Alek Pono's son – a visionary with passion
Musician and producer Rafał Poniedzielski "Pono" has died at the age of 49. His colleague and friend Wojciech Sosnowski "Sokół" announced the rapper's death on Thursday, November 6th. We are publishing an archival interview with the rapper from "Nowy Dziennik," conducted on November 27, 2012, by editor Wojciech Maślanka.
In November 2012, the New York branch of "Nowy Dziennik" in Ridgewood was visited by one of the pioneers of Polish hip-hop, Rafał Poniedzielski, better known as Pono or Son of Alka Pono. The rapper was also a passionate social activist and co-founder of the Heyprzygodo Foundation, which focuses on working with marginalized people and those seeking to develop their skills. The interview was conducted in connection with his concert on Saturday, December 1, 2012, at Lava Lounge in Ridgewood.
Rap fans had to wait over a year for your concert in New York. Why?
Yes, that's true. I was supposed to be here last year with my "Peace with a View of War" project, but unfortunately, I was interrupted by Hurricane Irenka, which was raging over the city at the time. I performed in Chicago and Toronto then, and had to return to Poland from Canada. There was an opportunity to appear later, but on the date the concert was postponed, I had a second event in Warsaw, and I was the organizer. This event was related to the Heyprzygodo Foundation, which I run, and which is more important to me than music or even playing concerts. However, this time, even though a hurricane also recently hit New York, I managed to make it. I'll be playing on Saturday at Lava Lounge in Ridgewood.
What project will you be performing there? What can your fans expect at this concert?
I came here with "Wizjoner," the album I released this year, but this tour—I'm also playing in Chicago—is more of a missionary endeavor than a promotion for that release. My mission is to promote the ideas of the Heyprzygodo Foundation through the music I perform. I came here with the specific goal of spreading the slogan "You are a visionary" and of instilling the foundation's ideas in the Polish community, so that in the future I can expand its activities among local children.
So tell us more about this foundation, when it was founded, what it does, and what goals it has set for itself.
In 2006, together with Zosia Klepacka, a world champion and Olympic medalist in windsurfing, we decided to establish the Heyprzygodo Foundation, which aims to prevent social exclusion and organize various leisure activities for children and young people. To some extent, we fulfill the mission once held by community centers, and what's more, we do it completely free of charge and work for charity ourselves; we are the youngest benefactors in Poland. We organize various activities, competitions, meetings with interesting people and renowned authorities. We open doors for young people and show them paths in various areas of life. We don't impose anything, but rather instill in them interests and confidence in themselves and their abilities. We strive to do everything possible to ensure that everyone can discover the passions and talents that lie deep within each person. We are a highly innovative organization focused on creativity; we don't give young people the proverbial fish, but the fishing rod.
So the foundation's activities are aimed mainly at young people?
We operate across age groups. Our program also targets older people who need ideas for spending their free time, and they have plenty of it. We also strive to ensure that older people understand young people.
How do you try to get young people interested in art, pursuing passions, or developing talents?
We're doing this in various ways. Our latest initiative, open to everyone regardless of location, launched on our Facebook fan page – Syn Alka Pono. It's a competition for remixes and new lyrics. The winners will be featured on the reissue of the album "Wizjoner." We also want to identify the greatest talents among the participants and provide them with opportunities to develop, fund scholarships, release albums, and more. We also organize exhibitions and openings for young artists, photographers, and creative people.
Who supports you financially? Do you have any strategic sponsors or patrons?
Unfortunately, no. We haven't been able to find one yet, perhaps because our headquarters is located at Alternatywy 4 and some people look at us strangely (laughter), but seriously, we haven't paid much attention to it yet. We only recently started thinking about a title sponsor. So far, we've been operating on the principle of raising funds for each project, and we're successful. All the volunteers operate on a non-profit basis, and I, as the founder, Zosia, and a few others contribute our own money to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Polish hip-hop is seen as a continuation of the rebellion previously represented by punk rock. You're one of the oldest rappers in Poland. What does this music mean to you, and how has it changed over the years?
People think so, but I've never really thought about it. Rap, or hip-hop in a broader sense, certainly symbolizes the rebellion of the modern generation, just as punk once did. The forms of expression and the audience are, of course, different. Punk was a rebellion against the system, and rap is too, but because the system changed, its message had to change. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, people saw that their dissatisfaction could be expressed in various ways. One of them was hip-hop, which, despite difficult beginnings, quickly became popular in Poland. Currently, in terms of the level of music, the quality of releases, the scale, and the reach, I dare say we are the strongest in all of Europe. Hip-hop is currently a powerful branch of the Polish music industry. It turns out that in recent years, rappers have received the most gold records in our country. Hip-hop has never been dependent on publishing companies, so people could express their thoughts completely independently, and that remains to this day. Because rappers had to release their own albums and provide promotion, they quickly became self-sufficient. Many of us created recording studios, record labels, distribution and promotion sources, and thanks to that, we survived the most difficult times. Now we can enjoy complete freedom and independence. It's gotten to the point where we're not the ones asking for our videos to be broadcast, but even the biggest music channels like MTV and VIVA are approaching us with requests for music videos because they want to attract young viewers who are interested in this type of music, and this target audience in Poland is truly very large. This also means that our albums are very competitively priced compared to those released by major labels. This is because we don't have to feed the additional budgets of large companies along the way. I prepare a business plan, I know how much I need to invest, what I need to do, and I implement it calmly. If you have a good head on your shoulders and a clear vision of what you want to achieve, it's not too difficult. That's my philosophy – "You are the visionary."
"Visionary" is, as you said at the beginning, your latest album. What's next? What are your plans, visions?
I'm preparing new material for the new year, but really, I only need music right now to promote the Heyprzygodo Foundation, and that's what I'm focusing on most. Rap is a way to communicate the ideas I want to implement. I'm also working on a reissue of "Wizjoner," but as I mentioned earlier, we're looking for new, young visionaries who will have the opportunity to appear on this release. Maybe we'll also find someone in New York and Chicago. Also, there will soon be an auction on www.heyprzygodo.pl featuring many attractive items, the proceeds of which will go towards buying Christmas gifts for children. The auction will begin on December 7th and last two weeks. And since the world is supposed to end on the 21st, everyone will have the opportunity to redeem their sins by bidding (laughs).
Interviewed by Wojtek Maślanka
Photo by: Wojciech Maślanka archive
Musician and producer Rafał Poniedzielski "Pono" has died at the age of 49. His colleague and friend Wojciech Sosnowski "Sokół" announced the rapper's death on Thursday, November 6th. We are publishing an archival interview with the rapper from "Nowy Dziennik," conducted on November 27, 2012, by editor Wojciech Maślanka.
In November 2012, the New York branch of "Nowy Dziennik" in Ridgewood was visited by one of the pioneers of Polish hip-hop, Rafał Poniedzielski, better known as Pono or Son of Alka Pono. The rapper was also a passionate social activist and co-founder of the Heyprzygodo Foundation, which focuses on working with marginalized people and those seeking to develop their skills. The interview was conducted in connection with his concert on Saturday, December 1, 2012, at Lava Lounge in Ridgewood.
Rap fans had to wait over a year for your concert in New York. Why?
Yes, that's true. I was supposed to be here last year with my "Peace with a View of War" project, but unfortunately, I was interrupted by Hurricane Irenka, which was raging over the city at the time. I performed in Chicago and Toronto then, and had to return to Poland from Canada. There was an opportunity to appear later, but on the date the concert was postponed, I had a second event in Warsaw, and I was the organizer. This event was related to the Heyprzygodo Foundation, which I run, and which is more important to me than music or even playing concerts. However, this time, even though a hurricane also recently hit New York, I managed to make it. I'll be playing on Saturday at Lava Lounge in Ridgewood.
What project will you be performing there? What can your fans expect at this concert?
I came here with "Wizjoner," the album I released this year, but this tour—I'm also playing in Chicago—is more of a missionary endeavor than a promotion for that release. My mission is to promote the ideas of the Heyprzygodo Foundation through the music I perform. I came here with the specific goal of spreading the slogan "You are a visionary" and of instilling the foundation's ideas in the Polish community, so that in the future I can expand its activities among local children.
So tell us more about this foundation, when it was founded, what it does, and what goals it has set for itself.
In 2006, together with Zosia Klepacka, a world champion and Olympic medalist in windsurfing, we decided to establish the Heyprzygodo Foundation, which aims to prevent social exclusion and organize various leisure activities for children and young people. To some extent, we fulfill the mission once held by community centers, and what's more, we do it completely free of charge and work for charity ourselves; we are the youngest benefactors in Poland. We organize various activities, competitions, meetings with interesting people and renowned authorities. We open doors for young people and show them paths in various areas of life. We don't impose anything, but rather instill in them interests and confidence in themselves and their abilities. We strive to do everything possible to ensure that everyone can discover the passions and talents that lie deep within each person. We are a highly innovative organization focused on creativity; we don't give young people the proverbial fish, but the fishing rod.
So the foundation's activities are aimed mainly at young people?
We operate across age groups. Our program also targets older people who need ideas for spending their free time, and they have plenty of it. We also strive to ensure that older people understand young people.
How do you try to get young people interested in art, pursuing passions, or developing talents?
We're doing this in various ways. Our latest initiative, open to everyone regardless of location, launched on our Facebook fan page – Syn Alka Pono. It's a competition for remixes and new lyrics. The winners will be featured on the reissue of the album "Wizjoner." We also want to identify the greatest talents among the participants and provide them with opportunities to develop, fund scholarships, release albums, and more. We also organize exhibitions and openings for young artists, photographers, and creative people.
Who supports you financially? Do you have any strategic sponsors or patrons?
Unfortunately, no. We haven't been able to find one yet, perhaps because our headquarters is located at Alternatywy 4 and some people look at us strangely (laughter), but seriously, we haven't paid much attention to it yet. We only recently started thinking about a title sponsor. So far, we've been operating on the principle of raising funds for each project, and we're successful. All the volunteers operate on a non-profit basis, and I, as the founder, Zosia, and a few others contribute our own money to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Polish hip-hop is seen as a continuation of the rebellion previously represented by punk rock. You're one of the oldest rappers in Poland. What does this music mean to you, and how has it changed over the years?
People think so, but I've never really thought about it. Rap, or hip-hop in a broader sense, certainly symbolizes the rebellion of the modern generation, just as punk once did. The forms of expression and the audience are, of course, different. Punk was a rebellion against the system, and rap is too, but because the system changed, its message had to change. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, people saw that their dissatisfaction could be expressed in various ways. One of them was hip-hop, which, despite difficult beginnings, quickly became popular in Poland. Currently, in terms of the level of music, the quality of releases, the scale, and the reach, I dare say we are the strongest in all of Europe. Hip-hop is currently a powerful branch of the Polish music industry. It turns out that in recent years, rappers have received the most gold records in our country. Hip-hop has never been dependent on publishing companies, so people could express their thoughts completely independently, and that remains to this day. Because rappers had to release their own albums and provide promotion, they quickly became self-sufficient. Many of us created recording studios, record labels, distribution and promotion sources, and thanks to that, we survived the most difficult times. Now we can enjoy complete freedom and independence. It's gotten to the point where we're not the ones asking for our videos to be broadcast, but even the biggest music channels like MTV and VIVA are approaching us with requests for music videos because they want to attract young viewers who are interested in this type of music, and this target audience in Poland is truly very large. This also means that our albums are very competitively priced compared to those released by major labels. This is because we don't have to feed the additional budgets of large companies along the way. I prepare a business plan, I know how much I need to invest, what I need to do, and I implement it calmly. If you have a good head on your shoulders and a clear vision of what you want to achieve, it's not too difficult. That's my philosophy – "You are the visionary."
"Visionary" is, as you said at the beginning, your latest album. What's next? What are your plans, visions?
I'm preparing new material for the new year, but really, I only need music right now to promote the Heyprzygodo Foundation, and that's what I'm focusing on most. Rap is a way to communicate the ideas I want to implement. I'm also working on a reissue of "Wizjoner," but as I mentioned earlier, we're looking for new, young visionaries who will have the opportunity to appear on this release. Maybe we'll also find someone in New York and Chicago. Also, there will soon be an auction on www.heyprzygodo.pl featuring many attractive items, the proceeds of which will go towards buying Christmas gifts for children. The auction will begin on December 7th and last two weeks. And since the world is supposed to end on the 21st, everyone will have the opportunity to redeem their sins by bidding (laughs).
Interviewed by Wojtek Maślanka
Photo by: Wojciech Maślanka archive
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