Ceza Concerts Setlist

Imagine an electrician in Istanbul who'd become Turkey's rap pioneer — that's Bilgin Özçalkan, also known by his stage name, Ceza. Born in 1976, he spent eight years wiring buildings before rewiring Turkish music forever. His name means "punishment" in Turkish, but he turned out to be more of a gift to the country's hip-hop scene. Starting with U.C.S. in the mid-90s, Ceza really found his groove with the group Nefret, dropping "Meclis Ala - İstanbul" in 2000.

But it was his 2004 performance at RockIstanbul that really got people talking. The next year, he made headlines at the Rock 'n Coke festival when he took on singer Kıraç in a freestyle battle after Kıraç dismissed rap music — talk about defending your art! His talent couldn't be contained in Turkey — in 2007, he became the first Turkish artist to snag an MTV Music Award.

That same year, he launched his clothing brand Evin Delisi, proving he could build a brand as well as he could build rhymes. He even kept music in the family — his sister Ayben Özçalkan Ülkü picked up the mic too.

From working with traditional artist Mercan Dede on "Su" to defending hip-hop's honor in freestyle battles, Ceza showed that rap could bridge Turkey's musical past and future. Not bad for a guy who used to install light fixtures!