Q-pop | |
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Stylistic origins | |
Cultural origins | 2015, Kazakhstan |
Fusion genres | |
Toi-pop |
Q-pop or Qazaq pop is a music genre originating in Kazakhstan. [1] [2] [3] It is a modern form of Kazakhstani pop music sung in Kazakh, incorporating elements of Western pop music, Kazakhstani hip hop, EDM, R&B and Toi-pop, with heavy influences from K-pop of South Korea. [4] [5] [6] The genre first surfaced in 2015 when the first Q-pop group, Ninety One debuted. [7] Since then the genre has experienced growing popularity among Kazakhstani youths, with more Q-pop artists forming and debuting. [5] [8]
The term ‘Q-pop’ was coined in 2015 by Ninety one fans to distinguish Kazakh pop music from the rest of the world pop scene. [9] One characteristic feature of ‘Q-pop’ is very clear: it is ‘Kazakhstan pop made in Kazakhstan by Kazakhstan musicians for a Kazakhstan audience and it dominates the Kazakhstan market. New popular culture phenomenon that is termed as a ‘Q-pop’ with ‘Q’ standing for Kazakhstan, and ‘Pop’ meaning popular music. [9] ‘Q-pop’ singers do not use their real names instead they replace them with English ones. Finally, when they release new songs they name them in English wording (name of the songs, group members’ nicknames, fandom names, mixing English words and sounds with the Kazakh language [9] ).
Applying all western and non-western music elements into the Kazakhstan context, ‘Q-pop’ became sophisticated enough to satisfy even those who used to love western music. [9] Here ‘Q-pop’ has the hybrid quality of western music, and response to, globalization and its consequent anxiety since the late 1990s. Its rising popularity in Kazakhstan market is derived from the globalization effect of ‘Q-pop’, thanks to the development of new technology within computers, internet and transportation, the expansion of tourism, and, most importantly, the consequent trans-nationalization of cultural tastes in the Central Asian region. [9] ‘Q-pop’ entertainment companies work in a similar manner such as Korean entertainment labels. ‘Q-pop’ singers are young, with most of them being born after 1990 or even 2000, with bright fashion styles and colored hair with trendy haircuts. [9] They can dance modern dances while singing and can put on great performances that attract thousands of young people. [9]
Kazakhstan experienced the Korean Wave when South Korean dramas and movies started entering the country in the mid 2000s. [10] This phenomenon, assisted by the increasing accessibility of the internet, sparked more interest in South Korean pop culture among Kazakhstanis, which helped the popularization of the K-pop music genre in Kazakhstan. [11] [12] K-pop is regarded as an attractive, less-restrictive and unique genre. [13] The high popularity of K-pop in Kazakhstan spurred the creation of the first Q-pop project in 2014, when JUZ Entertainment formed Ninety One. [14] After the group debuted in 2015, it became instantly popular among youth, due to its high quality music and the use of Kazakh in its songs. [1] [15]
Q-pop is enjoying support from both the government and the people as a means to promote and popularize the use of Kazakh language and Latin script among youth. [5] [16] [17] However, it has also faced criticism and rejection from the traditionalist element of society, especially toward its performers' on-stage appearance. [18] [19] [20] Since 2018, there has been an annual q-pop music festival called the Q-Fest, usually held during Autumn in Almaty. [21] [22]
These artists also sing in genres besides Q-pop such as Toi, Hip-Hop & R&B
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country mostly in Central Asia, with a small part in Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbekistan to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southwest, with a coastline along the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Astana. Kazakhstan is the world's ninth-largest country by land area and the largest landlocked country in the world. It has a population of 19 million people and one of the lowest population densities in the world, at fewer than 6 people per square kilometre. Ethnic Kazakhs constitute a majority of the population, while ethnic Russians form a significant minority. Officially secular, Kazakhstan is a Muslim-majority country, although ethnic Russians in the country form a sizeable Christian community.
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev is a Kazakh politician and military officer who served as the first President of Kazakhstan, from the country’s independence in 1991 until his formal resignation in 2019, and as the Chairman of the Security Council of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2022.
Ibrahim (Abai) Qunanbaiūly was a Kazakh poet, composer and Hanafi Maturidi theologian philosopher. He was also a cultural reformer toward European and Russian cultures on the basis of enlightened Islam. Among Kazakhs he is known simply as Abai.
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Kazakhstan, the Kazakh SSR, or simply Kazakhstan, was one of the transcontinental constituent republics of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991 in northern Central Asia. It was created on 5 December 1936 from the Kazakh ASSR, an autonomous republic of the Russian SFSR.
The tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan. It is divided into 100 tiyn.
Music of Kazakhstan refers to a wide range of musical styles and genres deriving from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is home to the Kazakh State Kurmangazy Orchestra of Folk Instruments, the Kazakh State Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kazakh National Opera and the Kazakh State Chamber Orchestra. The folk instrument orchestra was named after Kurmangazy Sagyrbayuly, a well-known composer and dombra player from the 19th century.
Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as President of Kazakhstan since 2019. Between 20 March and 12 June 2019, he served as acting president after the resignation of Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had been president for nearly three decades.
The Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the bicameral legislature of Kazakhstan. The lower house is the Mäjilis, with 98 seats which are elected to five-year terms. The upper house is the Senate, which has 50 members.
Imangali Nurgaliuly Tasmagambetov is a Kazakh politician and diplomat, who is the current Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization since January 2023. He was the Kazakh Ambassador to Russia from 2017 to 2019. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan from 2016 to 2017 and Minister of Defense of Kazakhstan from 2014 to 2016. He was the akim of Astana from 2008 to 2014 and from 2004 to 2008, as akim of Almaty. Before that, from 2002 to 2003, he was the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
Three alphabets are used to write Kazakh: the Cyrillic, Latin and Arabic scripts. The Cyrillic script is used in Kazakhstan and Mongolia. An October 2017 Presidential Decree in Kazakhstan ordered that the transition from Cyrillic to a Latin script be completed by 2025. The Arabic script is used in Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan and parts of China.
Ermukhamet Qabidenuly Ertisbaev is a Kazakh politician and diplomat who has served as the chairman of the People's Party of Kazakhstan since 27 March 2022. Prior to that, he served as the Kazakh ambassador to Belarus from November 2017 to August 2019 and to Georgia from April 2013 to November 2017.
Nurtai Abykayev is a Kazakh politician who was the chairman of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan from August 2010 to December 2015 and from September 1998 to August 1999.
The Khabar Agency (KA) (Kazakh: "Хабар" Агенттігі, romanized: "Habar" Agenttıgı, ; Russian: Агентство «Хабар», romanized: Agentstvo Khabar) is a major media outlet in Kazakhstan. It was established in 1995, known originally as the National Television News Agency (Khabar is News in Kazakh). It is currently one of the largest networks in the country, and broadcasts daily in Kazakh and Russian. Additionally, Khabar runs the satellite channel Jibek Joly TV, which is potentially available across Europe and Asia. It features programming in English, Kazakh and Russian.
Ninety One or 91 is a Kazakh boy group formed by JUZ Entertainment in 2015. The band consists of four members: Alem, Ace, Zaq, and Bala. Once a five-member group, A.Z. left in 2020. Ninety One is the pioneer act of a new musical genre called Q-pop (Qazaq-pop) which could be called a symbiosis of Western and Asian pop music. The group was produced by Yerbolat Bedelkhan, a member of the Kazakh music unit "Orda".
Karina Abrekkyzy Abdullina is a Kazakhstani singer and actress.
The Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a governmental paramilitary force that manages the international borders of Kazakhstan. August 18 is celebrated as the Day of the Border Troops, which is the professional holiday of the Border service.
Juz Entertainment is a Kazakhstani record label and management agency established in 2014 by Kazakhstani singer Erbolat Bedelhan.
Tomiris is a 2019 Kazakhstani feature film directed by Akan Satayev, which tells the story of the queen of the Massagetae, Tomyris, and the Persian king, Cyrus the Great. The film co-stars Almira Tursyn, Aizhan Lighg, and Ghassan Massoud.
The Satbayev Memorial Museum is a museum dedicated to Kazakh scientist Kanysh Satbayev, academician of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic Academy of Sciences, in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
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