Turkey's sharp-tongued rapper faces five years in jail
Turkish rapper Ezhel may face up to five years in prison for promoting drug use in his songs.
What is it like to get high under Turkey’s state of emergency? The case of popular rapper Ezhel causes us to ponder this question. Omer Sercan Ipekcioglu, aka Ezhel, was recently arrested for encouraging drug use in his songs, an offense punishable with up to five years in jail according to the Turkish penal code.
The rapper’s arrest May 24 has caused widespread outcry in Turkey and abroad, with the hashtag #FreeEzhel trending on Twitter. Fellow musicians Jehan Barbur, Gaye Su Akyol and Ceza have also come to the platform to express support.
Ezhel, 28, is a path-breaking rapper. His album “Muptezhel,” which means drug user in Turkish slang, debuted in May 2017. It uniquely combines trap, a genre associated with the hip-hop of the southern United States, with reggae and Anatolian musical traditions.
Though released without a major record label or promotional campaign, “Muptezhel” has become a sensation in Turkey. The single “Geceler” ("Nights") has more than 13 million listeners on Spotify, and more than 32 million people have viewed the music video for “Sehrimin Tadi” (“Taste of My City”) on YouTube.
