Swerte, Indonesian-Swiss Blended Rapper Releases Hip Hop Single 'Ballin In Bali'

Kapanlagi.com - Becoming a singer who can break into the international music scene is undoubtedly a big dream for every singer. And there are several Indonesian singers who have succeeded in entering and succeeding in the entertainment industry in other countries. One of them is SWERTE, an Indonesian-Swiss rapper who is now pursuing a career in the music industry in Dubai.

The man whose real name is Lucky Schild grew up in Aceh and Jakarta and has loved music since he was 8 years old. In the 90s, Swerte became interested in rap and hip-hop music and listened to music from many rap singers around the world such as Coolio, Vanilla Ice, and Snoop Dogg. Swerte also won many rap competitions in Indonesia and was once the opening act for Dewi Sandra's show in 1997.

After that, Swerte lived his life by moving from country to country until he settled down and pursued a career in Dubai. It was a long and challenging journey for Swerte.

The name Swerte is not new in the entertainment industry in Indonesia. He has released many works both with his group and solo projects. Swerte has also collaborated with many musicians from various countries. Swerte once formed a rapper group called The Southsiderz in Indonesia, released 3 mixtapes titled The Mini Mixtape Series, and also created a music project called Raconteur which made him return to Indonesia to perform in several shows.

1. Indonesia - Swiss - Dubai

Credit: EVERYDAYINDO

“I lived in Indonesia until the age of 17, then moved to Switzerland. After that, I studied Sound Engineering in Manchester for 4 years. There, I worked making sandwiches in a fast food restaurant while collaborating with musicians and beatmakers at night. One day, I went on vacation to Dubai and met many people working in the music industry there. They said there were many opportunities for someone like me who had sound engineering skills in Dubai at that time. Finally, I decided to move to Dubai and work at a TV station as a Sound & Audio Designer until now,” said Swerte about his life journey.

Then in 2008, Swerte started his own music project by creating a compilation album inspired by the explosive Pesta Rap album in Indonesia in 1995 and started his career journey in the Dubai music industry.

“What's cool about the Pesta Rap album is that it's a compilation album where all the rappers from various cities in Indonesia like Jogya, Bandung, Jakarta, gathered there and received a good response from Indonesian music listeners. In my opinion, that's the moment that made the Rap & Hip-Hop genre booming in Indonesia. Meanwhile, during my 2 years in Dubai, I only enjoyed that genre of music, then I learned from many musicians and wanted to know what the Rap & Hip-Hop music scene in Dubai was like. What I saw in other music genres was quite competitive, except for this music genre. Based on that, I formed The Recipe group and released a compilation album titled The Recipe Volume 1. From there, we created an independent record label & community that has been active for 14 years in Dubai”, explained Swerte.

2. Many Memorable Experiences

Credit: EVERYDAYINDO

14 years of career in the music industry in Dubai, Swerte as a member and manager of his group The Recipe also became the opening act for several international artists' concerts in Dubai such as Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Akon, Macklemore, Skepta, De La Soul, Cypress Hill, Mobb Deep, Fat Joe, Stormzy, Rick Ross, Dave East, Koffee, YBN Cordae, and others. The Recipe is also a group that has released many works, one of which collaborated with DJ Hurricane, the first DJ of Beastie Boys and produced by Glenn Toby, a Hip-Hop pioneer in America.

"The most memorable performance experience was when we became the opening act for Snoop Dogg's concert. The stage was huge and there were about 30 thousand people watching. It was an honor, coz he is one of our idols. Then when we became the opening act for a singer from Jamaica named Koffee, that was also special. At that time, The Recipe may have almost not performed for a year because one of our members moved to Sweden, suddenly there was an offer because a musician canceled. In a little preparation, we had to be onstage, it was really an amazing show. Finally, when we performed at Expo 2020 Dubai, it was also a once in a lifetime experience for us," said Swerte about his performance experience.

3. Solo Debut Single

Credit: EVERYDAYINDO

Then in 2020, Swerte made a splash in the music world with his solo debut single titled "Esso." In the song, which has lyrics in 3 languages ​​(English, Indonesian, and Arabic) and is produced by Mjeezy (a musician from Dubai), Swerte invited Freek (a rapper from Somalia) and Indonesian rap musician Saykoji. Swerte then collaborated on a work titled "Jabal" with Raben (an Indonesian rapper), Manon (a rapper from the Philippines), and Lebanese singer Tina Yamout.

Then, still in the same year at the beginning of the pandemic, Swerte was involved in the song project "Stay Home" with DJ Sumantri, Wizzow, Denada, and Elephan In A Room. And in 2021, Swerte also collaborated with Tim Hassal (a singer from New Zealand) on a song titled "That's Just The Thing."

4. 'Ballin In Bali'

Credit: EVERYDAYINDO

Swerte is back with his latest solo work in the Indonesian Rap & Hip-Hop music scene, with his single titled Ballin In Bali. The song, released under the Bali-based record label, Everyday Indo, comes with playful music with a heavy bass trap beat. Here, Swerte wants to portray the freedom of expression and magical feeling of life in Bali. The song was written by Swerte himself after returning to Indonesia in 2019, which was a special moment for him.

“After not coming back to Indonesia for 3 years, it feels great to be back. I wrote this song after returning from a vacation in Bali and while on the plane, the beat in the chorus was already in my head. When I got back to Dubai, I told my good friend Tac, who is also a Hip-Hop artist, producer, and sound engineer, that I wanted to write a song about Bali. Although we made this song in just one day, the difficult part was how to capture the emotions and Bali Vibes for this song,” Swerte said about the recording process of this song.

5. Next Collaboration

Credit: EVERYDAYINDO

Swerte hopes to continue his career and create more works for Indonesian music fans. He aspires to collaborate with Tuan Tiga Belas, Armand Maulana, and his favorite band, GIGI.

"Enjoy the song and have fun with the song", says Swerte to Indonesian music fans.

(kpl/pur/ums)