Trkaj

Trkaj, born Rok Terkaj on 1 March 1983 in Ljubljana, is a Slovenian rapper, lyricist and writer who has been rapping since 2001. He grew up in Savsko naselje in the Bežigrad district of Ljubljana, where the neighbours called him Trkaj, without the e, and that became his stage name.

He started at 17 as a freestyler and battle MC, joined the freestyle crew Rodbina Trgavšek with N'toko, Boštjan Gorenc - Pižama, Valterap and DJ Supastar, and later the group Generacija 00 of the Z glavo na zabavo foundation. In 2003 he won the 8 Mile freestyle battle and a few months later shared the title at the second Slovenian freestyle championship with N'toko. The prize was a record deal with RapNika, which released his debut album V času enga diha in 2004. The singles "Dihi z mano" and "Vse kar mam" went to the top on Slovenian radio, and on the day the album came out he walked from Maribor to Ljubljana for his first solo concert.

The second album, Rapostol (2007), mixed rap with evergreen Slovenian popevke such as "Hej, hej Ljubljančanke", "Gvendolina" and "Ne vozi se s trolejbusom", and its song "Pleš'" reached number one on the radio. It won him the Diamant award for best male performer. For the UNICEF song "Some of Them", recorded with Zlatko, Ballau, BMD and King B-Fine, he shared an award of the Slovenian advertising festival. On the radio show Izštekani he played the songs live with the band Rapostoli, which included Gal Gjurin.

Pasož (2010) was dedicated to his home neighbourhood and was sold only through his website and from his backpack, at whatever price the buyer chose. Vse je OK (2013) and Dan zmage (2014) followed. Kla kla klasika (2017), made with literary historian Igor Saksida and published by Mladinska knjiga, set classic Slovenian poems by Prešeren, Gregorčič, Župančič and others in dialogue with rap, with a CD of twelve new songs.

He also wrote lyrics for other singers, among them Manca Špik, Nina Pušlar, Omar Naber and Nuša Derenda, and worked with Gibonni, Alenka Godec and Jadranka Juras. Away from music he walked the Camino de Santiago twice and from Ljubljana to Sarajevo, and graduated in theology in Ljubljana in 2011.