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Influential rapper Negros Tou Moria (real name Kevin Zans Ansong) has gained international recognition as his 2025 album “Mavri Ellada” (Black Greece) was recently ranked No 2 on The Guardian’s list of “The 10 Best Global Albums of 2025.”
Born to Ghanaian parents in Athens, the 34-year-old grew up in the central neighborhoods of Ampelokipoi and Kypseli. He began his rap career alongside local hip-hop pioneer MC TakiTsan and has since developed a distinctive voice in Greece’s urban music scene.
NTM is credited with creating “trabetiko,” a genre blending the Greek working-class folk music of rebetiko with contemporary trap beats. “Mavri Ellada” showcases a wide range of sounds, from bouzouki motifs on the title track to dancefloor synths on “PragmatiKotita,” and addresses themes including immigration and social inequality.
The Guardian praised the album for its “raw, hard-hitting sound” and highlighted NTM’s “dextrous flow… unusual production and fierce lyrics.”
His stage name, playfully translated as “Black Morris,” is a nod to Geros tou Moria, a legendary general in the Greek War of Independence against the Ottomans. NTM frequently performs wearing traditional Greek attire, including tsarouchia shoes and a fustanella skirt, blending heritage with modern urban culture.
“Mavri Ellada” follows a career spanning more than a decade, which began with NTM’s debut mixtape in 2012, cementing his role as a pioneer in Greece’s evolving rap scene.
At the top of The Guardian’s list was “Hagen” by Titanic, the project of Mexico City multi-instrumentalist duo Hector Tosta and Mabe Fratti. [Combined reports]
