Estonian rapper Genka: I could make a living doing this alone
Estonian rap pioneer Genka could live off rapping alone — he told Vikerraadio that, even with other projects, rap will always be part of his life, and Estonian fans love hearing it in their own language.
"Rapping will probably never completely disappear from my life — unless I make it stop," Henry Kõrvits, better known as Genka, said in a recent Vikerraadio appearance. "I'm a bit less active now because there's just so much else going on, and I can't keep up with everything all the time."
Genka makes a clear distinction between hip hop and rap. "Hip hop is a musical style and whole culture," he explained. "Rap is the vocal, verbal part you do with your mouth — the rapping and rhyming."
The rise of Estonian-language rap can be dated back to 1993. "Cool D is the father of Estonian-language rap," he said. "There were people rapping in English too. We wanted to be like the foreign artists, which is why our band Toe Tag's first cassette was in English too. But honestly, people enjoy listening to rap in Estonian way more than in English."
Genka attributes hip hop's global popularity to how accessible rapping is for young folks even without means. And while the genre is still a relatively young one, rappers' roles in society have already changed significantly.
"In America, rappers are some of the highest-earning musicians, and that changes music altogether," he highlighted.
"I could live off rapping alone, if I really wanted — it depends on what you want," Genka acknowledged. "But I like doing different things. I couldn't do the same things for decades. I love business, for example, and I do other things — it clears my mind."
Besides, popularity has its downsides. When something takes off, Genka says, people flock to it, industries spring up, and newcomers often aren't really into the culture — they just want a slice of the pie.
Rap is often explicit, and there's a reason for that — it's a way of conveying information.
"If you're trying to get a point across, using strong language sends a completely different signal — it never leaves anyone indifferent," Genka explained. "There's real power in those words. But at some point, once you've matured a bit, you start to feel that swearing might not be the message you want to send from the stage anymore."
Genka and Maido Möls have co-organized the Estonian Hip Hop Festival (EHHF) in Elva, a Southern Estonian city southwest of Tartu, for 19 years. "The festival's location is really cool," he added.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
