NIVO
Nivo established the hip hop scene in Greece. His music has paved the way for future artists and influenced many in the Greek music scene. He loves the positivity of the community in Athens and believes that respect is the key to improving many of the issues within society.
We are eagerly awaiting the release of his new album and the re-release of "LA SAGRADA FAMILIA" which will be available on vinyl, featuring new remixes by various artists.
BYO: How did hip hop come up in your life?
NIVO: Growing up in Agia Varvara, I felt I had common representations with the world of black music and hip hop in particular. So I felt connected with it and I loved it very much. My huge passion for music and desire to understand the stories behind the lyrics helped me identify with the genre and the artists who represent it. The need for expression came very quickly, I started writing my own lyrics and songs and felt the need to share them with the world.
This is how Goin’Through and then Family The Label came up with influences and features that are described by their authenticity.
BYO: How does social verse coexist with commercial success?
NIVO: Mikis Theodorakis managed it long before us with "Axion Esti" in times when marketing did not provide for promo plans, media or video clips. The commercial success of this album and many others with similar content clearly shows that the term "commercial" has been wrongly associated with something of questionable quality and has a derogatory meaning. The social lyric matched from the first moment with the temperament and mentality of the Greek, as it describes a situation that accompanies its steps from the post-junta period onwards without particular social changes, recycling in addition to the same persons and surnames in the political life of this place, the exact same problems, almost always presenting the same picture.
BYO: What is the hip hop landscape in Greece today?
NIVO: Bigger, more diverse and more spontaneous than ever. More and more children today choose this music to express themselves and talk about what they want. Without second thoughts, with audacity and the superficiality that accompanies their age, they enter the field of music, forming a new artistic map in which there is definitely great lyrical interest. And there is also another interest in how the new data of the discography and the media are being formed at the moment, together with the new technologies that are directly or indirectly connected with it.
I love seeing the road open to rap artists today. I envy them very much that they have found a suitable ground. I believe that we were the generation that faced many obstacles to help pave this way.
BYO: Are you concerned with what happens in modern life, do you talk about it in your songs?
NIVO: I have always been concerned with what happens in modern day life and I am glad that I had the inspiration and the courage to record ιτ the way I did and continue to do so. Every song, from the beginning until today, always had the same "point of view" and a unique goal. To record the event, to provoke and inspire the listener. To make them feel and think about it. Hip hop was the first and most authentic influence of the era, using lyrics and songs to inspire, motivate, influence and awaken society. Not to "drug" her !!!
BYO: Tell us a few words about the "family", what does it express (Family the Label)?
NIVO: It is the idea that expresses my perception of teamwork and defines a time in music when Goin ’Through presented dozens of new artists and material with different styles and timeless character. Artists like NEVMA, Professional Sinners, Komis X etc. formed along with Goin ’Through an image - and not only of the Greek discography - making hip hop and rap mainstream and influencing the sound throughout the Greek hip hop scene. For almost 16 years with Family we have created dozens of hits and collaborations along with memorable live shows and real tours with thousands of people.
BYO: Are there specific things you love about the city you live in?
NIVO: I love the positive attitudes and big smiles of the people you pass in the street. Those who make it hospitable, beautiful and unique. The city where children can play and dream.
BYO: What do you love and what do you hate about Athens?
NIVO: After much thought and a relevant experience with the Local Government, I have come to the conclusion that what makes cities uglier and poorer, is the lack of respect. Everything is hidden behind the word "Respect" and when it‘s missing, everything begins to transform. Soiling streets, walls, buildings but also mentalities, making cities and neighbourhood’s grey.
BYO: Would you live in another country?
NIVO: I have tried living in both Europe and the United States in the past, but there was always something holding me back. When you are born and raised in Greece it‘s difficult to adapt elsewhere. It‘s difficult to make the decision to leave, to change your daily life. To live out of your comfort zone!!!
BYO: Which artist would you like to collaborate with, either again or for the first time?
NIVO: Well, this is not an easy question to answer … it may take a lot of pages to list the names of the artists I admire and would like to have half of their verses or even a phrase in one of my songs. For some of them, one breath from them on a track, would be more than enough for me, especially when this breath is as characteristic as that of Michael Jackson or Prince !!! (Haha!!!)
BYO: Do you have a favourite song from a completely different style of music?
NIVO: I love music very much and it’s been a long time since I stopped classifying it into genres, in my musical journey all these years, I came across musical and lyrical masterpieces from every musical style, which led me to evaluate things completely differently. Do you want to know what I was listening to the day before yesterday while driving? Savvopoulos' "Zeybekiko" with Bellou. And a few days before "Una Noche más" by Yasmin Levy. Because only music has tickets and flights for those trips in times and places far away, that we did not manage to do.
BYO: Are you working on a new project at this time?
NIVO: I am completing my first personal album from which I have already released 3 songs, "Ghetto", "Jesus" and "De Niro" and at the same time I am working on new songs for Going ’Through with some collaborations that are not only about the narrow framework of an album but also concerts and live performances. Note that the album "LA SAGRADA FAMILIA" is released again on anniversary vinyl but also another remix album with all our greatest hits, performed by many popular artists.
BYO: Where would you like to be in 10 years from today (artistically)?
NIVO: I would like to have penetrated deep into the consciousness of the public and ιn a society that not only sang my songs but was inspired by them.
