He is the craftsman of the greatest successes of the Belgian rapper. For the release of Hamza’s third album, Sincerelythis Friday, the composer confided in their musical alchemy, which has lasted for ten years.
He has been Hamza’s faithful accomplice for ten years. Beatmaker Ponko co-signs (almost) all the songs on his latest album, Sincerely, which comes out this Friday. Beyond the simple collaboration, a real musical alchemy binds the two Belgian artists.
However, Ponko confides it to us from the outset: before meeting Hamza, the composer from Brussels, did not listen to French-speaking rap. If he launched into musical production, it was to follow in the footsteps of one of his role models at the time, Timbaland, attracted by the sounds of the rap and R’n’b scene from the early 2000s to United States (Missy Elliott Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado…).
But the hours spent on YouTube and FL Studio to reproduce the productions of his idols are only a distant memory for the Belgian beatmaker. Today, Ponko has imported its touch and its influences into the rap landscape and works with renowned French-speaking artists such as Damso, Vald, SCH and Tiakola.
However, it is with Hamza that Ponko is most prolific. Present since the Belgian rapper’s debut in 2013, the composer has been the main architect of the artist’s greatest hits: The sauce, Life, Paradise, God Bless…
“He had his own touch”
It was on the advice of his cousin, a fan of French-speaking rap, that Ponko, Petar Paunkovic of his real name, discovered the world of Hamza. “He said to me: ‘listen, that sound, ‘Millions’, I’m sure you’ll like it. I liked it straight away”, recalls the beatmaker.
“He had something different. He was not like the others and had his own touch,” he adds.
Intrigued by the universe of the Belgian rapper, still quite confidential at the time, the producer solicited him on Facebook and sent him some of his productions on Soundcloud. “He listened and he said to me: ‘mashed potatoes, you have talent, can you send me others?'”, says Ponko.
The composer complies and among the productions sent, the rapper retains two. They will become the pieces It’s crazy And Issuefeatured on Hamza’s very first mixtape, Both sidesreleased in 2013. “From that moment, we let go more,” says Ponko.
“This guy was a genius”
If at the beginning, Hamza composed most of his productions alone, the rapper, seduced by the work of Ponko, called on him again for the composition of his second mixtape. H-24. Every weekend, the two acolytes get together in the studio and the beatmaker gradually discovers Hamza’s potential.
“When I saw him in the studio, I was surprised. Each time, he came with ten beats that he had made himself. And not only was he productive but his sounds were of quality. I had never saw that. That’s when I realized that this guy was a genius and that he was going to go far”, assures Ponko.
By working together, the artists discover that they have many similar cultural references and that they listen to the same artists, which makes their exchanges in the studio very fluid.
“I immediately felt like I knew him. When I offered him productions, he understood directly where I wanted to go and I think that’s what makes us have such good chemistry today. “, says the composer.
In the end, Ponko will be invited on three of the 24 pieces of the project H-24. Among them, the title The sauce, harmonious cocktail between rap and melody. Now a classic of Hamza’s discography, this track was originally intended for another artist.
“One day I came to the studio with a USB key on which there were a dozen prods. Hamza listens to them and when he comes across that of ‘La sauce’, he has a crush. Except that I am have to tell her she’s already taken,” says Ponko.
“He asked me despite everything to let him try something on it. And when I saw the result, I had to call the other artist back to tell him that finally the production was no longer available”, laughs. he.
First album
After this first success, Ponko does it again and assists Hamza in the production of these following projects: Zombie Life And Santa Sauce in 2016, but above all 1994a major mixtape in the rapper’s career, which allowed him to gain notoriety and make himself known to the general public.
“‘1994’, it was just a kiff. It goes from trap to r’n’b, to oriental and a little melancholic mixes. […] Hamza is very eclectic, I can put any product in the studio for him and he will always find a topline”, specifies Ponko.
But after the mixtape format, the Belgian artist aims higher and wants to release his first album. And who better than Ponko to accompany him in the creation of this disc? In March 2019, Paradise see the day. And as with previous Hamza records, the chemistry between the artist and Ponko is there: the record is certified gold eight months after its release and is now platinum.
Throughout his collaborations with Hamza, Ponko manages to follow the desires of the artist while also refining his style. In 2021, almost a year after the release of his mixtape 140BPM with drill sounds – a rather dark evolution of the trap born in Chicago – the Belgian rapper wishes to produce a second edition of the project in album format. He then asks Ponko for production ideas.
“Even if I listened to drill, I had never produced songs like this. But I told him that I was keen to try”, details Ponko.
He adds with humor: “Some time later, I made him listen to the prod’ of the title ‘Keke’ and he said to me: you fear yourself, you know how to do everything. Thanks to this kind of proposals Hamza makes me evolve. “
“It’s a pride”
Almost ten years after their first collaboration Hamza and Ponko meet again this Friday on the Belgian rapper’s new album, Sincerely. The result of years of experience and work as a duo, this project reflects “everything we have achieved since the start”, says Ponko not without emotion.
On this disc, Hamza perfects himself in the registers he masters best but also explores new unpublished sounds alongside his faithful beatmaker. The Belgian rapper tries his hand at disco productions, on the title Harmful with Damso, sample of the hit Lady (Hear Me Tonight) from Mojo.
Ponko concludes: “Basically Hamza and I were nobody and when you look at our journey and the result today, we’re releasing a new album together, it’s a source of pride.”
