Cartel (RapGroup)

Cartel is a 1995 Turkish hip hop group that received attention and popularity in both Turkey and Germany. They were famous for pioneering the use of traditional Turkish Music instruments in Hip Hop music.

Career

Cartel contained three separate groups of Turkish rappers. These were Erci E, Karakan (Alper Ağa and Kabus Kerim) and Da Crime Posse (M.Ali, Babalu, İnceEfe and Olcay). Alper Ağa is known to be the first recognized Turkish rapper. In 1995, after recording their debut album Cartel and releasing it in Germany under PolyGram, they quickly gained attention from the German media. They had an interview with MTV Germany and explained that their mission was to introduce the world to Turkish music. In 1996, the group had a fight, split up and went separate ways. Their debut album was banned in Turkey. Karakan and Erci E released solo albums. However, due to lack of success Karakan decided that they would quit. Erci E released one more album afterwards but had low sales and little attention. In 1998, Erci E collaborated in a single with German musician Peter Maffay. Cartel's original debut album was re-released in 2004.