"In the war zone, they want to hear not only uplifting songs"
At the dawn of his career, his music lived in the rhythm of a big city and rocked the trendy clubs of Moscow, now it explores the image of a modern hero and turns to traditions. On November 14, rapper ST will present the hip-hop album "Hints", which is based on folklore plots. And before that, the musician recorded the powerful track "Time to pick up" for the release on REN TV of the new super-extreme project "Winners", dedicating this composition to his heroes. All of them are ordinary representatives of the most popular professions.: firefighters, security guards, police, military, rescuers, teachers and doctors. Their vocation is to be useful to people every day. Alexander Stepanov spoke about this, as well as about why chains and cars in rap are inferior to meanings and values, how love songs bring our fighters back to life, and about his acting work in the second season of the acclaimed TV series "Lilies of the Valley" in an exclusive interview with Izvestia.
"It will be a worthy battle of worthy people"
— Alexander, you have written a powerful uplifting track for the Winners project. How was this song born and what meanings do you put into it?
— My acquaintance with the Winners project happened at a time when it was just being conceived. They showed me the idea, and I thought, "How cool is that?" And then I made a wish to somehow become involved in this. Therefore, when I was offered to write the title theme, the soundtrack, I, of course, gladly agreed.
I really like the concept, the challenges and the characters who participate in this show. It is important that these are the people whose lives are associated with risk and with the rescue of others — these are doctors and paramedics, law enforcement officers, firefighters and rescuers of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
All this resonates with me, and therefore there are lines: "It's time to take away what is rightfully yours — victory and glory." At the same time, I would like to say that victory is important, but the methods of achieving it are no less. The heroes are competing with each other, and there is a prize they are striving for, but no one will go over their heads here. It will be a worthy battle of worthy people.
Participants during the filming of the REN TV project "Winners" in Patriot Park
— We are used to seeing show business stars in TV projects, but here people are not media people. As a person with extensive experience of participating in reality TV, do you think that such a format will respond to the viewer?
— Ratings and views are dictated by the viewer. And often it's he who wants to be given some kind of scandal in a reality show, for someone to sort things out, for there to be a squabble, then he watches. I also want to see how the hero, going through certain initiations, eventually becomes the winner. That is, how he overcomes and tests himself, sacrifices something and ends up on Olympus. We're coming back to this hero image, and it's wonderful!
New chapters are written by those who devote their lives not only to themselves. People who carry certain values. I think this is also very important in music, by the way. Lately, words very often lack a message, appeal, and opinion. But now everything is changing — it has started to appear in music and on television.
— Is that why you're turning to folk motifs today? I'm talking about your new album "Under the Snow".
— It all started with the idea of hip-hop, folklore with its characters, folk as a musical genre, and mixing it all together. I imagined that I wanted to build a narrative story, while making a storyline so that each piece of music could be listened to separately — outside the common thread. As a result, we got "hints".
I built the plot on the general ideas of the genre's works. After all, what is the essence of a fairy tale? In order to lay down simple, understandable values, you need to do good and do it with pure thoughts, give love and be devoted. And now my task is, with the help of several folklore characters and stories, to try to convey at least these basic things, which, in my opinion, carry fairy tales. And in such a way that it would be interesting for adults as well. It seems to me that over time this may develop into a musical universe, which I am very interested in doing right now.
— And who are your heroes?
— In this tale, he is the only one who bears the proud name of Hero. He has a path that his beloved helps him walk. He also meets Baba Yaga, who tries to prevent him from doing this. There is a darkness that must eventually dissipate. In general, this is rap now, you know?
"Let it be so — a return to the roots is in fashion today"
— Speaking of rap, by the way! The 1990s, the noughties and even the 2010s, it seems to me, formed a certain image of the rapper — chains, cars, bundles of money, girls. It seems that it is changing today, and this project is an example of that. Why do you think that is?
— I'm afraid I'm going to start telling you my opinion on this, and it's going to get very stuffy in this room because I'm going to be stuffy (laughs). It's just that you come to everything with age. If your views on this life at 37 are the same as at 27 and 17, then nothing has changed in your life during this time. A lot has changed in my life — I now have children and completely different views on certain things. But if I had watched this interview 15 years ago, I would have thought, "What kind of fairy tales? What are you doing anyway? Auf!" So all in good time.
As for music, it is a tool that can be used for both creation and decomposition. And if we want to bring to the masses that happiness lies in chains and wheelbarrows, then we can use it for this. And it seems to me that this happened to rap at some point. In general, modern content dictates to us: you have to earn a lot, look at how fast and cool it is for others, you can do nothing, and the money will come. But this is not the case. That's not the story. It seems to me that now more people are beginning to understand this and are trying to look deeper, including into our cultural code — and this is great!
Rapper Alexander ST (Stepanov) on stage, 2012
— So a return to the roots is in some sense in fashion today?
— Great! Let it be so — a return to the roots is in fashion today. Let it be fashionable.
— Now, when you create music, do you think about what your children will listen to?
— Of course! A lot of things change when children appear. You start hearing different songs differently. I even started writing and performing children's songs, which was not the case before in my work. Now I have time to think about what I will leave behind and what it will look like. I've always tried to take care of this, but now it's especially acute because I look at my children and my friends' children, at what surrounds them, what they absorb.
It's very simple — you can't raise a child without educating yourself. You can't explain to a child that you need to read a book if you're on the phone all day. You can't force him to exercise if he sees that you're not doing it. Children are a wonderful opportunity to take care of themselves. For some reason, we think that they were given to us so that we could raise them. But children are given to us so that they can educate us and so that we can educate ourselves.
"The guys there are very specific"
— This year you starred in the sequel to the acclaimed hit TV series "Lilies of the Valley". How was it?
— It's really a lot of interesting work. I played the producer. I tried to get into the role, came up and asked, "I'm sorry, but what kind of producer am I? Am I a producer friend? Or am I a greedy producer?" How will it look on the screen, I'm waiting with the same impatience as, hopefully, the audience. It's an incredibly interesting experience, and it's very energy-intensive! People think it's easy to be an actor. No, that's not true. It's very difficult to shoot the same thing over and over again from different points, then rearrange, shoot a new one. But I'm interested. I actually think I have a great face for TV series and television (laughs).
A shot from the TV series "Lilies of the Valley"
— The plot of "Lilies of the Valley" and the relationships of the main characters of the series develop against the background of THEIR own. This is generally a new topic for cinema. You have personally been to Donbass more than once. What did you remember about your very first trip?
"I remember the helicopter. We were walking very low. I was sitting there, still very green, and the guys were professionals: contractors and private traders. At that moment, I realized that here, in this chopper, we are all on equal terms. If something happens, everything can end very quickly and equally for everyone. I had a notebook that one of the guys gave me, and I wrote a short poem that was born right there. I gave it to this fighter and told him to keep it: "You have the only copy, it will cost a lot of money, maybe you will need it" (laughs).
The guys there are very specific. We reached our positions, went down to the deck, and sat down. They asked me questions, got answers, and I realized that I had just passed some kind of exam without realizing it. You can't lie one hundred percent there, they can tell when you're lying, evading an answer, or evading an answer. Everything is clear there. And that's what I remember right away. I even know the stories the guys told me when they wouldn't let someone in. And it's worth a lot that they accept me there, and I can go and just cheer them up.
— When was the last time you were there?
— I was in Donetsk less than a month ago. We went to hospitals to visit our servicemen who are recovering, undergoing treatment, rehabilitation, and performed for them. Then we drove around the neighborhood and went to hospitals in the border regions.
There are many stories, they are always different. Do you know what pleased me? I reasonably estimate that not everyone knows who Sasha St. is. This is completely normal. And there was a funny incident once. We got off the bus and were greeted by a doctor, a very big, strong man. As it turned out, he is a former bodybuilder. I introduced myself. And he asked: "Have the artists arrived yet?" (laughs). And after the performance, he came up to me and said, "I know your songs!" It's worth a lot. It's unexpected and pleasant when doctors, some even with tears in their eyes, thank you for certain songs.
— How do the guys react?
— The guys are happy. And the attention, and the songs, and the photos. We always take videos and send them to someone. And during these trips, I realized something. It's very important for us to sing songs about what's out there so that people don't forget about the situation that's happening at the moment. Even as we're recording this interview right now, there are guys who are sitting in a trench and making this possible. And there, in the war zone, they want to hear not only uplifting songs, but also others, on the contrary, unrelated to this situation: on the theme of love, celebration. Something that will bring them back here mentally — to a peaceful life.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
