YEREVAN — Lyoka, the Artsakh-born rapper known for his raw and deeply personal lyrics, has released a powerful new single titled Namak Zavakis (Letter to My Child) — a soul-stirring reflection on identity, memory, and survival. The song is part of his upcoming album “Kyank” (Life) and became available on all major platforms, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Spotify, on May 8, a date symbolically chosen to mark the Liberation of Shushi — now tragically under Azerbaijani occupation.
Lyoka first rose to prominence with his breakthrough hit Tun Tarek (Take Me Home), which has now surpassed 6 million views on YouTube. His art is inseparable from his life: a life marked by displacement, trauma, and extraordinary resilience. He survived with an iron leg — a prosthesis — and an iron heart, having escaped death on more than one occasion. His family barely survived the Maragha massacre during his childhood. He lost his home again in Nor Maragha on November 9, 2020, and a third time in Stepanakert in 2023. Each time, he had to start over — and each time, music became his compass.
In his words, the new track carries both a personal and collective message:
“This song is one of the most important in my new album ‘Kyank.’ It starts with the first poetic lines I ever heard — words my father used to recite when I was a child:”
“My place is tight and my condition is bad,
I’ve ended up far from my native land.
Ah, dear brothers, you’ve surely seen it all,
You must have borne my bitter, dark days’ toll.
I beg you, when you receive my letter,
Read it gently – don’t let my nation know,
The Armenian heart is fragile – it cannot bear more.”
