Tallinn Music Week 2025 takes place on 3 – 6 April. TMW City Festival offers a special programme for youngsters.
TMW 2025 takes place on 3 – 6 April. Till then take a look below at what we did in 2024.
N, 4.04
18:00 – 21:30
Terminal Records&Bar
Telliskivi 60/2
For free
The TMW youth programme invites you to join an engaging talk to find out what is behind rap bragging and check out margiiela’s post-trap vibes.
18:00 – 18:50 Finnish Institute presents: Rap message – from bragado to empowerment (in English)
Terminal Records&Bar (Telliskivi 60/2)
Rap music was born as the voice of the underprivileged and the marginalised. Rappers regained their power by boasting about their wealth, success, skills or achievements. This helped establish their credibility, attract fans, engage peers in competition, and express self-confidence. Bragging also took on negative manifestations like toxic masculinity and sexism. Provocatory words which in other contexts sound racist could be used to reclaim or redefine ownership of one’s own identity. Conversely, mumble rap is often framed as having the opposite problem; most of its detractors accuse the genre of almost entirely lacking lyrical substance.
Does empowering require messages of superiority? Can we rap about being sad or exhausted, mentally strained, poor or lonely? Do we need verbal messages anymore? Is it all still the talk of streets and the key to unlocking Gen Z codes?
Talkers & rappers:
Aleksi Lemola, founder of the Track Factory community
Tiia Meriläinen aka Tiia Karoliina, member of rap crew BÄMÄ
19:00 – 19:30
Live:margiiela
margiiela’s characteristic flow has already made waves in the local trap scene. He has a handful of successful singles under his belt, including the cypher-banger “Sucka Shit” which features young Estonian rappers beebi, kaw, Pluuto, villemdrillem and Leis. The 2022 saw the release of his debut EP “margiiela season”, a full-length collab album with Leis that was followed by “Eilne Hind Pole Tänane” released at the end of 2023.
