Banjaaks?: Nekto Kanekta - spiritual consciousness rap from Russia

Lue suomenkielinen versio tästä / Read the Finnish version here

I decided to interview (Некто Канэкта), who is my personal favorite artist from Russia's hiphop front. I usually only make Finnish posts on this blog, but this time I will make an exception and release this in English as well, because as an underground artist I know very well how challenging and important spreading information is for an uncommercial musician. Nekto Kanekta has very deep lyrics - for example about the realization of what this world has been made for, the collective heart of humanity, the deepest feelings of humans, eternity, ancient knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors, dreams, deep communication between us and the Universe, the future and new consciousness. Some of the tracks have samples from physics lectures, TV shows, Soviet animations and movies, which are about space, the transformation of the world and its arising energies, greatest secrets of history, consciousness, UFOs, predictions and what awaits all of us in nearby and far future etc. These samples form a special kind of atmosphere.

(Thanks to Katya for the description!)

Привет! Как дела?

Салют! Замечательно! Things are going good, especially when you care to do them well.

Where does the name Некто Канэкта come from?

In Russian "Некто" means somebody/anybody – an unidentified person. "Канэкта" mostly comes from associations with the word "connection". Together "Некто Канэкта" is like: somebody who's connected to everything in existence.

What is your musical background? How long has Некто Канекта been active?

There's a story way before Некто Канэкта. I'll try to put it in short.
Started rappin' in 2000 - solo. In 2002 I became a part of a duo "Вид Сверху" ("View from the Top") created with my partner. We spent those days on the block, making rap about how it is to be a young man living in the world full of different ways. We had that kind of lyrics, which were close to our generation. Вид Сверху was widely known in Kaluga (our town), because we were the first rappers who released their album on CD's selling it through the music shops. Also made the first rap-video in the city.

We were really creative, though never cared being some rap stars and making music for a living. That is why we actually stopped doing records when the real life demanded for attention. I left for Moscow because a good job was offered. My partner took care of his business. The musical affairs faded out.

Вид Сверху (Vid Sverhu)

I was still a rap fan, searching for some good music for my ears and mind. But it was rare to get something really interesting and uplifting. Sometimes I recorded my own new tracks, put them in a folder and forgot about them. Most of the free time I spent reading books, educating myself. Back in my mind I wished to create something new nobody had done before in rap music.

In 2007-2008 the Некто Канэкта theme suddenly came to my mind and started to evolve. First it was like a conscious flashback of lyrics on my past life and views. It fastly transformed into topics on human nature, universal laws and the whole planetary situation. It was the time in my life, when I started diggin' into all that kind of stuff. Некто Канэкта appeared to be a new musical form, reflecting that real life process. This is how the big story began.

Узловые комбинации (Uzlovyye kombinatsii) - is a video, which was made back in 2011. This is a dedication to the beginning of a new chapter of the Некто Канэкта story. Moving from Kaluga to Moscow to explore the possibilities for growth. Time for some changes, education, transformation and connections. It's like coming out from a deep meditation to the reality of big city life. Though the portal is still open if you know where the key is at.

What are your international and Russian musical influences?

When I was something like 6 or 7 we had that commonly known in Russia "Романтик" (Romantik) cassette player with a built-in microphone. There was not so much music to buy, so my father used to make recordings from tv with it. He had his own collection of songs from different Soviet films and cartoons. He taught me how to use the recorder, so I started to gather my own audio library. Besides that there were a lot of vinyls in my grandparent's house with songs from 70's and 80's that I loved to listen to. What I liked the most was: music from "Бременские музыканты" (The Bremen musicians) , "Голубой щенок" (Goluboi shchenok), "Ну погоди!" (Nu pogodi) cartoons, Igor Tal'kov - a Russian singer and poet.
My 1st big international influence was Michael Jackson. That was some special music that touched me. I couldn't get deep into his lyrics back than 'cause I was too far from what he was saying, but the energy he created was tremendous. He was number one.
Later on 2pac came up with his rebellion passion. I loved his songs. There's so much sincerity in it. For now I can say I always felt for the music that comes from the heart. That is why lately I rediscovered for myself the endless legacy of Russian composers - music from Soviet movies and cartoons.

What are the (philosophical, spiritual, truth or other) inspiration sources for your lyrics?

In my case inspiration comes first from some inner sources. Since I was a kid I wondered why there are so many poor people? Isn't there enough wealth for everyone? Why love makes people suffer often? Isn't it strange to have such a big planet and fight for land? Why people have so many gods if they all still believe in one? Is it so hard to sit in front of each other and solve all the misunderstandings? Why do they have to kill each other instead of treating each other good and learning from each other? So many questions, that blew my head off.
I was desperate to clear the picture and my life led me the best way to show the answers for them. It was the way of lost and founds, ups and downs. And for now I can say whatever one wants to get he will get it.

From what I learned and experienced - our civilization is so far from understanding the true nature of reality and the way it works. And still most of the educated people prefer to say: "Oh, that's life... It is what it is... You can't change it...", not even trying to look behind the curtains. My love and faith in wonder of Life itself is so strong, that sometimes I'm truly puzzled on some people trying to dramatize too much and practice that kind of depressed state of mind.

I don't know if it's right or wrong, but this world gave me passion for making music and truth seeking. And I want to share it with others in case to maybe widen their perspective on life. I believe happy and enlightened people can change this world for the better. That idea inspires me to do what I do.

Talking about the sources for the lyrics, of course there's a lot of metaphysical and esoteric data behind all that, which I gathered from different spiritual teachings, books, authors and websites. I prefer not to name them as my experience shows that people like to judge books without opening them.

Have you had any personal life-changing experience(s) that made you think that there is more to life than meets the eye, which you would like to share with the readers?

Yes. I think the most exciting one happened to me back in 2002. I had a dream with extraordinary strong feelings. I even wrote a song about it that day. Eight years later I realized everything I saw in that dream was a kind of metaphorical prediction. The dream came true and became a significant part of my life.
There were other interesting experiences, which made me feel on the edge of the reality, but I'm sure it's mostly like for personal usage.
Once in his life everyone meets a sign that tells him: hey, look around! The wonder is here. But still people are afraid of miracles, though sometimes it seems they are ready and willing to experience it. Let everyone go his own path of getting knowledge.

Do you do gigs often?

No gigs were done yet. Just a couple of (spontaneous) appearences on local festivals. For a long time НК was considered to be a media project. Now the idea of live performances is evolving. I hope some day it will turn into a nice scenic show.

How has the reception been for the messages that you express in your music?

Once I had an interesting phone call. A guy in the phone said that he got my number from a common friend, and that his father had something to tell me. He passed the phone. And the grown-up man's voice thanked me for my work. He said the message was right and that people should get that kind of information I spread. It was Альбом Актуальный (Albom Aktualnyi) part 1, he was talking about. Asked me to continue making music and wished all the best. That was inspiring.

Большое пробуждение (Bolshoje probuždenije), the first song from Albom Aktualnyi, in which Nekto Kanekta describes his own story of awakening to new knowledge, speaking on importance of searching the truth and spreading it around. Pictures you may see in this video are close to the lyrics.

Are there other Russian rappers who handle similar subject matters?

There are certainly more of them, but from what I've heard: Наум Блик (Naum Blik) and MC 1.8 have similar subjects.

Your opinion about the state of Russian hiphop as it is now?

As far as I can see hip-hop culture is alive and evolving in Russia. There are lots of original idea's bearers. I know a few crews and people who bring the conscious philosophy of hiphop besides the well known elements. Rappers realize that music can bring resources and they organize themselves to make an original product to take their game on another level. B-boys do shows and classes. There is still an undeground movement. The whole new breed of entrepreneurs is rising. Hiphop gives opportunities for everyone to reach for goals and to run your own life the way you want it. I hope the real hiphop in Russia will be smart enough not to be absorbed by big money business. I hope it will bring something valuable to society and encourage the young minds on positive thought patterns.

Are there any new albums in works at the moment?

There is a new one, I'm going to present to the listeners this year. It was actually recorded back in 2008-2010, but the material was lost due to accidental damage of all data on my studio computer. It took me 4 years to recover this album piece by piece from other backup sources. Though it's been a long time coming, I decided not to change a single word or sound in it to let the listeners get into the original atmosphere of the message. Lots of metaphysical and conspiracy topics I touched on the album are even more actual today. The old paradigma crisis is becoming more obvious worldwide. New knowledge is coming out from everywhere.

I believe it's going to be the most informative piece of НК story yet told with original experimental music. Hope it will enforce listeners with new thought patterns on dealing with reality and make them feel more confident in the face of global changes. The message stays unchangeable: Life is precious and one should remember there's a Big Plan behind it all.

How do you see the future of mankind?

To answer this question, we should first know – what is the mankind’s past? How can you move forward not knowing where you came from. Who knows if you are just walking in a circle!? We may have the brightest ideas about the future – it’s in our nature to look forward and imagine how good this life can be: communism, capitalism, the golden age… But every time the humanity crossed the line entering a new era, something went wrong again. People began to suffer, wars started etc. Maybe that’s because all the way down the humanity follows some wrong ideas or there is a common mistake we continue to make from time to time. To answer that question, we should go back and find out – what is the origin of mankind? Who are we? Who are our predecessors? What are we made from? What’s the purpose? Who is Creator? These are some monumental questions. We cannot move further anymore in the darkness of ignorance without answering them. That is why I suppose the nearest future is all about revealing the truth and forgotten knowledge about human nature.

The future is behind quick minded and openhearted people, who are ready to learn and react fast, because there are a lot of challenges on the way. I believe some greater reality is waiting for the people, who dare to make that conscious paradigm shift in their mind, body and soul. And to me this new reality is absolutely fantastic: a peaceful time for the planet, a balance between technological and spiritual aspects, a civilization of evolving human beings, knowing who they are and where they are going to. The Earth is about to become a wonderful place to live in and explore the whole universe from. Don’t know – when, but I believe this is the future to come anyway.

Anything else you would like to add?

Don't let anybody make you too narrowminded and pragmatic. Stay positive and visualize your dream. Only the inner child can awaken people's interest and sensitivity towards the greater reality around us. So let's be a little bit children just in case not to miss the wonder of Life.

Thank you for the interesting questions.

It was a pleasure to have this kind of conversation.

Below are 3 Nekto Kanekta albums, which you can listen and download for free: