| Kayra | |
| Birth Name: | Onur İnal |
| Alias: | Zapkinus Mori de Zappa |
| Birth Date: | 9 August 1985 |
| Birth Place: | Karabük, Turkey |
| Years Active: | 2005–present |
| Label: | Deadly Habits Music (2013–2021) Below System Records (2016-2021) Pasaj Müzik Somilk |
Onur İnal (born 9 August 1985), better known by his stage name Kayra, is a Turkish rapper, lyricist and English teacher, best known for his work with the hip hop group Farazi V Kayra and the album Hayalet Islığı.[1] [2] [3] [4]
He was a member of the Farazi V Kayra group, which he founded with Burak Demir, disbanded on 31 March 2021. He was also a member of the 90BPM collective until its disbandment in 2020.[5] [6] He is regarded as one of the best Turkish storyteller rappers, with the stories he tells being quite realistic and relatable.[7] [8] [9] Kayra makes references to everyday life, politics, football, the city of Karabük and Turkish culture in his songs. Kayra himself considers himself and his songs moody and pessimistic. He finds music styles that praise the money it earns absurd and meaningless.[10]
He started his career with the group Gına, which he founded with his beatmaker friend Bitap. They made a name for themselves in the underground hip hop community with the albums they released with the Gına group. In 2007, he met Farazi, another beatmaker at "Freestyle King 2007" organised by Hiphoplife, and they came together under the name Farazi V Kayra.[11]
In 2007 the duo released its first album "Sarhoş Palavraları ve Nahoş Nidalar", which was the result of 4 months of work. The album was recorded at Zemin Kat Records in Karabük, and the mixing of the album was done by Bitap. Bitap also did the scratches for the songs titled Muhterem Hayalet, Kül Yutmaz and Düş peşindeyim; Düş peşime.[12] The cover art and application of the album was done by Emrah Çıldır. The lyrics of the songs in this album were written by Kayra. The storytelling genre was used in the album.
A year later, in 2008, Farazi V Kayra released its second album "Sarhoş Palavraları ve Bekar Evinde Kör Sinekler", lyrics of the songs in this album were written by Kayra, and the beatwork of the album was done by Bitap, with there being no straches in the album. The storytelling genre was used in the album as well. It is an album about what will be left when a single person at a young age, rather than being married, puts whatever they have lived and done on a piece of paper. A single who has to overcome all the difficult reasons that will come to mind at every point while dreaming.[13] The cover art and application of the album was done by Emrah Çıldır as well.
On 20 November 2010, the duo released its third album "Yerel Radyo", the tracks that were prepared for a long lasting album, were brought to mixtape format due to the extension of the album release date due to Kayra's military service. The mixtape lasts about 20 minutes. The lyrics of the album are written by Kayra, infrastructures, mixing, cover art and design were done by Farazi and vocal arrangements in the album are done by Bitap.[14] The first track (Ölmez) is not included in the tracklist because it is only a 2-3 second excerpt from Turkish drama Bizimkiler. The excerpt is taken when the character Cemil, a social alcoholic, is taken to the hospital for treatment with his free will. The words spoken by him are: "Cemil's don't die, they don't die."
On 22 July 2011, Farazi V Kayra released the single Alt Geçit, for the various artists themed compilation album Organize Oluyoruz 1. The music video for the song was shot by Bedirhan Karakurluk in Karabük, with there being many references to the city and Karabükspor in the single.[15] The single was later remixed by Farazi in March 2017.[16] In Kayra's track Arafta Bile on the "Kayıp Gölgeler" EP released in April 2020, he makes a reference to Alt Geçit and complains about the process of a little patience
On 28 December 2011, the group released the single Mertel Kasetçilik, named after a cassette shop in the Bedesten Bazaar in Karabük, in which Kayra pays his respects to Turkish rappers and rap groups he listened to and was a fan of in his youth such as Karakan, Nefret, Microphone Mafia, Silahsız Kuvvet, Fuat, Ceza, Cartel and many more.[17] [18] The music video for the song was shot by Bedirhan Karakurluk.[19]
On 1 May 2012, Kayra released the EP Saray Yakan Soytarı with DJ Argub. The producer for the songs in the EP is Vinyl Obscura and the lyrics for the songs are written by Kayra. The EP consists of 5 songs.[20]
On 16 July 2013, Kayra released the single Mesela Yani. The song is inspired by and contains quotes from the 1979 film Korkusuz Korkak, in which Kemal Sunal played the character Mülayim. Beatwork on the song is done by CanBeatz. The lyrics of the single are written by Kayra.
On 29 November 2014, Kayra released the mutual EP Gitmedim Ama İçinden Geçtim which consists of 5 tracks, with Sorgu. The beatwork for the songs in the EP are done by Badmixday, Beatific Vision, Can Kazaz, Farazi and Yüce Ceylanlı. Lyrics of the songs in the EP are written by Kamufle, Kayra, Kodes Kahra, Da Poet and Sorgu. It was released under the Deadly Habits Music music label.[21] The line "I read this beat to the vivid memories, I wish I could make her listen to it (this) like she always wanted" written by Sorgu in the song Tereddüt in this EP is in reference to his mother who had passed away.
On 13 September 2013, Farazi V Kayra released its fourth and most notable album "Hayalet Islığı", consisting of 15 tracks; Dokunmayarayaparsın, Cenaze I: Ölüler Konuşamaz, Cenaze II: Kolonya, Cenaze III: Merhumun Çalıntı Gölgesi, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar I: Fotoğraflarda Ölümü Görüyorum, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar II: Ayaz Meyhanesi, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar III: (Bir) Fotoğrafın Rüyası, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar IV: Bir Eve Hangi Gün Gidilmez, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar V: Unutulanlar, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar VI: Kar, Vakitsiz, Yangın I: Sakin, Yangın II: Sandığımdan Herkes Babam Gibi Gülecek, Yangın III: 15 Eylül 1966 and Dobro Vecer. Farazi and Kayra were accompanied by Karaçalı, Da Poet, Sorgu, Ağaçkakan and Type Wheel on vocals and Vinyl Obscura on scratches. The backgrounds of two tracks on the album; Merhumun Çalıntı Gölgesi and Ayaz Meyhanesi were prepared jointly by Farazi and Savai. The tracks Kolonya and (Bir) Fotoğrafın Rüyası were mixed by Kupa-A and the rest of the tracks were mixed by Sorgu. The album is divided into three sections: Cenaze, Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar and Yangın. In the album, Kayra tells the story of someone who has lost a close friend due to a fire.
The Cenaze (lit. funeral in Turkish) section of the album, which is the first section is divided into 3 main songs, is centred on this death, but this death is also seen at intervals throughout the album. In this part of the album, the state of denial that someone who has lost a loved one faces is addressed. This could be understood by Kayra's line in which he says "What are these halvahs for?", showing between the lines that he does not accept death, and that he thinks that tomorrow life will continue from where it left off, also referring to the tradition halva distribution at funerals.[7] [22]
In Mevsim Olmayan Mekanlar, (English: Unseasonal Spaces) the second section of the album divided into 6 tracks, Kayra accepts the reality of death. In the first song of this section; Fotoğraflarda Ölümü Görüyorum (lit. I see death in pictures in Turkish) Kayra does not have any lyrics, however he still accompanies the song with his vocals. The lines in the song are taken from the 1992 film Gölge Oyunu. Kayra pays his respects to Edip Cansever and Uğur Kaymaz, (When the whitest snow falls, good luck will come, when the whitest snow falls, Uğur will wake up and come) a 12 year old killed together with his father Ahmet Kaymaz in front of their house in Kızıltepe district of Mardin on 21 November 2004 by a barrage of police fire (this could be understood by the next line in the song being "Don't stop for a minute and shoot me in the name of the law") in the only protest song in the album; Kar, which is also in this section.[23] Kayra also refers to children killed by the state in the same song with the lyric "I've only got one pair of hands, so slaughter children". This section also contains the most prominent song of the album, Unutulanlar (lit. the forgotten in Turkish), in which the sample from Nina Simeone's I Hold No Grudge, which was also covered by the jazz-rock band Joy Unlimited, was used.[24] The song talks about a person whom the teller a resents on for some reasons, but still does not hold a grudge. With the lyrics ''I wonder who you are? (who?) Who is the host of the funeral?'' the song shows who it is written for in the introduction. With the lines ''Sit down, take a breath, you still have a long way to go'' and "I won't leave you even if they cut you, you're my guest", the person for whom the song is written is actually called to listen to what is said in this song.[25] It is also emphasised in the song that the person mentioned in the song behaved unscrupulously towards the people they left behind and that they are full of hatred.
In the third and the last section of the album: Yangın, (English: Fire) the teller looks for the cause of his friends death and encounters the fire, a phenomenon placed in the centre of the album, with Kayra referencing the incident in almost every song. This section consists of 3 tracks; Sakin, Sandığımdan Herkes Babam Gibi Gülecek and 15 Eylül 1966.
The opening song for the album is Dokunmayarayaparsın, with Dobro Vecer (lit. goodnight in Croatian and Bulgarian) which includes the song Islığı Beklerken in itself as a hidden song starting 40 seconds after the end of Dobro Vecer, symbolizing the religious tradition fortieth ceremony, regarded as the feast of the deceased being the closing song of the album.[22] [26] [27]
On 31 March 2021, a dispute broke out the duo and Farazi removed their albums and singles from music streaming services. The reason for this dispute was related to copyright issues. Farazi claimed that he was not paid the revenues of the albums and singles released under his own production company Deadly Habits Music. Farazi said that Kayra collected 86.000 Turkish liras without informing him and did not share it with him. Kayra would go on to respond to Farazi, by denying Farazi's claims and stating that he has not received the royalties he deserves since 2013. Kayra stated that Farazi did not keep his promises to him, did not publish his albums, made him a victim and exploited him and his rights, also stating that he had filed a lawsuit against Farazi. Kayra also stated that he took care of everything himself and Farazi made no attempt at helping him with the group "Farazi V Kayra".[28] [29] [30]
Kayra lives in Istanbul. He teaches English at Gilman Durukan Middle School in Büyükçekmece.[31] He is a Karabükspor supporter, and has gone on to devote the EP "Mucizeye Bir Hafta Kala" to the teams relegation battle in the 1993–94 1. Lig, which ended in Karabükspor being relegated to the TFF Second League.[32] [33] He describes himself as timid and shy person. He is married.
In 2003, he won the English Language and Literature Department of Hacettepe University and moved to Ankara in order to continue his education, later moving to Istanbul 6 years after in 2009.[34]
According to Kayra himself, he chose Kayra as his pseudonym due to the influence of Hakan Günday's novel Kinyas ve Kayra, a novel he read at 19 years old, he also stated that if he knew then when he knows now he would have chosen Kinyas instead.
Kayra explains the meaning of Zapkinus with these words:
Although Kayra has never produced anything with this pseudonym, at the beginning of the song Kanlı Karnaval, Kayra shouts 'Kayra Mori de Zappa".[35]