A RAPPER IN BAKU: COOLIO GIVES CONCERT AT HEIDAR ALIYEV PALACE
A EurasiaNet Photo Essay by Keith Mellnick and Rena Effendi: 4/09/04
Text by Laura Hruby

The first weekend of April saw what could easily have been taken as April Fool’s joke come true in Baku, as the American rap artist Coolio swung through town as part of a seven-month tour across Europe, the Middle East and the CIS. Coolio, who described himself in an interview as an "international emcee and entertainer," devoted much of his two days in Baku to issues concerning Azeri youth. Despite an evident desire to serve as a positive role model for young people, and to live down the Gangster Rapper moniker, he managed to stir things up during his time in Baku – offending Azerbaijani viewers with a lewd gesture during a televised interview, and rattling security at the concert venue by encouraging the audience to get up and dance.

The buzz had reached a steady roar by the time Coolio – known for hits such as "Gangsta’s Paradise," "See You When You Get There," and "I Like Girls" – arrived in Azerbaijan on April 2, several weeks after promotional posters about his concert had first appeared on the streets of the Azerbaijani capital. At a reception hosted for Azerbaijani youth by US Ambassador Reno Harnish and his wife Leslie, as well as during interviews with the local media, Coolio stayed largely on message. "Be you," was his main mantra for the youth of Azrebaijan, "don’t try to be like me, or like anyone else in this room."

Azerbaijani teens seek social acceptance just like teenagers everywhere around the world, but they tend to do this not by asserting their individuality. Instead, they seek to establish an identity within a traditional framework, which stresses obedience to parental and societal norms. The public actions of many Azerbaijanis of all ages appear to be predicated on the answer to a fundamental question: "What would my neighbors think?"

You could feel the hold of that question begin to lose its power over the course of Coolio’s performance, as the crowd loosened up, stopped worrying about acting proper, and started to groove to the music. At first it was only pockets of people, mainly in the front, who defied the security guards by dancing. A nod of Coolio’s head and a call to "jump – jump!" about four songs into the concert brought swarms of young audience members to the front of the auditorium with their hands in the air to see who could jump the highest. When security protested, Coolio and his sidekick Gangsta Lu announced that they had been told the show would be stopped unless everyone returned to their seats – the ultimate concert buzzkill.

The concert took place in the Heidar Aliyev Palace, a venue usually used for orchestra concerts and important state occasions. It was heartening to see the crowd return to the front (and even to swarm the stage) later in the show as the kids got bolder about enjoying the music as it was meant to be enjoyed – hips swaying and arms in the air. As the kids got down to Coolio’s songs, it was clear that they were enjoying themselves. And in true 21st century style, many preserved the moment by using nifty cell phones to take digital pictures or broadcast the show to friends outside.

Coolio’s arrival in Baku came after weeks of a steadily increasing excitement. Many here wondered what had been the impetus for his visit. Baku does not see many international musical acts. Additionally, it was not likely to be a very profitable visit, with front-row tickets to the show going for $40 (astronomical compared to average local wages), and the majority of the seats selling for only $12.

But during an interview, Coolio chalked up his stop in Azerbaijan to something simpler than profits – his love of traveling and a strong feeling of responsibility as an entertainer. "I came to Baku the same way I would go to Texas – because they asked me to come and play hip hop," he told me.

Editor’s Note: Laura Hruby is a guest writer who works and lives in Baku.

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Posted April 9, 2004 © Eurasianet
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