There is no shortage of musical talent in Suriname as shown in many of my posts on the topic, the most recent being: Listening to "Kiyoo" by Kater Karma 🎼Putting a Unique Spin on the Standard gets You Noticed
That being said I would like to highlight another one of my "new" favorites from the past few years. Although it's not as new anymore, being released in 2019, it did hold strong on my playlist, still being relevant in 2022. This highlight would be the tune "Thing Torie" by Kiev, an artist / rapper from the popular Suriname group RTF, which stands for Real Thing Famirie. This obviously translates to Real Thing Family.
In this hit Kiev raps in the extra language we have here called Sranan Tongo, a mix of many different dialects with its origins in times of slavery. What I like about this song, and many others from RTF and Kiev, is that they don't just rap about the "cool things" all the rappers go in on. Instead there is a real message, shining a bright light on real life situations in Suriname society.
In this particular creations Kiev talks about how boys try to do exactly that, act cool, go with the flow, while not focusing on school and a solid future. He calls those "cool distractions" tjieng tori (the name of the song). This basically means that those things that these lost boys may think are important are literally small stuff. Kiev urges to focus on the bigger picture and not fall into the same traps just to be popular and in with the crowds. Sure, do not forget to enjoy life, as Kiev and his friends do that as well, but do it without ignoring your responsibilities.
I couldn't find much on Kiev or his group Real Thing Famirie online, but the content of their music has certainly captured my attention. It seems that the lack of online info about them means that they probably need to hire someone to develop their brand, as the potential is definitely there. Either way, their music has a great vibe to it, but most importantly an impactful message.
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