Nikola Rajović, who performs under a pseudonym Vibin wit DJ Mono i Dejan Dedović Dedduh, a member of the duo Who See, are among the most important figures of Montenegrin hip hop, who paved the way for this music and culture to reach a wider audience in our country. This is exactly what they sang in the new joint single "Ol skul", for which a video was recorded and is available on the YouTube platform.
After "ANEMOI", a feminist anthem that brought together all the women of Montenegrin rap and attracted attention throughout the region, this is the second single that announces Mon's upcoming EP "Nikola", whose release is announced for the beginning of next year under the Beats per Montenegro label.
"Ol Skul" is described as "a high-energy avalanche of rhythm and rhyme, a tribute to the formative years, packed into three minutes of ultra-modern groove".
"'All Skul' is an ode to a musical genre that arose out of the need for unity and innovation in the fight against various types of oppression and obstacles. 'Ol Skul' is an ode to the musical genre and time that shaped us. 'Ol Skul' is an ode to a safe haven during the years of growing up, getting to know yourself and exploring the world," explained Mono.
The complete process of production and realization of the initial idea was very exciting, even emotional, the DJ and producer told Vijesti.
"What I often mention is the gusto that accompanies the development of a project like this, at the end you can see and hear that we measured up and that we had a good time, which is also the point of doing music or some other way of expression. Dedduh and I are long-term collaborators - sometimes he learns from me, sometimes I from him, and it all comes very naturally to us," Mono points out.
And what was the feeling through this project to look back on the past years of building the hip hop scene in Montenegro reveals:
"There is this feeling that in the past it was possible to do better and more, to work and achieve, so with this intelligence, I would probably be more persistent and open in some fields. But that's human nature, never enough things that make us happy. All in all, the passion for music is still present with the same intensity as in the previous two, three decades", replies Mono.
The road was thorny during those few decades and it is not over yet, he adds.
"We haven't arrived yet, or maybe we've been at the desired destination all along because playing music fills us and excites us, just like beans, so to speak," explains one of the Montenegrin hip hop pioneers.
Dedduh pointed out that DJ Mono is one of the loudest promoters of hip hop culture in Montenegro, and as such he dragged many ideas and actions behind him.
"From his projects, a scene was slowly formed, which only in recent years has gained a wider picture. Now there is a whole infrastructure," adds a member of the group Who See.
And part of that infrastructure are the Knowhere2run studio where "Ol skul" was recorded, mixed and mastered, and Atomic Production, which took care of the video. The authors of the music are Todor Tadic and Nikola Rajović, and he helped them with the arrangement Marko Ćacić. The lyrics were written by Dedović and Rajović, while the vocals on the chorus were "lent" by the singer Marija Božović.
Dedduh welcomed Mon's idea of his own album with full support.
“He sent me a few of his beats, and I chose this one with an 'Ol Skul' theme. That topic and everything that is mentioned in the song is, roughly, a tribute to the time we spent together fighting with rap music for a better tomorrow," said the popular rapper.
Some other rap comrades also appear in the video, such as Marko Lubarda Random i Baćko Belojević aka Ronaldo Maximum, but also others, as Mono described them, "city faces": Goran Nikčević Brčko, Žarko Stanišić Žabac, Peđa Radović, Dusko Miljanic i Milja Zenović. The dancer also contributed Lena Nikolić, freestyle dance champ and street dance hip hop.
"This is a tribute to those on whose shoulders we stand, to the desires and ideas we live and create. 'Ol Skul' is the second single from the mini-album 'Nikola', which will contain five or six songs, I will not reveal any more details, just to announce that we plan to release it in the first quarter of next year. It's more or less ready, and after that we'll see, maybe regionally, maybe internationally, it's constantly being recorded, so there are needs and materials," said DJ Mono.
In addition to numerous collaborations with rappers, the "godfather of Montenegrin hip hop" is best known as the author of the cult radio show "The Coming" - the pioneering, longest-running and most significant show dedicated to hip hop culture in Montenegro, through which the group Who See, among others, presented themselves audience at the beginning of his career. A passionate record collector, Mono is the founder of the Beats Per Montenegro label, was part of the producer duo The Outvaderz, and with Hamid Nišić Soulastik and part of the Soul3000 project. There is no shortage of ideas and projects.
"As I said, there is always recording and not just one genre. SOULx3000 is a project where we move through other genres, so next year there will be new material, we don't have anything specific to announce yet, but it will be... What also preoccupies me is the project 'Hip Hop in CG' that I started working on, the plan is that in the next few years we will document the past and present of the scene through various formats and in that way celebrate important moments and people who, each in their own way, influenced the urbanization of Montenegro", revealed Mono.
Hip hop is the most energetic and exciting music here
From the first hip hop sounds on the airwaves to the scene's most prolific year, "Ol Skul" served as a good primer for asking where the rap scene is today and how different it all looks from what pioneers like Mon and Dedduh envisioned in the beginning. .
"On the one hand, our constant commitment, work, effort, energy and investment have resulted in us living from music, which in itself is a success in the hilly Balkans. It took years, but somehow life puts you where you need to be. On the other hand, it's a little strange that there is still a certain stigma, labeling and somewhat taboo about the genre itself, it's strange that in 2024 it should be explained that hip-hop is not just cursing and waving hands, but that's a daily struggle and a part of our work and life, which can occasionally be boring and tiring, but which will obviously be one of the constants in our careers", Mono assessed.
After all these years, the idea and motivation is the same, he says.
"To express ourselves in our own way and to offer a different rhythm to satisfy our creative appetites and inspire others. I will be free to characterize hip-hop in our country as the most energetic and exciting music. This year has confirmed that and the next one will. What can we say, the language has been freed and now everything goes more easily", he concluded.
Bonus video:
