Georgian hip-hop record released on Bravo Records
By Salome Modebadze
Thursday, December 20
Samori Balde, winner of the Georgian version of the show Dancing with the Stars (1st season), has finished work on his debut album with his childhood friend Gocha Khakhuni (The Grotesque). The album called Hip-Hop (The Wise Movement) is a present from the Bank Republic Societe General Group. The bank made Balde’s dream come true by financing his “Wise Movement.”
Balde’s album is being issued under the Bravo Records label. It is the first Hip-Hop album for Bravo Records.
Zaza Shengelia the President of Bravo Records said the album is special because the two musicians perform Hip-Hop in Georgian, thus making the music more unique. He said even the terminology of the texts is different.
“Samori has a lot of fans after winning Dancing with the Stars project and Hip-Hop is also popular among the youth. This is why I think the album will be popular,” Shengelia told The Messenger, adding that Balde’s album will be not only sold on the market, but he will also have concert tours throughout the country. Shengelia thinks that Samori’s album will be a very interesting product for the Georgian market because he said Samori’s lyrics are close to poetry and express problematic issues for young people.
The two friends will perform under the name Old Resource. Samori said it is a great responsibility to have the first album especially in Hip-Hop genre, because this genre has somehow received a negative attitude from the Georgian population. “We did our best to offer alternative [music] to people,” Samori told us. “I believe that we are doing something different; a bit rare for Georgia,” he added.
Balde said for a person like him who does not have musical background, it was a great experience to work with Bravo Records. But now his long-awaited dream is coming true and on December 21, his album will be officially introduced to the public at Senate Club.
Samori expressed his gratitude towards Bank Republic and Bravo records. He said his album would not be made without their support.
Bank Republic tries to be actively engaged in cultural events and encourages the development of young talented people. Emphasizing Balde’s popularity among the audience, the bank’s representative Teiko Kandelaki expressed the confidence that the young generation will like Samori’s disk very much.
