Belgian Rapper Performs Song Inspired by Turkmen Poet Makhtumkuli Fraghi

Belgian rap artist Tony has unveiled a new musical composition inspired by the poem Love Your People by the Turkmen poet Makhtumkuli Fraghi. The pop-rap song, performed in English, emphasizes themes of love and respect for one’s people, the protection of honor and dignity, and the preservation of traditions and moral values. The project was supported by the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Belgium, marking a continuation of Tony’s collaboration with the Turkmen diplomatic mission. Previously the artist released the track Turkmenistan Dreams, which celebrated the richness and beauty of Turkmen culture. The song's video, filmed at the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Brussels, received a warm reception. The lyrics for Turkmenistan Dreams were penned by diplomat Maral Rakhimova and highlighted the enduring spiritual legacy of Makhtumkuli Fraghi for the Turkmen people.

Kazakh Poet Bakhyt Kenzheev Dies at 74

Bakhyt Kenzheev, a famous poet from Kazakhstan, has died at the age of 74 after a long illness. Kenzheev was born in 1950 in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, studied at the Faculty of Chemistry of Moscow State University, and debuted as a poet in 1977. His works were published in the leading publications of the Soviet Union — including Komsomolskaya Pravda, Yunost, Moskovsky Komsomolets. In 1982, Kenzheev emigrated to Canada, and in 2008, to the United States. He is the author of more than 20 books of poetry and prose books, and was honored with the Anti-Booker, Moscow Transit and Russian Prize, and was twice nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Kenzheev himself considered himself a true Kazakh. "I was taken from Kazakhstan as a three-year-old, I grew up in Moscow, I am a Russian poet, my mother is Russian, but I am Kazakh. It never occurred to me to take a pseudonym and become, for example, Boris Karasev. People say to me: 'You don't speak Kazakh.' I don't care, and I feel that way," Kenzheev stated in one of his interviews.