Yoav Kutner on "Black Gold": "The editing distorted my words"
Legendary music editor Yoav Kutner released a video debunking claims of bias against hip hop and the band "Shvak S" presented in the "Kan" documentary series. He demonstrated that the creators spliced together clips from different years, taking them out of their original context.
Yoav Kutner is speaking out against the way his words were presented in the first episode of the documentary series "Black Gold: The Story of Israeli Hip Hop." In a video he posted on Facebook, the legendary music editor and presenter shared the full archival clips from which his words were taken, claiming that the series' editing connected statements made years apart and in different contexts, creating the impression that he disparaged hip hop in general and "Shvak S" in particular.
The seven-episode series, created by Amri Dekel-Kadosh and Rom Attic and aired this week on "Kan 11," explores the development of Israeli hip hop. While the series has received praise for its cinematic quality, it has also faced criticism for omissions and the way it framed certain historical figures and events.
"Watching the first episode, it looks like a great, well-made series," Kutner began. "But there is something that really annoyed me, and I want to share it with you."
"Cannot prevent you from seeing the truth"
Kutner pointed to a segment where his comments on "vulgarity" were taken out of context from the 1990 program "Ad Pop." In the full recording, he was discussing the subgenre known as "Nasty Rap" and the American group 2 Live Crew, not hip hop as a whole. The word "vulgar" referred specifically to the song "Me So Horny," not to the work of "Shvak S."
Later in the episode, the series shows a clip from 2000 where Kutner says, "The first time I heard 'Shvak S,' I thought it was bullshit." The editing immediately cuts back to his 1990 comment about "vulgarity," creating a misleading connection. In the original 2000 interview, Kutner immediately explained that he changed his mind about the band after seeing their live performances and became a vocal supporter of their work.
Support from the industry
Kfir "Hami" Artzi of "Shvak S" stood by Kutner, stating, "We, 'Shvak S,' grew up on the music that Kutner played. From our perspective, he was one of the people who shaped our musical taste. We were, and still are, his big fans." Hami emphasized that the history of the band's relationship with radio stations was far more complex than the series' attempt to categorize people into simple "for or against" templates.
Eyal "Quami" Friedman, whose own contribution to the genre is featured in the series, added that Kutner was instrumental in helping rap "get out of the radio ghetto" and giving it legitimacy. According to Quami, Kutner was playing hip hop on his radio programs at a time when the genre received almost no exposure in Israel.
"Kan" corporation declined to comment.
