Hichkas
- Bande-son
Soroush Lashkary (better known by his stage name
Hichkas meaning "nobody") is an Iranian rapper based in Tehran. He has
never received official permission to release his music legally in Iran
since most western-style music is banned in the country. Soroush
Lashkary graduated from Raoof High School in Tehran in 2003. Soon after
he started one of the first rap groups based in Tehran called "021"
(Tehran's area code). He is one of the most famous rappers in Iran.
Soroush refers to himself as "pedar e rap e fars" (The Father Of
Persian Rap), as he claims to have started the persian rap movement
with the 021-music website. He was arrested in Tehran for political
reasons for 15 days. His first songs were mostly in English and about
social problems in Iran. Then he began rapping in Persian because it is
easier for him to express his feelings in it. After releasing some
songs, Hichkas started to experiment with different styles in rap, and
now listeners can hear a different style in each of his songs. Hichkas
has also had songs on different subjects like unity in "Baa Ham",
treachery in "Pedar Khaandeh", and duets with artists like Saman
(Wilson) from Zedbazi in "Vase Har Irani". He created the 021 group and
his first album was "The Asphalt Jungle/" featured 11 new songs further
exploring the combination of Persian instruments with Western beats,
composed and produced by then 17 year old underground musician Mahdyar
Aghajani. The album also featured British Iranian rapper Reveal from
Poisonous Poets on a number of its songs. He could not release the
album legally in Iran, it was released on iTunes first and then became
available to buy from his official website for a limited time. The
regime disapproved of the content. Hich Kas' lyrics have touched on
government indifference towards the public, unemployment, and violence
in daily life. He also created Saamet records (Biggest Persian Rap
underground group.