On his show Themi Georgandas “After Dark” was found Toquel. Although the rapper rarely speaks, he was in the mood for revelations and the conversation made headlines and revealed the special relationship he has with his mother as well as the difficult moments of his life.

“I choose to speak as little as possible and have more substance in what I say! “11 11” is the last record label “child”. It’s a record dedicated to my mother. On the cover is an old photo of us. My mother is one of the reasons I am successful. That’s why I put her birthday.

My mom was very moved. She liked it and when I brought her to OAKA, she was standing up. My mom had hers so in her field of vision it wasn’t what I was doing with my music career. In recent years she has been very proud, very happy! I get advice but not directly but indirectly.

I came to Greece when I was 8 months old, a very baby, in 1995. We lived in Crete until 2015 and then I grew up in Athens. Things started to get difficult, my life took a turn for the worse. It was a downward spiral that unpleasant things happened and luckily I had the good mood and energy to ride it up.

When I was young I had a contact with music with an Eminem record. I didn’t know English then but I sang it. That’s when I realized I like rap music. Then a long time passed, I had a little contact with a kid and he told me that there is rap in Greece.

Over time I learned more deeply, where it comes from and the foundations of rap music. Because I’m a little older in music I started to embrace the whole hip hop phase” Toquel said initially and continued:

“Music was a lifeline. From the biggest things to the smallest things. But there have been many times that studio time has saved me from getting caught by the police doing something bad. I grew up in a world and a neighborhood where we were not law abiding. It was difficult not only at home but also in my neighborhood. I was spared!
I haven’t really kept in touch with my father. I had some contacts until the recent past but now I don’t.”

While Toquel revealed how he chose his name and why:

“I had panic attacks in 2010. It was my first contact with something psychological. At first you go crazy, you think you’re going to die. I was looking for what it is, I saw it was panic attacks. He was a doctor, I found him on facebook, he helped me and I got over them. His Youtube name was Toquel and I say to him: Can I use this as an art piece?

I sent him what I had done and got it like this. It means nothing to him. It sounds nice to me, but it also means something. It means a lot to me because of the way I got it. Freedom from panic attacks could be that name.’

A little later in the confessional, the conversation became spicy with the rapper opening his papers giving many peppery details about his very personal life.

“I haven’t done anything crazy to get a woman. Everything I’ve done was normal! As a child, I had taken a bus from the center of Thessaloniki to go somewhere that was an hour away.”

Ever confused a partner’s name with an ex?

“Not with an ex, but with an unrelated one! I don’t know if he understood or pretended not to understand. He didn’t say anything to me, I pretended I never said it!”

Who or which famous person or celebrities would not stand to be locked in an elevator?

“I have a dislike for Doja Cat. I couldn’t sit with her.”