Born in Samsun in 1978, Sagopa Kajmer (Yunus Özyavuz) is one of the most influential and prolific figures in Turkish rap. He entered hip-hop culture in the early 1990s through DJing and breakdancing, and soon turned his focus to music production, developing a style of his own.

A graduate of Istanbul University with a degree in Persian Language and Literature, Kajmer worked as a DJ and music director at leading radio stations of the era, including Power FM, Metro FM, Number One FM and Radio 2019. In the early stages of his career, he was known by the alias Silahsız Kuvvet before adopting the name Sagopa Kajmer and becoming a pioneering figure in Turkish rap through his distinctive lyrical and philosophical approach.

The founder of the Kuvvetmira collective, the artist continues his work under his own label, Melankolia Müzik. As the producer and creator behind influential albums that helped shape the history of Turkish rap and expand the possibilities of Turkish-language music, Sagopa Kajmer also reached a wider audience through the soundtrack of the 2004 film G.O.R.A.

From DJing and turntablism to production, songwriting and composition, and from B-boy culture to live performance, Sagopa Kajmer has built a rare multi-disciplinary identity that brings together many different sides of hip-hop within a single career. As DJ Mic Check, he became one of the pioneers of turntablism and scratch culture in Türkiye. As an MC, DJ, turntablist, producer, songwriter and B-boy, he has been deeply involved in different disciplines of hip-hop, making each of them part of his own musical identity. This combination of skills and experience is what sets him apart in Türkiye’s hip-hop scene, where very few artists have brought together such a broad range of disciplines under one name. After decades of music, DJ performances, production and live shows, he remains one of the defining figures of Turkish rap.