This summer marks the 20th anniversary of "Straight Outta Compton," the N.W.A. record that is universally recognized as the first blockbuster gangsta rap album.
Much has changed since the genre's heyday from the late '80s and into the '90s. Today, the style's top stars like Jay-Z and 50 Cent are busy with their own clothing brands and movie appearances -- as far removed from the streets as fellow pop icons Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake.
In other countries, however, the gangsta lifestyle has been preserved. Germany and Russia have vivid gangsta rap scenes, as does Poland. A prominent representative of Polish hip-hop is Legnica's Popek Rak, a member of the five-piece group Firma.
What distinguishes the heavily tattooed muscleman from other hardcore rappers around the world? Rak is also a professional fighter.
At a solid 240 pounds, his massive chest, shoulders and back provide a large canvas for his numerous tattoos. Most of them have a meaning, a bond with his life: living illustrations of 2Pac, Outlaw, Team Titan. He also has a championship belt tattooed across his stomach.
"In my life I have faced much opposition," Rak said. "For seven long years, I was devoid of freedom. Now, I teach the youth to keep their focus. In order to understand, you must have been brought up on the streets."
Growing up in Legnica, a copper mining city in southwestern Poland, was rough on a young Rak. With an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent, youth and young adults were either forced to leave the country or try to get by on the streets.
Rak chose the second option, which led to numerous conflicts with police.
Things changed for the better when he moved to Krakow around the turn of the new millennium and joined founder Taded and DJ Kali in rap group Firma. Rak's friend Pomidor, who is also from Legnica, and Roman Boski, a freestyle rapper from krakow, also joined the trio. The quintet rapped about life on the streets and gained a large underground fan base.
This was not the end of the road for Rak, however. He relocated once more, this time to London. With a longtime affinity for martial arts -- back in Poland, he had trained in the Israeli military's hand-to-hand combat system of krav maga -- Rak joined Team Titan in the summer of 2006. Under head coach Mickey Papas, the "best trainer in London" according to Popek, he started training MMA.
His training regimen: two-and-a-half hours per day, six days a week. The Titans, who are based in Enfield in the north of London, have a very solid roster of fighters in all weight classes, including up-and-coming middleweight Ed Smith, Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Henrique Santana, undefeated prospect Luke Smith and former Cage Rage British featherweight champion Brad Pickett.
Rak is full of praise for his training partners.
"Every day I'm learning something new," he said. "All of my teammates have mastered different techniques, so one will teach me Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the next one muay thai. I'm still learning. Maybe in three or four years' time I'll be a good fighter. There are a lot of techniques that I don't know yet, so I still consider myself an incomplete fighter. My strengths so far are my raw power, my top game and my desire to succeed."
His role model as a rapper is the late Tupac Shakur. But in the cage his influences are many.
"I try to model myself on fighters like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Ken Shamrock and Vitor Belfort," Rak said. "But there are many others. I respect each fighter who has the courage to enter the cage and go to war."
Rak made his professional debut in February, stopping fellow debutant Glen Reid in the second round at Cage Rage Contenders 8.
In addition to decent wrestling skills and heavy hands, Popek also brought an entourage of several hundred Polish fans with him. The hot-blooded Poles packed into a venue that was too small, which nearly led to a riot before Rak persuaded his supporters to calm down.
Promoter Cage Rage wisely moved Rak to the big stage for his next fight, a bout Saturday at Cage Rage 26 against Kevin Simms.
"I saw one of his fights and I think he is good on the ground," Rak said of his next opponent. "I'm gonna try to win the fight standing up, but if I have to use jiu-jitsu, I'll do it. I have been training for two full months for this fight, lifting weights, doing fitness training and getting my sparring in every day except for Sundays. I am ready to fight."
Much has changed since the genre's heyday from the late '80s and into the '90s. Today, the style's top stars like Jay-Z and 50 Cent are busy with their own clothing brands and movie appearances -- as far removed from the streets as fellow pop icons Nelly Furtado and Justin Timberlake.
In other countries, however, the gangsta lifestyle has been preserved. Germany and Russia have vivid gangsta rap scenes, as does Poland. A prominent representative of Polish hip-hop is Legnica's Popek Rak, a member of the five-piece group Firma.
What distinguishes the heavily tattooed muscleman from other hardcore rappers around the world? Rak is also a professional fighter.
At a solid 240 pounds, his massive chest, shoulders and back provide a large canvas for his numerous tattoos. Most of them have a meaning, a bond with his life: living illustrations of 2Pac, Outlaw, Team Titan. He also has a championship belt tattooed across his stomach.
"In my life I have faced much opposition," Rak said. "For seven long years, I was devoid of freedom. Now, I teach the youth to keep their focus. In order to understand, you must have been brought up on the streets."
Growing up in Legnica, a copper mining city in southwestern Poland, was rough on a young Rak. With an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent, youth and young adults were either forced to leave the country or try to get by on the streets.
Rak chose the second option, which led to numerous conflicts with police.
Things changed for the better when he moved to Krakow around the turn of the new millennium and joined founder Taded and DJ Kali in rap group Firma. Rak's friend Pomidor, who is also from Legnica, and Roman Boski, a freestyle rapper from krakow, also joined the trio. The quintet rapped about life on the streets and gained a large underground fan base.
This was not the end of the road for Rak, however. He relocated once more, this time to London. With a longtime affinity for martial arts -- back in Poland, he had trained in the Israeli military's hand-to-hand combat system of krav maga -- Rak joined Team Titan in the summer of 2006. Under head coach Mickey Papas, the "best trainer in London" according to Popek, he started training MMA.
His training regimen: two-and-a-half hours per day, six days a week. The Titans, who are based in Enfield in the north of London, have a very solid roster of fighters in all weight classes, including up-and-coming middleweight Ed Smith, Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt Henrique Santana, undefeated prospect Luke Smith and former Cage Rage British featherweight champion Brad Pickett.
Rak is full of praise for his training partners.
"Every day I'm learning something new," he said. "All of my teammates have mastered different techniques, so one will teach me Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the next one muay thai. I'm still learning. Maybe in three or four years' time I'll be a good fighter. There are a lot of techniques that I don't know yet, so I still consider myself an incomplete fighter. My strengths so far are my raw power, my top game and my desire to succeed."
His role model as a rapper is the late Tupac Shakur. But in the cage his influences are many.
"I try to model myself on fighters like Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Ken Shamrock and Vitor Belfort," Rak said. "But there are many others. I respect each fighter who has the courage to enter the cage and go to war."
Rak made his professional debut in February, stopping fellow debutant Glen Reid in the second round at Cage Rage Contenders 8.
In addition to decent wrestling skills and heavy hands, Popek also brought an entourage of several hundred Polish fans with him. The hot-blooded Poles packed into a venue that was too small, which nearly led to a riot before Rak persuaded his supporters to calm down.
Promoter Cage Rage wisely moved Rak to the big stage for his next fight, a bout Saturday at Cage Rage 26 against Kevin Simms.
"I saw one of his fights and I think he is good on the ground," Rak said of his next opponent. "I'm gonna try to win the fight standing up, but if I have to use jiu-jitsu, I'll do it. I have been training for two full months for this fight, lifting weights, doing fitness training and getting my sparring in every day except for Sundays. I am ready to fight."
1 comment:
too bad mr Rak forgot to mention that his Firma is actually involved in drug crimes and similar activities, it's got nothing to do with positive role models for youth. he promotes violent behaviour in his videoclips, also he is well known amongst Poles in London as a rather ruthless drug dealer. who knows, maybe he's changed..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsnFPT1-5ck
there's more...true sports
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