were gathered who used regional samples and gave the EP that Yugo touch, while the collaboration with Struka and Smoke Mardeljano on the single “Paper” is what primarily brought Valid closer to the domestic hip-hop audience.

Primarily due to his acquaintance and cooperation with the hip-hop legend DJ Head, Valid came into contact with Ma Dukes, mother of the late J Dilla, who is in constant contact with our Vlada Stojanović. Connecting the two, the friendship created included Phat Phillie, which ultimately, after considerable hype around Valid‘s album “Mihajlo” from 2019, led to the idea and the realization of “The Plum Brandy EP”. After the successful publication of that project, Valid decided on a further venture, which is to make a conceptual album in the same rank as this one, “Peach Brandy”, which is the main topic today. I’m telling you, rakija connecting people, bro’.

Although we’ve all been experiencing ‘Americanization’ in various ways for years, primarily through music and cinematography, we are also aware that the American culture and lifestyle are quite different from our everyday lives. That is precisely why it is interesting to analyze the American’s views on his Balkan roots, and the album itself provides an overview on both sides. Being raised on the streets of Detroit has created countless stories and anecdotes, especially as a descendant of immigrants trying to make it in this hip-hop game in his own way, while still maintaining originality in the process. Analyzing his career and growth, it’s safe to say that Valid possesses something different.

Despite the fact that all the production was done by beatmakers from the ex-Yu area, the whole album has a very ‘American’ undertone. Of course, as I already mentioned, all the instrumentals are based on samples of domestic films and music, which is very noticeable at times, but still, if you didn’t know the background of the album’s creation at first, you would say that this is a 100% American album. Now, some will like it while some won’t, but what really fascinated me was the fact that I was expecting with the sound, so to speak, a more ‘Balkan’ production to which Valid would adapt, but in reality the production is being brought closer to Valid and his biotope.

This all makes sense because, although the album is inspired by our region, which is beautifully expressed by the single “May 6th”, which talks about Đurđevdan (St. George’s Day) and our regions in general, on the other hand, the song “Nine To Five” deals with the theme of his everyday going to work in the USA while finding enough energy and will to do music, while the guest Stretch Money tells the story from the other side of the coin, which is the recollection of his past of illegal activities in order to survive. There is also a recent single as a love duet, “Never Question”, which features the Detroit singer Neisha Nashe, as well as a represent-styled track, “Stara Škola”, which brought together great MCs from each of the republics of the former state. So, from the singles alone, it can be concluded that “Peach Brandy” offers a really large variety of topics that you just need to dive into, and the album is definitely not shallow, which makes it an excellent follow-up to “The Plum Brandy EP” project. Valid further explains:

“This time it is a bit different; it is not an EP – it’s a full album. And there’s a more general message throughout. Many of the songs have a subtle message that you can’t control what happens in the world around you, but you can control how you react to things, and you can choose to just appreciate that moment and take life as it comes.”

Going back to the beginning of this text – music brings people together, and thanks to modern technologies and music enthusiasts, connecting our people with those across the pond is much easier than ever. Thanks to that, we got a great album and a tribute to our homelands, which are a little heaven on Earth, although, despite various adversities, we’re often not even aware of it. We can boast of beautiful nature, rich history and culture, scientific and sporting accomplishments, as well as socializing over long hours of coffee sipping that the world has never seen. In addition to all that, we have an enormous number of quality artists in various spheres, including music, and thanks to Valid, Blackout, and Valternativa, we united once again and showed the world that this piece of Europe can rival anyone.

However, Balkans folk like Balkan fol, we’re a difficult audience, so I believe that there will be some criticism to the album, but objectively, this is a great project, and it should definitely be given a chance. Valid, as a product of the streets of Detroit, with the mentorship of DJ Head, rose to the very top of the American Midwest, and the Detroit Metro Times describes him as “the best modern hip-hop music this city has ever heard”. The lyrical skill is indisputable, and it’s noticeable that Valid has put a piece of his Balkan spirit into this project. Therefore, I hope that the local audience will accept the album because it deserves it, and that it’ll bring our scene closer to the Americans because we deserve it.

The album will be available for listening for the first time from Friday, July 26, at 6 am CET, which, of course, we will announce in time. Also, Valid will perform with DJ Head at this year’s edition of the Preach The Rič festival in Martinska, so you will have the opportunity to hear the album live, so don’t miss out!

Peach brandy. Cheers!