Zedbazi

Zedbazi (Persian: زدبازی – Zedbāzi‎‎) is an Iranian hip hop band from Tehran. It is one of the most popular bands in Iran, and is known to have marked the beginning of a new movement in the Iranian music.^[1] It is also known as the pioneer of gangsta rap in Iran.^[2][3]

History

Foundation

Foundation of the band dates back to early 2002. It was started up by Saman Rezapour (Saman Wilson) and Mehrad Mostowfi Rad (Mehrad Hidden), who were friends in a high school in Tehran. Despite having older experiences in musicianship, formation of the band as in a hip hop style was motivated by Saman's cover of Eminem's Without Me, which was performed with a matched vulgar lyrics written in Persian. After moving to London, they met Sohrab Mostavafi (Sohrab MJ) in a summer school, where he joined the band by collaborating on Kal Kal (کل کل – Kal-kal, "Argue"), a cover of D12's Rap Game.

The first collaboration of Siavash Jalali (Sijal) and Alireza Jazayeri (Alireza JJ) with the band's earlier members was Berim Faza (بریم فضا - Berim Fazā, "(Let's) Go to Space"), produced by Alireza JJ in 2005. Siavash and Alireza were best friends in Paris, where they had also met Nassim Parize, an Iranian finalist at the French reality TV show Star Academy (Season 5) with her twin sister, Neissa.

The three future band members officially joined Zedbazi by releasing Tabestoon Kootahe (تابستون کوتاهه – Tābestun Kutāh e, "Summer is Short") in September 2007. They brought a new style into the band, as Mehrad Hidden remarks in Ardeshir Ahmadi's Zedbazi Documentary. "The formula they brought was different than ours. Our formula was necessary for the inception, theirs was necessary for the continuation."^[1]

The name Zedbazi (زدبازی – Zedbāzi) consists of the words zed ("Z", the first letter of zakhar) and bāzi ("play", "game" or "action"). Zakhar (زاخار - zāxār, "old") is an old and non-common word in modern Persian language. It is what Saman and his friends used to call each other in high school,^[1] and according to the band, it can mean both "an old and close friend" and "an old-fashioned and fusty person"; it depends on the purpose. Therefore, Zedbazi can be translated as "the zakhar acts."

Popularity

Zedbazi in the Iranian Intergalactic Music Festival (October 22, 2006)

Zedbazi emerged at the same time as Hichkas, and rapidly garnered a huge popularity between the youth, due to their controversial lyrics, littered with profanities, depictions of sexual encounters and drug use.^[4] They are considered as the first musical band in Iran to use such explicit language.

Tabestoon Kootahe is considered as Zedbazi's most popular song, which was released in September 2007. It is about "the bittersweet feeling" of a summertime in Iran.^[4]

Separation

In October 2014, the band announced a separation between the members. It was due to some internal disagreements. Saman Wilson, who had not been attending to the band's songs a|بزرگ – Bozorg, "Great"). Alireza JJ, Sijal, and Nassim decided to work together, and Sohrab MJ currently works alone. According to Alireza JJ, all of the members are still part of the band, but they are currently not working together.^[5]

Members

Left to right: Alireza JJ, Nassim, Sohrab MJ, Sijal, and Mehrad Hidden; Zedbazi Documentary (2014)

• Mehrad Hidden – lead vocals, guitar, piano, composition (2002–present)
• Saman Wilson – vocals (2002–2007, 2015–present)
• Sohrab MJ – vocals (2003–present)
• Sijal – vocals (2005–present)
• Alireza JJ – vocals, composition, production (2005–present)
• Nassim – vocals (2005–present)

Each member usually writes their own part of the lyrics.^[1]

Discography

Discography of Zedbazi consists of three studio albums and thirty-three singles. Until 2012, the band had yet to release an album, and their music was provided by singles.

Their first studio album, Zakhar Nameh (زاخار نامه – Zāxār Nāme, "The Zakhar Book"), was released on June 4, 2012. All of the band members, except Saman Wilson, were involved in the album, featuring Hichkas, Behzad Leito and Arash Dara.

On July 28, 2014, the album Pir Shodim Vali Bozorg Na (پیر شدیم ولی بزرگ نه – Pir Ŝodim Vali Bozorg Na, "Got Aged But Not Grown-Up") was released, including only three members of the band (Alireza JJ, Sijal and Nassim) and without the band's label. It was composed by Alireza JJ and DJ AFX, and included Behzad Leito, Paya, Erfan, Sepehr Khalse, Sina Mafee, Magico and Cornellaa as featured artists.

The album Bozorg: Vol. 2 (بزرگ: ولوم 2 – Bozorg: Volum e 2), presented by Bozorg, was released on February 27, 2015; with Sohrab MJ, Arash Dara, Tara Salehi, Kiarash, and Siamak as featured artists. It was composed by Mehrad Hidden, Arash Dara, and DJ Rassek; including 19 tracks, and remarkably being the 2nd volume ("present") of an album series continuing with two other volumes. The 1st ("past") and 3rd ("future") volumes are said to be released in future.

References