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{"id":44960,"date":"2022-09-26T18:48:12","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T17:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/?p=44960"},"modified":"2022-09-26T22:11:40","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T21:11:40","slug":"king-kovaci-mixing-roots-and-queerness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ket.brussels\/2022\/09\/26\/king-kovaci-mixing-roots-and-queerness\/","title":{"rendered":"King Kovaci mixing roots and queerness"},"content":{"rendered":"\nMeet King Kovaci<\/a>, a multitalented queer artist<\/a> based in Brussels. Singing, songwriting, DJing or producing, founding collectives or hosting podcasts, you can\u2019t miss Kovaci\u2019s work and involvment in the queer scene. Isuf, by his first name, loves to include influences of his Albanian roots into his work and mix it with queer influences resulting in a beautiful cultural melting pot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve met with King Kovaci to discuss all of his activities and views on queer topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tell us a bit about yourself. What has been your journey?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n My name is Isuf Kovaci, also known as King Kovaci. I\u2019m a singer, songwriter, producer, and DJ based in Brussels.\u00a0I\u2019m also the vice-president of Collectif Les Bastards<\/a>, co-host of Queermongering,\u00a0co-organizer of Propaganda<\/a>, and co-founder of Transp\u00e9d\u00e9gouines<\/a>. And I\u2019m a parliamentary draftsman at the Parliament of Brussels during the day!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m the child of Albanian immigrants who fled their home country to escape death and poverty in the oppressive dictatorship, and I carry that part of me proudly everywhere I go, because I\u2019m constantly reminded of the islamophobia and xenophobia that my fellow Albanians endure every day, and it\u2019s really important to me that I represent Albania amidst often very bigoted people. I actually spent the last 20 years under the name Jeremy, because I grew up in very racist environments and \u00ab Isuf \u00bb sounded too Muslim and too foreign in white suburbia. It\u2019s only one or two years ago that I decided to introduce myself as my birth name again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every month or so, I get DMs from fake accounts on Instagram, from closeted queer Albanians who confide in me. They tell me about the dangers that they face, the fact that they can\u2019t express themselves or that they\u2019re in a very religious family. They all tell me that they\u2019re very inspired and hopeful seeing me, Albanian, gay, and out to my family (wasn\u2019t particularly easy), in a long-term relationship with a Turkish man, and expressing myself through art. It\u2019s the reason why I put my fears aside, ignore the death threats and keep being my true self. The more I\u2019m visible, the more my queer siblings will be safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What are your current or future projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m doing a LOT lately. I\u2019ve wrapped up directing \u201cHurler \u00e0 la Mer\u201d with Collectif Les Bastards almost exactly a year ago, and it feels like the train never stops moving:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m currently working on my first album, but it\u2019s a long process because I write, compose, sing, and produce everything myself in my home studio, and I\u2019m my own worst critic. I\u2019m also working with wonderful queer artists as a songwriter and producer. Listen to \u00ab Italo Daddy \u00bb by Chaild<\/a>, I helped write that song! Then, there\u2019s all the work with Collectif Les Bastards, including a revamp of Hurler \u00e0 la mer and other secret projects coming up\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n