We are proud to present to you our new series #Ayezidoesinterviews ™️
We are more than an e-shop, we are a creative community.
In this series, we deep dive on some pivotal personalities that have an important role & impact in their respective field -in our opinion-, and what piece of custom jewellery we created for them 1/1.
In this 1st episode we present the custom iced out mala we hand-made for Kevin Ansong, aka BlackMorris or Negros tou Moria, an AfroGreek rapper who recently released his new album “THRASOS” with success, hitting much over 1.000.000 streams in the first few days after it’s release.
You can see his iced out mala in his album cover, and we’re here to get the inside scoop.
Enjoy.
Interview & curation by: Marina Koraka
DOP & edit by: Thanos Tryfonidis
The mala had become your statement piece, how did that start?
The mala is a daily love of mine and I’ve adopted it from rebetiko music
As I was reading and exploring this world, I also got into the elements of the greek daily life.
Looking into the rebetiko culture and all the traditions I figured that the male is a pillar not only in rebetiko but in Greece in general.
The greeks created the mala and- all the eastern countries
So they could show their grief, so they could pray.
And it has found its way inside their daily lives
How many malas do you have in your collection?
I have a lot of malas, to be honest. In different colours too. I got one with stripes, double coloured. I have big ones, I have smaller ones. I got a begleri. And I match them with my clothes. It’s a style by NTM, if you adopt it also, it doesn’t really bother me, but people will know.
What inspired you to ask us to create this iced out mala?
First contact with this idea was by word of mouth inside my circle “hahaha imagine owning an iced out mala”
And I was like “yeah man, iced out mala”
And before that, I had a bar stuck in my mind by the late Mad Clip from the song “Alitis”
That goes “50k on the watch, imma go make an iced out mala”
He was a legend man
an iced out male is a combination of rebetiko and hip hop
If done correctly, you got hip hop and rebetiko at the same time
Adding the silver “AINTA” was your idea, I want to give you credit
It’s a word I always say in my songs and in general
“Ainta Ainta” which is also a part of rebetiko culture
It’s by a song “I Atsiggana” by Giorgos Batis and at some point as the song goes on he goes “ainta!”
I like that adlib a lot
It’s swag, it’s a mala, AINTA included
It’s 3 in one
Tell us a few worlds about your newest album “THRASOS”
In my new album you hear the revelation
Of NTM- his other side
He’s honest and true about his immaturity in some situations
What he was going after all this time
He talks about the 7 deadly sins of humanity in general but NTM as well.
He talks about my communication with god
I’m a man of god, you know?
I’m not a child of Church, I’m a child of God.
It’s a revelation of soul so they know what man stands in front of them
So they know that I also make mistakes, that I have faith in something, that I’ve acted immaturely, been drunk and I’m freeing myself from this phase.
What is this new kind of music you call Trampetiko?
My new album “Thrasos” builds on “Tramperiko” music, we create a new genre of music with ODYDOZE
Although, the original inspiration and the “father” in this combination is EISVOLEAS
Cause back then he combined rempetiko with rap and he called it “Rampetiko”
And because we live in todays sound
It’s a little bit of everything
You know
Cause everyone’s like “Trap trap trap trap trap”
We’ll call it “Trampetiko”
Cause it’s a combination of todays sound with rempetiko
And the champelet is very fitting to this concept because as I said
I’m the first Trampetis
In each album you present a different alter ego. Which side of you do you uncover with this album?
The alter ego in this album is the lyrical Zulu
The child of god.
Everyone says he’s the best And they show up at the clubs and bars with an attitude like they’ve been touched my Zeus and they think that they’re invincible. But they’re not, they’re nothing. We’re all human and what matters is to love yourself first of all and to be human cause we’re human.
The fact that I publicise my work doesn’t make me a god. I just love my craft. From there on out, I’m human. I will also make mistakes.
Which is your favourite track from this album?
I like all tracks cause they’re connected. As I mentioned, from the 13 tracks of the album, the 7 deal with the 7 deadly sins that NTM has gone through.
Some special tracks, I’d say are: KENODOKSIA / VOULIMIA
KAPOS ALLIOS VOL.9
ORGI, featuring Eleni Kokidou
We also have a skit by Michalis Genitsaris
I include him cause he’s the last folk old rempetis and I’d like the new generation to understand and acknowledge this man. It would be an honour to me you know? Because he was also a man like this. He was a good guy all in all and a family man but he was also crazy.
He was going after vanity but he was a good bloke
Which is your oldest song we are going to listen to now for the first time?
The oldest song you’ll hear on the new album, chronologically for me is LAGNEIA
But it hasn’t come out until now
We wrote it 2020 and it came out 2023
As an older track
But the people never knew this song
What is the story behind the tracks “Kapos Allios”?
Since we’re here and I’ve released my album “THRASOS” and I’ve done a revelation, I’ll do another one.
So, how did KAPOS ALLIOS came to be?
With Evan SBK, we’re in a group together
307 squad
We’re 9 members
We were making an album through trial and error
It’s unreleased. We’ll see how it’s gonna go. And anyway, the times were different and we were listening to this artist Redman and this Redman, as my guys told me, in every album he had a special track. And it was called let’s say x VOL 1, x VOL 2. I was directly inspired by this and I began- in my mixtape I had kapos allios vol. 1 and in every album or project that I do, either solo or with another artist like for example Kareem Kalokoh and the others in Kompilation, I make a new volume for KAPOS ALLIOS. Always. There’s KAPOS ALLIOS volumes that are only available as music videos, or singles. I like to make the listener search for a bit if he wants to. And I like to play with his mind a little cause in the previous album there’s KAPOS ALLIOS VOL. 10 and in “THRASOS” there’s KAPOS ALLIOS VOL. 9 and every KAPOS ALLIOS is always different from the rest you know? And it throws hints at you. In Kompilation it said “Zulu you’ve become bold (thrasis)
I was hinting my next album on KAPOS ALLIOS VOL. 10
How do you feel after releasing an album after 5 years?
How do I feel after releasing an album after 5 years? You have no idea. I feel proud. I feel proud because the way I wrote this album in comparison to Y.G.E.I.A. It was way different. I was outside. I was doing this and that with this energy, some stupid shit (?) the next day I put it in a song. In my album “THRASOS” there’s a second hidden title. Just check the first letters of each song.
I would like to thank you for the interview and the mala that you’ve gone out of your way for
To imagine and create it so beautifully
Thank you very much.
It’s a special piece.
I hope everyone has a good time listening to “THRASOS”
I’d love for everyone to listen to it.
The only thing I care about is for everyone to just listen to it. I don’t care if they like it or not. I just want you to listen. You know? Play. Play and slay.