Elkhan Zeynalli

Qaraqan
Background information
Birth name Elkhan Zeynalli
Also known as BlackBlood, The Crow
Born (1987-04-03) 3 April 1987
Origin Baku, Azerbaijan
Genres Hip hop, Spoken Word, Jazz
Occupation(s) Rapper, singer-songwriter
Instruments Vocals
Years active 2007–present
Associated acts H.O.S.T.
Website www.qaraqanmusic.com

Elkhan Zeynalli, also known by his stage name Qaraqan (Azeri for 'blackblood'), is a famous Azeri songwriter, musician, writer, first prize winner of National Book Award 2010. A graduate of the Turkish Lyceum in Baku (TDV-BTL), he studied journalism at Baku State University.[1]

Career

In 2007 being a first year student he became a founder and leader of H.O.S.T. – the most famous hip-hop group in Azerbaijan for the past ten years. The first demo album of the group was released on internet and received thousands views right away. Starting as just a music community H.O.S.T. grew into a big movement of creative youth. H.O.S.T. has released two albums: "Proloq" 2007 (eng. Prologue) and "Qarada qırmızı" 2008 (eng. Red in black), and performed on big stages of Azerbaijan Republic. There was a generation of young people calling themselves "HOSTed", which means those who follow the ideas described in the songs of H.O.S.T. group – propaganda of intelligence, justice, free thinking and personality.[2]

Elkhan Zeynalli performing at Jazz Centre, 2013.

In 2010 Qaraqan has started his own project. Royal Pashayev from H.O.S.T. started work with him as producer and art director.[3] Elkhan is performing in unique music genre – spoken word, acoustic hip-hop and jazz poetry where lyrics and music create a magical tandem. Qaraqan authored more than 200 songs, written for his group and himself. He has released three solo albums: "Qısa Qapanma" 2009 (eng. Short circuit), "Ishiq" 2011 (eng. Light) and "Leykemia" 2013 (eng. Leukemia). These albums brought Qaraqan on a new level, making him a cult figure in the music art of Azerbaijan. Qaraqan performed successfully in Norwegian Embassy of Azerbaijan Republic,[4] Ankara and Istanbul (Turkey) within two weeks tour, in Moscow City (Russia) etc. In 2015 Qaraqan performed in Austin, Texas as an official representative of SXSW Festival.[5] At the same time Qaraqan is a famous book writer. He has published 7 novels which all became bestsellers in his homeland. He has got presidential scholarship for achievements in literature, was announced author of the year 2010 and won the first prize at the National Book Award for his novel "A" which he has written when he was 20 years old.[6][7] His novel "A" (eng. A) and "Mələk" (eng. Angel) were translated into Russian and English languages. Qaraqan is a member of Union of Azerbaijani Writers, the largest public organization of Azerbaijani writers, poets and publicists. In 2014 he became one of the members of the council of the Union.[8]

Discography

Books

References

  1. ↑ "Elxan Zeynallı – yazıçı profili" (in Azerbaijani).
  2. ↑ "The Next Generation in Russia, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan: Youth, Politics".
  3. ↑ Qaraqan announce new musical, 2011
  4. ↑ "Rap magic at Poetry & Beyond". Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "SXSW Live Shot: Qarabagh Ensemble, Qaraqan, Diwan Saz". Retrieved 19 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Winner of National Book Award announced". Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "Shortlist announced for Azerbaijan's National Book Award". Retrieved 10 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "In Azerbaijan reception of works on competition of the National book award is begun". Retrieved 28 August 2012.
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